Vintage Images Of People & Their Beloved Volkswagen Buses

Sure, it looks like a giant loaf of bread, but the Volkswagen Bus, almost seventy years since it was first introduced, still remains one of the most beloved and recognizable vehicles ever to hit the road.

Like the VW Beetle, the engine is in the back. So, the driver had an awesome view and plentiful room to store surfboards and camping equipment for the adventure ahead. From 1950 until the late 1960s, the Volkswagen Bus acted as the original minivan – a roomier alternative to the station wagon. Then, the counter-culture embraced it, and the microbus became forever linked with pot-smoking hippies, and beach bums. When the 1980s rolled around, anything associated with the 70s was verboten, and the bus fell out of favor.

But let’s take a moment to truly appreciate this beautiful box. It must have been quite a sight when it appeared in the 1950s – different in every way from the other vehicles it shared a road with. It was cheap, had a tremendous amount of space, and was wonderfully sparse and simple. You could make your orange rectangle be anything you wanted it to be – a family camper, a shag carpeted love machine, a business shuttle, a surfmobile… the possibilities were endless.

Unlike the Beetle, the VW bus was constantly being revised, remodeled and evolved into a variety of interesting styles. There was the Samba-bus, with a ton of windows and a sky-roof, the “Westy” – a camping van with a pop up top for extra space, and the Caravelle which had deluxe comfy interiors.

So, let’s have a look at people and their VW buses, taken from old brochure and other promotional items. Specifically, we’re looking at the second generation Type 2 VW – these are the “Breadwagons” built from 1967-1979. Enjoy!

h/t: flashbak