Basic Transportation

Fear on Wheels: Why the Astro Van is the scariest car on the road

2011-09-27T22:32:00.000+01:00

Freeway, surface street, I don't care. If I see an Chevy Astro Van (or GMC Safari for that matter) I'm running like hell. Here's 5 fantastic reasons why:

They stopped making them in 1996, which makes the average price of one now days somewhere around $800. I inherently don't like or trust anyone who wants a seven passenger vehicle that costs this little. It's not that I don't trust broke folks. I AM broke folks. It's just that there's a whole lot of you in there and this brings me to my next point.
The Astro and Safari ONLY came with tinted windows. You could be alone, you could be with a dozen of your buddies. I don't know and I don't trust that I don't know.
A 25 year old American vehicle will have some mechanic problems. No, scratch that, it will have constant mechanical problems. Not to mention that if you spent 800 bucks on a truck, you're unlikely to be Mr. Maintenance. If this big lunch box on wheels breaks down in front of me on the freeway, I don't like my odds.
It's fricken shady looking. End of. There's way more chance that, at this point in its life, the Astro has turned into the older son's shaggin' wagon or mobile stonatorium rather than shuttling kids around soccer practice. Together with all the pieces above, we can be sure that the driver of an Astro Van is up to no good.
For all its crappiness, these vans are actually built on an S10 pickup chassis. That means 4.3L V6 made of indestructibleness, rear-wheel drive and enough heavy metal to drive through a wall. Compared to today's flimsy, plastic, cup-holder laden front-wheel drive vans - the Astro is an urban assault vehicle ready to flee from crime scenes or haul stolen goods across the country.

More than any old van, the Astro now represents sheer, people-carrying menace. If you see one, don't get close. There's nothing good going on inside.

Small Businesses need small vans - yo, where are they?

2010-08-04T20:48:00.000+01:00

If you found this, you're a van man. Most hits this site gets is for van-related stuff. I don't really care that much about vans, but my dad does. He drives one every weekday, full of heavy equipment, tools, van stuff. He drives a Sonoma, but he used to drive an Astro. Why do I care, Alex? Because if you want a small van in North America, you're essentially screwed. Most of the vans at your shopping disposal will be huge.

I know most van radios are tuned to Conservative talk radio and I know that people who listen to Conservative talk radio don't like Europe. And yet, in Europe your van can be as small or as big as you like. The most popular van remains the Ford Transport. Not the front-wheel drive Transport Express. In Europe, you can buy tiny hatchbacks that are all set to take your small amounts of stuff around town. The one pictured is a Fiat, but most of the Euro brands will sell you one of these.

But I have a whole lot of crap and also Europe is socialist, you say. Peel the Bush Chaney sticker off your pickup shell and have a look at all the van combination you could be enjoying with 5 different sizes of Renault Vans. I promise you someone will be desperate to buy that link. But at the moment, it goes to Renault's official van site. And it will make the American van driver drool.

Why can't you buy that many van combinations in America? Anybody's guess. Mine is that when SUVs became popular, van makers couldn't rely on Joe Plumber or my dad repairman for their profits. Vans like the Astros or the Ford Aerostar wanted to sell families expensive, cushy vans. Selling my dad a shell with a V6 and rear-wheel drive wasn't a money maker. So instead, they made you get a pickup or an SUV. Now, if you go around in a white box all day, your choices are almost none-existend. Huge Chevy Sonoma, huge Dodge Sprinter or Huge Ford 250-prison-van-thing.

Let's start a van petition in the comments!

New Jaguar XJ falls victim to BMW 7-Series Syndrome

2010-08-01T18:45:00.000+01:00

There's something about a Jaguar. It's often the automobile of the world's most interesting man, or at least the Equalizer. They've always looked about the same and you've always assumed that the driver was the kind of guy to always wear a suit and often pack a gun. He carried a Zippo and a hip flask and women wanted him because they could never tame him.

