Welcome to Found Around The District, where we highlight fascinating cars we find around a city where people are too busy fighting through traffic and hunting for parking to drive anything interesting: Washington, D.C.
How great are old Volkswagen vans? They look awesome, they were in production for about 400 years, and people can live inside them. Which they did. And maybe still do, in some cases.
The Type 2 van is just as iconic as the Beetle, and unlike VW's smaller car, it's actually still being built if can believe it — in Brazil, where it will be phased out at the end of this year due to increased safety regulations. That's bullshit if you ask me. Look at that thing! It's a tank. How much safer can you get?
I've run into a few Type 2 buses here in D.C., but this light brown one I found not far from my local Safeway was the nicest one by a mile. It's a Westfalia camper conversion and besides a bit of rust on the wheels, it was in fantastic shape overall. I especially loved the yellow-orange plaid seats inside. Who needs a GTI when you have one of these?
Unlike Raphael or Jason, I'm not a Volkswagen expert, so I can't really tell what year this one is. Judging from the bumpers, the interior, and the van's overall quality, I would guess late 1970s. But I know some of you guys can tell when it's from. Super Jalopnik Bonus Points to those who figure it out.
Do you have any Volkswagen van stories?