No more VW campervans

It's the end of the road for VW campervans: Safety rule changes in Brazil stop production of 1960s iconic vehicle

  • Brazil the last place in the world still making the motoring icon
  • Volkswagen said production will end on December 31 because of new vehicle safety regulations in the country
  • Rules state every vehicle must have air bags and anti-lock braking systems
  • Commemorative special series with a production run of 600 will be made
  • More than 10 million vans have been produced worldwide since the van was introduced in Germany 63 years ago, 1.5 million of those in Brazil


It carried hippies through the Sixties before becoming a workhorse across the developing world.

But the long journey of the VW camper van is finally coming to an end.

Brazil is the last place in the world still producing the vehicle known by aficionados as the ‘bus’, but Volkswagen has said production will end there on December 31.

More than 10million of them have been made since the model was introduced in Germany 63 years ago. In Brazil, 1.5 million have been produced since 1957.

The vans were called  the Type 2, because they were the second type to be offered by car maker Volkswagen, the first being the Beetle.

In Britain and the US during the 60s and 70s, partly because it was cheap, the Type 2 became linked with youth culture.

Fans of the machine said its mechanical failures only reinforced its charm and, because its engine was so simple, it was easy to fix, imparting a deeper sense of ownership.

Die-hard British enthusiasts still gather every year for the annual VW Festival near Leeds.

Fans include actor Martin Clunes  who owns two campers – a rare black one with a bay windscreen, and a navy and white split-screen model dating from 1977.  He said: ‘There’s something so self-contained about a camper. Driving one is like putting on a comfortable pair of old slippers.’

Formula 1 racing driver Jenson Button has owned two – a red and white model from 1956 and a gold-coloured 1970 Volkswagen Kombi.

Jamie Oliver was less impressed. In 2005, he drove around Europe in a 1959 Samba version of the machine for the Channel 4 television series Jamie’s Great Escape.

He said: ‘To be honest, it was a complete pain. It was towing a heavy trailer, so perhaps it’s not surprising that it broke down several times.’

In poorer regions like Latin American and Africa, the vehicle has continued to be made long after production ended in the UK in 1967.

In Brazil its uses are perhaps not as romantic– it is used by the postal service to haul mail, by the army to transport soldiers, and by funeral directors to carry corpses.

Brazilians also convert their vans into rolling food carts, setting up on street corners for working-class lunchtime crowds.

Production in Germany was halted in 1979 because the van no longer met European safety requirements.

Now safety regulations that come in to force from next year mandating that every vehicle in Brazil must have air bags and anti-lock braking systems will stop production there.

A commemorative special series with a production run of only 600 units will be the last VW camper vans to be made.

VW unveiled a new version of the camper van at the 2011 Geneva Motor show, but it never went into production.

Damon Ristau, director of the documentary film ‘The Bus’ about van fanatics, said: ‘The van represents freedom. It has a magic and charm lacking in other vehicles. It’s about the open road, about bringing smiles to peoples’ faces when they see an old VW van rolling along.’
 

Vocabulary:

the end of the road for stg = the point where it is not possible to continue with an activity - el fin del camino por algo?

safety* - seguridad

to b_____ - frenar

w________ (adj,adv) - mundial, en todo el mundo

a journey - un viaje

to come to an end - llegar a su fin, finalizar
(expression) All good things must come to an end.

a f______ - un fracaso

to reinforce - reforzar, reafirmar

c____ (n) - encanto

the e_____ - el motor

ownership (n) - propiedad

d__-____ (adj) - supporting stg in a very determined way and refusing to change ??

to g_____ - reunirse, juntarse

a bay-window - una ventana panorámica

a w_________ - parabrisas

split - separado

to date from - datar de

s_______ - zapatillas, pantuflas

to loosely translate as ... - traducir de manera aproximada

a must-have = an object that many people want to have  un imprescindible?

c________ - actualmente

affordable - asequible, razonable, posible
to afford - permitirse

a pain - un pesado

to t__ - remolcar

a trailer - un remolque

to b____ ____ - averiarse

to haul = to pull stg heavy with difficulty - transportar, arrastrar

a corpse - un cadáver

to s__ __ (un negocio) - establecer, montar

a c____ - una multitud

to come into force = when rules start being used - entrar en vigor

to unveil = to show for the first time - desvelar

to l___ - carecer, faltar

to roll along = to move on wheels - rodar?

