MySpace Video: VW Microbus is better than you thought

Have you seen those Toyota commercials where the Tundra does impossible-looking stuff? Well, here's some news, Tundras suck. They get brake problems and aren't even really Japanese. What you got there is an American truck without the self-esteem.

On the other hand, the modest Microbus, is still a hardcore steel box that you just can't kill. Check out this amazing video from MySpace. Let's assume, for fun, that the VW in the video still works fine after a jump and a splash.

As for the future of the Microsbus, Volkswagen scrapped plans to produce a retro-rehash of the Type 2/Transporter VW van based on the 2001 VW Microbus Concept - in the spirit of the new Beatle.

So, for now, there's little hope for the man who wants a van that's fun too with no Mystery Machine contenders coming our way.

VW GTI Convertible (I mean, Cabrio) - Make it, Make it, Make it!

Notice, we haven't even mentioned Frankfurt because that stuff only effects super rich people looking for a 1million euro Lamborghini etc. At Basic Transportation - we're pretty much about basic transportation. Which means, when a cool spin on a groovy hatchback comes along - we're gonna flag it up!

Remember the 80s GTI Cabrio, that somehow was all 'fun in the sun' without any of the girliness? Like the Miata, the Vdub was just too fast and fun to be a chick car. And so, we're taking a stand right now. If VW makes a GTI Cabrio again, it'll be too awesome to be for girls! (they already got the Beatle and the EOS.

Build it!

Hatchback Sales are Way Up. Uh....yay!

Here's a couple examples of hatchbacks that don't suck; The VW GTI, which exists and is great and the Dodge Hornet, which may or may not be getting made or not made in China or America, some say.

And, of course, there's the Fiat 500 which I hyped up so big a couple days ago that I don't feel the need to talk about it anymore.

Either way, according to the L.A. Times, which uses fancy 'sta-tis-tics', sales of hatchbacks were way up in July 07 while overall car sales were down. This could simply mean that the economy is crumpling a little faster than it seems and that the only cars people feel they can afford are small and cheap - The Nissan Versa is on the list of big winners...but then so is the not-at-all-cheap Mini. So it's not the crumbling economy. It must be that some people are seeing the up side of having something relatively roomy that's not too expensive and, of course, gets ridiculous gas mileage. We're talking in the 30mpg range for most of these rear-window-wipered bastards!

So maybe, slowly, the image of the 80s hatchback is slowly going away...slowly. The Dodge Omni, pictured above, is, unquestionably, the hatchback that ruined the word 'hatchback' for all cars with a hatched back the same way hitler ruined that little mustache for everyone. It was a horrendous piece of car crap but did help get Chrysler saved by Congress. It was also Motor Trend's 1978 Car of the Year - which just proves Motor Trend is bullshit. Let's root for cars like the GTI and the Mini to make hatchbacks not suck.

Ford, VW and Suburu Want You to Have Kids and go to Ikea.

That's an IKEA bookshelf. Take a good look at it. Does it arouse? Do you love it? Do you want to marry it? Well, you must. Because you, computer-savvy, middle-class person can't seem to get your fill. Piles upon piles of these combined with shopping at Costco and fertility pills that make you have quadruplets are apparently spurring on all the cars guys to start thinking cargo space.

Why else would a VW Getta 'Sportwagon', a new Suburu Impreza and a brand new Ford thing called the Flex all be debuting in New York. Yes, it's the most boring car show of them all, since it takes place on 'enemy territory' among those foot using, whale kissers. Wagons are plentiful!

The great thing about wagons that, unlike SUVs, they won't start being uncool one day. Since the 50s, surfers and, later, straight-up gangstas have made wagons cool.. The Flex shows some of that potential for being tweaked into coolness. Some custom paint (plenty of room to express yourself on a wagon). Some rims and a cargo area filled with subwoofers, longboards and a mattress - and you've got yourself a wagon that doesn't look like it's your mom's!