And then this thing came out. You can see images of the new 2010 Jaguar JK here (google images) and when you do, you won't like them. Not because the new JK isn't good looking, because it is, somewhat, pretty, but because it has nothing to do with Jaguars as you think of them. The new JK looks a lot like the latest, slopy-backed Audi A6 and even more, especially from the back, like the Citroen C6 pictured here. The man driving this new Jaguar JK could be an accountant, a dentist, a perpetrated of Medi-Cal fraud or even a woman!

The story is similar to what happened to the BMW 7 Series. The older, squarer big sedan was understated, purposeful and single-minded - it was perfect as the star in The Transporter - a movie that's otherwise bad in every way. However, the new BMW 7 is like someone's drunk dad. The icon of manly classiness that was the BMW 7 Series went way beyond loosening the bow-tie with its evening brandy - it bulged and rounded, like Elvis. Leaving it the same sad shell of its former self. Now this has happened with Jags too. Like when dad gets drunk, it's unrecognizable, discomforting. and undeniably uncool. So for all those who seek a car with mystery and an element of danger, along with a proper trunklid, the Mercedes S Class it is the best you're gonna do.

Why nobody cares about Saab's end except Swedes.

2009-12-21T13:40:00.002+00:00

You ever known anyone with a Saab. I'm special enough to have known a few Saab owners. They were never the sort of people that spent a lot of time choosing a car. Micheline Maynard at the NYTimes, makes an argument that Saabs were special and different and quirky. But I bet you anything the ones she's thinking of are from the 80s. The turbocharged, rugged euro hatchbacks that made a Saab special. And the cool picture here of the Saab prototype 92001, also jacked from NYT, is of from 1942 and sitting in a museum in Stockholm. Stockholm loves theirs Saabs like London loves its taxis and Jaguars or Germans think of their E-Class. It's what Sweden uses for Taxis and cop cars, along with, shocker, Volvos.

But hey, even though the key was in a fun place, Saabs always lacked a lifestyle to buy into, an aspirational element, an image. If I'm a young urban professional, I'll have a silver BMW. If I want a powerful, wild-man car, I'll pay the roughly 30K for a Mustang GT Convertible.Outdoorsy fun? Nissan Xterra. I'm boring and responsible: Lexus. For all the cars that could be had in Saab's price-range, all of them told the world just where you were at. 'I've got about 30 grand to spend on a car. My student life days are long behind me.'

The Saab never worked hard to establish who was supposed to buy one. OK, so we know Architects liked them and so did Seinfeld. Who else? People who liked grandma glasses around their $30 / £20K station wagon's headlights? At best, the newer Saabs look like 5-Series knockoffs. Just like Chevrolet, they lost their way and started looking like they were designed by committee - beige. So, sadly, we now loose another, if even slightly, unique car brand. But, just like Plymouth, Oldsmobile and Rover. We lost Saab long before its official death.

Police cars - it makes sense that they look scary

2009-11-14T00:41:00.002+00:00

Nothing's as bone chilling as a cop car coming up on you in the rearview. A harsh grille, spotlights and flashers hanging off of it like a cowboy's gun belt. Bull bars in case it needs to shove you out of the way, hurrying to protect and to serve.

There was a time when the big three competed just for your monthly payment but for the giants wads of cash cops spend on their cars. I've owned a cop car - an '89 Chevy Caprice. The radiator was twice as thick as the civilian Caprice I'd owned before. It had a transmission cooler, an oil cooler, beefed up suspension and 5.7 liters of law enforcing thunder. That a picture of it right here.

Then the caprice went away, replaced with the Tahoe. How'd that work out? Dodge / Plymouth had stopped selling cop cars back in the 80s and cops, feds and narcs were left with the cop-killing Crown Victoria.

Chevy made a half-assed pass at cop cars with the front-wheel drive Impala. And it was sad. New York cops use these cause they're cheaper and they don't get into chases.

But hey, now, the other guys are coming back to take the Crown Victoria's....crown. Dodge Chargers have taken over a number of places - by far the meanest, most Judge Dredd-looking cop car on the road. Chevy has announced they'll once again start making the best car ever made: the Caprice. And hey, it makes sense that GM makes cars for the government. The tickets you get from it will literally help pay for making it. You wanna think the cops won't have to pay too much to buy cars from the government. Ponder that.

