A Bit O' Magic

[The Bustache]

We are certainly not the first people to discover the joy of VW Bus ownership.  Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the open road in a combi and have experienced the magic.  The earth-shaking rumbling of the engine, the reverberation of its “aerodynamic” body responding to the wind, the excitement of accelerating from 0-60 in 11 minutes… What?  This doesn’t sound like the enchanting encounter alluded to before?

You’re right.  It doesn’t.  But it is.  I promise, it is!  And it’s a truth that bonds all minibus owners in an inextricable sister & brotherhood.

What makes driving a bus so special?  Owning a bus is like finding the automobile version of “man’s best friend.”  There is a reason why, in the animal world, dogs have been crowned with this enviable moniker.  They hold a certain unconditional love that humans are just not capable of.  You can just see their desire to please all over their faces… heck, usually all over their entire body.  They will do everything they can to not let you down.

A VW Bus wants to do the same.  It wants to please you.  It wants to run.  It wants to take you on adventures.   It wants to go where you go, and it can’t wait to bring you home.  Like bringing a dog to the park, it breaks down social barriers. It makes it easy to meet people and gain insight into their lives.  It makes you feel connected to the whole wide world.

And in a world where cars have been anything but our allies, let alone our friends, it is refreshing – no, magical! – to discover a vehicle that will struggle to drive until it’s last breath.   Although, it is inevitable that you will have to fix, replace, and/or pay some eager mechanic, you have a sense that the bus deserves it.  As a friend, it’s the least you can do show your appreciation for its loyalty.

VW Buses are the little engine that could.  But instead of thinking it can, it just does.  And if that’s not the stuff of fairy-tales, I don’t know what is.