We actually like the Flex. It's a wagon that doesn't try to hard, and that's always meant 'classic'. Unfortunately, the Flex is Front Wheel Drive (FWD) - as in - not cool or sporty. It's got lots of glass, so it'll be light. Which is good. And it's got a shiny metal-looking thing on the tailgate - which is wagoony. It's even got a white roof like the FJ Cruiser. Yes, they're calling it a cross-over - but forget all that. Check out their (still not-quite-done) microsite for the Flex.

Check out some of these old school, rear-wheel drive wagons show how it's done.

The Ford Galaxie - a blood relative of the Flex. Notice the guy even shaved off the doorhandles along with the nice Woody Woodpecker touches. Matte paint and red wheels are enough to make this big, bad bastard kick ass!




The Chevy Caprice Wagon was massive with customisers. My guess, it was the 5.7L bad-ass sitting under the hood. Plus, you could bolt on 96' Impala SS parts. Plus these were cheap after just a couple years!


When dead people just plain refuse to stay dead - who is it that you might consider calling? You god damn right, it's the Ghostbusters and their 1959 Cadillac Ambulance - officially called the Ecto 1 - since it's 'ectoplasm' that ghosts are made of. Also check out the fiends at Grim Rides Hearse Society to see more of these awesome 'wagons'.

Selling Cars: Apparently not crucial in the car-selling business.
-Car companies don't just spend their time drawing cars and then making some. Let's look at what else they do.

Movie stars, charity events, yes, even blogs are part of the fight to shove a new car into your driveway. Product placement, champagne-soaked galas and children's events with not a child in sight are all crucial for maintaining the delicate business called automotive.

Not all these activities are a complete waste of that $199 a month we pay to lease our Getta….I mean….Chevy truck. Creating buzz and a genuine appearance of corporate goodwill is a major priority for manufacturers. In this, long awaited, rebirth of Basic Transportation, let's look at everyone's up to.

Look, here's Tom Cruise and Laurence Fishburne looking excited about MI3 on the roof of an Escalade. That's because GM are the official providers of cars for the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. To be fair, if you paid to see MI3, good chance you think the current Impala is pretty nifty too.

The sponsorship is ideal because everyone knows that no American craves a 6.2 litre V8 more than New Yorkers. And with the gobs of media coverage the Tribeca Film Festival garners across the nation, there's no doubt that having the almost-convincingly-straight Cruise and the not-quite-popular-since-Matrix Fishburne stand on the Escalade is the perfect thing for GM to do.

This is money that could be used making more Solstices. The HHR is a great use of an existing platform, whereas middle-aged celebrities on a Cady isn't. Instead, getting involved with the TFF is as uninspired an idea as the Cobalt.

Dodge, on the other hand, are mingling the regular folk! A fantastic idea that's made even better with some 'amateur' snaps springing up on Autoblog. The Challenger concept, just debuted at Detroit in January is now making surprise appearances. To check out what the muscle car buying public thought, some Dodge guys showed up to a California cruise night to cheer up so real car fans. Needless to say, no one jumped on the roof.

In case there was any doubt, people love cars like this and they must have loved seeing the retro concept. It’s hard to believe that starting with a car that was made already, thirty-something years ago is even allowed in the car designer handbook - but the success of the current Mustang after years of ponycar wannabes from Ford changed the rules.

The Challenger is a lot truer to its roots that the current Charger or even the Camaro Concept. There is, however, one car that’s looked pretty much the same since day one, sometime around D-day, in WWII. That’s right, it’s the Jeep - CJ, TJ, Wrangler or Renegade, there’s only one Jeep that comes to mind when someone says Jeep. It’s the Jeep. And Jeep continued to break new ground in product placement since the last century, striking deals with video game producers (and, in Tony Hawk‘s case, stars) to make sure that Jeeps stay at the front of our mind and associated with the word ‘Jeep‘. While the latest Unlimited has little to do with WWII, that’s no reason those patriotic feelings shouldn’t be nourished.

That's why Jeep struck a deal with Electronic Arts to feature a Willys Overland in next year’s sequel to Medal of Honor, called Medal of Honor Airborne. The Jeep will be able to go places other game vehicles can’t and be used as a weapon’s platform. No word yet when the RPG-launcher edition Wrangler will announced.