Customer Reviews

Volkswagen Transporter The First 60 Years

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As a historian for a Vintage Volkswagen Club and writing about the Volkswagen history in its newsletter I am always interested in seeing what others have to say about Volkswagen. While the subject covered in this book, the Volkswagen Tranporter, is comprehensevly coverd, with detailed information and pictures, the part that has has been most intersting to me was the description of the early years at Volkswagen and the many individuals involved. The writer has described these individuals very well and has not fallen for much of the erronious information that over the years has been common in the many books about Volkswagen.

This is another one of those "new books at the library" selections that just happened to strike my fancy when I saw it... Volkswagen Transporter The First 60 Years by Richard Copping and Brian Screaton. It's a coffee-table-sized book that covers the full history of the Volkswagen Van, from the first models to roll off the assembly line until today. Copping and Screaton do a very good job of combining both text and images, so by the end you have the complete story of the van, both down to the minute body specs and with pictures to show each change along the way.

For a VW fanatic, this would be a must-have book. The authors go into detail about how the idea of the Transporter came about, the struggles to get it out the door, and the personalities that shaped the vehicle over the years. For those of us who just fondly remember the "happy face" design, the images can take you down memory lane if you ever had the opportunity to ride in a VW Bus or go camping in one.

I personally didn't realize just how influential and groundbreaking the Transporter design was at the time it was introduced. It was a vehicle designed for a specific purpose... carrying cargo. No luxuries, no frills, just basic function with unique cargo-carrying design at the time. Over the years, VW added additional models to expand the line and target audiences. I didn't know there were specific models designed to be ambulances, hydraulic lift platforms, tipper trucks, and mobile work stations. And of course, the addition of passenger seats turned the Transporter into what was probably the original mini-van.

When you look at the models of today, they're sadly lacking in that distinctive look that made VW so easy to spot and recognize. But with this book, you can relive the glory days of the Volkswagen Transporter, Almost makes me want to put on a tie-dye shirt and play some Grateful Dead music... :)

Disclosure:

Obtained From: Library

Payment: Borrowed

I ordered this book around the middle of December and we're still waiting for it to arrive. I have no idea why it's taking so long and it was a real disappointment as it was a Christmas gift that's now extremely late.