A Kombi fan for life
Tuesday, 24 September 2019
OPINION: When it comes to vehicles that have achieved cult classic status in popular culture, the Volkswagen Kombi is definitely at the top of the list. Kombis have appeared in more movies than you could possibly count, often playing a leading role. Think Little Miss Sunshine, Cars (remember Fillmore?), Almost Famous and even Back to the Future.
The movie that made me fall in love with Kombis was Field of Dreams, featuring a slightly shabby red bay window van. Kombis have featured in numerous music videos (even our very own Feelers used one in the video for Fishing for Lisa), and countless advertising campaigns.
They became synonymous with surfing, their length making them perfect to carry all manner of boards with room left over for a crew of mates.
The hippy movement embraced the Kombi van for its affordability spaciousness (enough room for a love-in) and complete defiance in the face of the typical highly powered American cars of the time.
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Officially known as a Volkswagen Type 2 (its curvy older sister The Beetle is the Type 1), the word kombi is the abbreviation of the German word 'Kombinationsfahrzeug' (you can see why they abbreviated it), which means 'combination vehicle', alluding to the Kombis versatility. First rolling out of the factory in Wolfsburg in 1950 with its flat front and split screen window, Kombis were used as passenger micro-buses, ambulances, pick-ups and even fire engines.
In 1967, Bay Window kombis were introduced, which were roomier, supposedly more powerful and had such luxuries as disk brakes and a 90 degree opening door.
The last Kombi was produced in Germany in 1979, with Brazil continuing production until 1994. No Kombis were produced as campers, but were converted by companies such as Westfalia, Devon and Sunliner.
Mostly everyone has everyone has a childhood memory of a vintage vee-dub.
Maybe it was travelling in the kid-sized storage space below the back window (Kombi campers and Beetles) before seat belts were mandatory, maybe buzzing up mountains on ski expeditions (beetles) or perhaps your 20s were spent tripping around Europe in a kombi camper. If you or your parents didn't have an old school Volkswagen, chances are an auntie or a friend's mum or dad did.
Air cooled, fumy and prone to rust like no other vehicle on this earth, often slow and with the handling of a giant bread tin, the magic of a Kombi is possibly a little hard to explain to the unconverted. With an ownership history that has included three Beetles, one Kombi and (now) one Kombi and one Beetle, it is fair to say I fall into the converted category.
Like a nasty addiction, I have tried on numerous occasions to break, I remain a VW girl and have surrendered to the fact that I will be until the day I die (probably of cold or petrol fumes). My husband has the patience of a saint. My kids fall into the converted category (not surprising since they have been carted around in one even when I was so pregnant with them, I could barely fit behind the steering wheel).
My first Beetle was a 1966 1200 named Veronica. She was a bit rusty and the door would sometimes fling open when I went around corners. She was perfect. I then owned two super beetles over the next few years, both highly geared and temperamental, but beautiful and considerably faster than my first.
My current Kombi, which I will never ever part with, is a deep butter yellow 1975 Bay Window automatic, converted by Sunliner in Melbourne. She leaks a bit of oil (my mechanic likes to say cheerfully that 'if they don't leak oil, they don't have any oil in them'), and goes from 0-90 in about 10 minutes. She is not a show car, and she protests in cold weather: but that's OK, because so do I. We shall grow old disgracefully together.
What is the ever-growing attraction? For all their faults, vintage Volkswagen buses are best described as happiness on wheels. There is something about the buzz of the engine, the clean and voluptuous lines and the quirky character that is unique to each and every vehicle. When driving one, everyone smiles and waves, and we are (mostly) forgiven for our slow speeds.
A Kombi van is a rusty reminder of simpler times, a nostalgic piece of history that goes well beyond motoring.
Claire Inkson is an award-winning New Zealand photographer and blogger.