This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
mfile.akamai.com
Mexico to Halt Sales of VW Bus
Updated on Nov 23 03:42PM
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The era of peace and love really is over: the Volkswagen van that took a generation on long, strange trips is going out of production in Mexico at year's end.
Sales are scheduled to halt at the end of December. And in Brazil, the only other place where the boxy VW bus is still being made, union officials say they suspect Volkswagen is planning to end production soon as part of cost-cutting measures.
The van, known in Latin America as the Combi, was introduced in 1950. Distinctive because of its air-cooled, rear-mounted engine, the van was last offered in 1982 in the United States as the Transporter.
It is being replaced in the VW lineup by the Eurovan, a more modern vehicle with a water-cooled front engine.
The demise of the old bus has saddened a lot of old hippies here, as Volkswagen conceded with full-page ads in Mexican newspapers that read ``Adios, Combi'' above a picture of a teary-eyed, aging flower-child in a tie-dye shirt.
``I think it's gonna be a big surprise for Volkswagen fans that they were still making them down there,'' said Ryan Price, editor of the magazine VW Trends. ``In the same sentence, I think there will be some remorse.
``It's the end of an era. It came to symbolize a certain sense of freedom, as if they could go anywhere.''
That was the basis of the bus' reputation in Latin America, which was a little different than in the United States, where it endures as a 1960s icon.
Multicolored paint jobs are uncommon here, and the vehicle is more prized for its sturdiness, seating capacity and high ground clearance - a must for dirt roads and mountain villages. |
