Volkswagen’s “hippie van” was the preferred mode of transportation for peace lovers during the 1960s, but Brazil is shutting down the last production line this year to meet rigorous new safety requirements. See our nostalgic photo tour of VW vans in the Middle East.
Volkswagen did not officially move into the Middle East until 2005, when it established the Middle East regional office in Dubai. That office was tasked with overseeing 11 markets, and eventually a parts center for both VW and Audi was built in Dubai’s Jebel Ali free zone.
But the van had captured imaginations throughout the Middle East long before then and we have managed to dig up some photographs as a testament.
In the 1980s, Siemens provided employees with a VW van. The company car was no shiny road demon with waxed wheels, but a cool VW van that is just as easy to fix as it is to break down.
A group of nine Cambridge graduates set off on a three continent road trip – as the Cold War heated up – in two VW Kombis. That storied journey took them through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and on to Africa, and a book piled high with images and tales of wild encounters is still available for purchase today.
More recently, a photographer discovered a bright yellow VW van in Lebanon. It’s full of junk, including large water bottles, yet it somehow stands out among the other debris with a proud round face. And another came across a VW Kombi in Egypt sporting black and white zebra stripes; it seemed poised for an epic road trip.
Although VW vans are a fixture of life in Brazil, often masquerading as school buses and lunch trucks, sources told NPR that they have to shut down production because new vehicular safety requirements dictate that by 2014, all new vehicles must have air bags.
Special editions will be created throughout the last year of production, so, if you have never taken a road trip in a VW Van, or you’re thinking about investing in a vehicle that will last forever, maybe think about heading to Brazil – even before the next Olympic Games.
:: NPR
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
We consider Sudan to be in Africa and not part of the Middle East. Or are we missing something?
Whoever wrote this article must be kidding. Vw Pullman (bus) was the only public transportation car during the early sixties of the last century in Khartoum, Sudan. They are still around but only as private cars. I own a blue and white 1979 model that is in semi-perfect condition, together with my white 1964 bug.