There is no motor vehicle in history as immediately and thoroughly connected to the classic hippie as the Volkswagen Microbus. If popular culture wanted to represent the scruffy, long-haired, purple hazed, Moby Grape-loving denizen of the 1960s going mobile, a Microbus was usually called into duty.
At CES 2016, VW debuted a 21st Century version of that classic vehicle tricked out for the high tech, green-obsessed hipster of this era.
The original VW Microbus debuted in 1950 as the Type 2. (The classic Beetle was the Type 1.) Though it went through some generational evolution in terms of engine and in-car features, the classic image of the VW Microbus was built at least somewhere on the planet until 1975.
Its gasoline engine ranged in size from 1.1 to 1.6 liters, and the wheelbase stayed at 94.5 inches. The driver road over tiny, narrow front wheels, while the back offered a four or five door design. Other features were basic as the classic Microbus puttered forward with a manual transmission and scoffed at anything over a basic highway speed.
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The BUDD-e concept seen at CES 2016 is as advanced as its ancestor was simple. It’s sparkling white interior features an all-new, cutting edge multimedia interface with screens that can be tailored to suit the driver’s or passenger’s needs.
The Active Info Display offers three main sections: Drive, Control and Consume. Drive tracks navigation and POI. Control monitors the vehicle functions. Consume packs the infotainment. All of those potential functions would be controllable by touch, voice or gesture.
The Volkswagen BUDD-e Concept runs on two electric motors and a single battery. VW claims the new Microbus will run up to 373 miles on a single charge. More importantly, the German automaker reports the vehicle can charge to 80 percent in 15 minutes with their equipment.
If that’s all true and the vehicle survives past the concept stage into production, this could be more than a cute, gimmicky eco ride. Such technology could point the way to workable electric vehicles and the phasing out of gasoline engines.
All that’s keeping gas or diesel in business and electric on the fringe is expense, range and charge time. If enough mass produced, affordable cars can soon evolve to work like this BUDD-e Concept – running hundreds of miles before recharging in a little longer than a traditional fill-up station visit — electric will be in business full time.