Complete the missing words above. They are all taken from the text and are in order.

*Confusing words

Safety v Security
 
This is a tricky one to explain.

Security suggests protection of a person, building or country against dangers such as crime or attack.
  • Airport security is much stricter now than it was say ten years ago.
  • He works as a security guard in a shopping mall.
  • The thief was caught thanks to the security cameras.
  • The President said the new measures were for reasons of national security.
Security can also suggest free from worry.
  • I'd choose job security rather than a pay rise.
  • Most people don't have the financial security that they had even five years ago.

Safety means that you are free from harm or injury.
  • For your safety, we recommend that you keep your belts fastened during the flight.
  • The government has launched another road safety campaign to try to reduce the number of accidents.
  • Police are concerned for the safety of the missing teenager.
  • The authorities closed the restaurant for health and safety reasons.

Secure(ly) v Safe(ly)
  • Every night he checks that all the doors and windows are secure.
  • Many people think that buying things on the internet is not secure.
  • She doesn't feel secure in her relationship.
  • Make sure your seatbelt is fastened securely.
  • I don't feel safe walking through that neighbourhood, especially on a dark night.
  • Have a safe journey. Call me when you get there.
  • Don't take chances. You should also have safe sex.
  • Drive safely! There is no hurry to get there.

Safe and sound - sano y salvo
  • The missing mountain climber turned up safe and sound.
Better safe than sorry - mejor prevenir que lamentar, hombre prevenido vale por dos. Are these expressions the same thing?
  • Take your mobile with you. You might need it. Better safe than sorry.
  • He got vaccinated before travelling to Africa. He thought he'd be better safe than sorry.

Sure is seguro but in the sense of certain.
  • I'm not sure where I'll go for my next holiday.

Do you feel nostalgic for anything?

Comments

Rafael Oncina said…
Hi Graham! This is Rafael. First of all, congratulations for your amazing Blog. I've been reading some of your posts, which are as interesting as useful to learn english.

About this theme, It was surprising to know that the legendary van of VW was still producing until 1 month ago. Also, I find useful the apporpiate use of safety and security.

And to answer the question, I don't feel really nostalgic for any particular thing. As William Shakespeare said "What’s past is prologue".
Graham said…
Hi Rafael,

Thanks. I hope that you make good use of it.

This is.... we use to introduce other people. You should say It's Rafael.

I've been reading some of your posts, which are as interesting as they are useful, to learn english.

About this topic, it was surprising to know that the legendary VW van was still being produced until 1 month ago.



I have never had a VW campervan but there was a time that I could imagine myself travelling around in one.

I can't remember the last time that I saw one.

Jose Romero said…
Hi Graham! I´ve read the article about pollution problems in Madrid and the production of VW campervans.
On the one hand I agree with the measure because I think that it is completely necessary for "improve" the world and the world will be more healthy. However, on the other hand I understand people who work in Madrid and they live outside. This people can annoy because they need more time for go to the job everyday.
Secondly, I´ve read the article about VW campervans and I didn´t know that Volvswagen has produced recently. I thought that they was produced a few years ago. In my opinion the company shouldn´t stop the production because VW campervans are very beautiful vehicle and they have his own style. VW campervans are a iconic vehicle in the world.
Graham said…
Hi José,

I was sad to read that they were going to stop making VW campervans but unfortunately people prefer 4x4s today.


On the one hand I agree with the measure because I think that it is absolutely necessary to "improve" the world and the world will be healthier. However, on the other hand I understand people who work in Madrid but live in the outskirts. These people can get annoyed because they need more time to get to work everyday.

I´ve also read the article about VW campervans and I didn´t know that Volkswagen was still being produced. I thought that they they had stopped production a few years ago. In my opinion the company shouldn´t stop production because VW campervans are very beautiful vehicles and they have their own style. VW campervans are iconic vehicles in the world.