Volkswagen soon expanded from the original van and window van to a luxurious nine-passenger bus called the Microbus. Other versions included a pickup truck, camper and ambulance. The addition of seats, carpets and sound insulation reduced mechanical noise to a distant thrum.
As might be expected with a small engine propelling a vehicle of this weight, its 36 horsepower gave very modest performance. Road & Track (12/’56) tested a VW Microbus and recorded top speed of 95 km/h (59 mph) with a best run of 96 (60). Acceleration to 96 km/h (60 mph), largely academic, was reported as 75 seconds. Zero to 80 (50) took 30.6 seconds. Fuel economy was a respectable 26 to 29 mpg U.S. (31 to 35 Imperial).
Volkswagen had the minivan field almost to itself for over a decade until 1961, when Chevrolet and Ford brought out rival versions. Dodge followed in 1964. Chevrolet’s Corvair 95 Greenbrier, based on the Corvair car, had a flat air-cooled six in the rear. The Ford Falcon-based Econoline van’s conventional front engine, rear-drive layout placed the inline six between the two front seats. Both added pickup versions.
The arrival of VW’s American challengers invited comparison. Car Life magazine (9/’61) conducted a three-way test of the VW, Greenbrier and Econoline. They found that while similar in concept, each had its own character. The VW was the most economical, the Greenbrier the most comfortable and the Econoline the fastest. The VW (now at 40 horsepower) could barely reach 96 km/h (60 mph), the Chevrolet 113 (70), and the Ford 121 (75).
Acceleration was equally leisurely. Although the VW was not rated from zero to 96 km/h (60 mph), the Greenbrier did it in 32.2 seconds, and the Ford 25.8.
Volkswagen’s brilliant concept had pointed the way for the rest by providing the maximum carrying capacity in the most compact of dimensions. It was a practical, economical workhorse that was at the opposite end of the automotive spectrum from the garish, chrome-laden, finned station wagons of the ’50s and ’60s.
This unpretentious, almost anti-establishment machine was embraced by the hippie/beat movement of the ’60s. Cheap, economical and easy to repair, it became the quintessential counter culture car. Sometimes it was even a home, usually decorated with flowers and phosphorescent colours.
While Chrysler and others took minivan leadership from Volkswagen, it has the satisfaction of knowing that it established the genre back in 1950.
