The Last VW Van

(Sao Paulo, Brazil)

Volkswagen’s last camper van will roll off a production line at a factory in Brazil on Dec. 20, the giant German automaker said Monday.

Van No. 1,200 – a special edition of the Type 2 Microbus, known in Brazil as the Kombi – will not be sold, but rather will remain as a display vehicle at VW’s plant in suburban Sao Paulo.

The Kombi, which debuted in Germany in 1950, has been manufactured in Brazil since 1957.

VW said that this departure from the vehicle market is due to a new Brazilian automotive safety law that requires, among other equipment, air bags.

At a press event Monday at the Sao Bernardo do Campo plant, the last in the world to assemble this model, workers took advantage of the occasion to say goodbye to the iconic vehicle, beloved of the world’s hippies.

I suggest the hippie movement continues to exist in the form of pick-a-place occupy movements which seemingly have little need for transportation. In any event, I predict the VW bus will become a collector'a treasure.