Volkswagen revolutionised the transport world, not just once with the launch of the people’s car, the Beetle, but a second time around with the Type 2. Initially launched in 1950, the Type 2, more commonly known in this part of the world as the Kombi, took the concept of a forward control vehicle and made it affordable for the masses. The design and price weren’t the only success stories for Volkswagen though, the marketing was a hit too.
It was likely a combination, or perhaps a kombi-nation, of these three things that set the Kombi on a path to becoming the global automotive icon it is today. It was so successful that production continued in various forms right up until 1975. In today’s world where manufacturers run models for an average of six years before re-tooling, a 25-year production run is almost incomprehensible. That run was no doubt in part due to the vehicle’s popularity which ramped up throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The hippy movement was closely aligned with the Kombi thanks to their easy to work on design, low cost, and people-carrying capability. So