I really don't have anything against Germans - Alex's Car Scheisse now ready!

2009-06-09T15:45:00.007+01:00

It's easy to just think I don't much care for Germany, if you watch my latest video efforts on Alex's Carmageddon. Alex's Car Scheisse (as it Sheisse porn - there's not an 'R' in it). In this one, I'm driving from Munich to Berlin, averaging 90MPH - in a very slow, Mercedes B Class.

It's not that I dislike Germany or Germans - the sausage in Munich and the Kebabs in Berlin would blow your very mind. That said, driving on the Autobahn ain't no 101 Freeway. I'd rather leave it up to the video series to tell you more. Do check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/LAMPGMovie

Alex's Carmageddon and this latest episode is also available on iTunes

GM: Not even the Volt can Save them. Chrysler - Last chance for Hornet

2009-06-01T00:20:00.002+01:00

GM is finally dead. For my thoughts about its demise, see the first-ever post on this blog. GM: Designing Disaster. Even the upcoming Volt, the car that may save the world, can't save GM from maple-sirrup-sipping puck slappers.

But maybe there's still some hope for Chrysler. I've mentioned it before, but the Dodge Hornet was always a good idea. It's the only small, American car anyone might possible begin to consider thinking about owning.

C'mon, Chrysler. GM didn't listen and now look.

Twitteri on Cars: The Twitter Auto blog post thing

2009-05-28T14:54:00.003+01:00

As everyone and, indeed, their mother - I now twitter. And, since I originally cooked this up as a way to help your juice, wet eyeballs on Alex's Carmageddon - my funny video series - my car tweet, as apparently we call these things - is called Alxs Carmageddon. But Alex, why isn't there an 'E' in your name. Because like everything else on Twitter, there's a tight limit on the characters you can use. So, you can't do what you do with your car blog. If I want to talk about the Swedish Koenigsegg - pictured, I better not and just mention Chevies. Car Twittering's in its infancy. Like with anything else car bloggish, you're best off following Autoblog and checking in with my Carmageddon Tweet to see how the filming, editing and posting is going. If you haven't watched, here's what happens: I go to places like Los Angeles (where I'm partially from) and Germany (where I don't like very much) and I show car culture at its purest - and review a car or two if I get around to it. I do an amazing Smartcar ForTwo Review - yes, video, in my first few posts L.A. MPG- discussing last year's fuel crisis as I go along. There's some laughs in it too.

My next effort, as you saw in a previous post, is Alex's Car Scheisser - shot on the Autobahn. You can follow the Alex's Carmageddon Tweet to see how it progresses!

New Prius? The Tuk Tuk craps on you!

2009-04-16T17:37:00.005+01:00

So you're already checking out the new Prius, huh? Oooh, it's so efficient, aaah, it doesn't have any personality to get in the way of the fuel savings! You're so wrong! What you should be looking at is the newly EPA-approved Tuk Tuk! Straight outta Thailand, the three-wheeler gets a ladyboy-groping 55 miles to the gallon! Stick that in your glory hole, Toyota!

With fuel-saving modifications like no doors, no airbags and the capability to haul sex tourists at a scorching 55 miles per hour - the Tuk Tuk is the future! As the Tuk Tuk USA website clearly proves - broken links, animated bugs bunny, side by side pickup truck comparison and all. But hey, at ten grand, that kicks the crap out of the Prius' 30,000 pricetag!

L.A. MPG: OutSmarted - the final word on the Smart ForTwo from Los Angeles

2008-12-16T00:10:00.006+00:00

It's been a finger bloodening, eye-bulging time. But, the latest and last episode of L.A. MPG: OutSmarted - part of my Alex's Carmageddon video production circlejerk - is finally here. After driving the Smart ForTwo around Los Angeles for a while, seventy-dollar-rental day, I come to a conclusion, driving it back to the rental place in Santa Monica (from the San Fernando Valley - 818 y'all! - where we started.)

What's my conclusioon about driving a Smart ForTwo around L.A.? Pretty sure you know how to find out! Plus, check out the monkey that drinks its own pee! Classic!

Watch out for Alex's Car Scheisser, coming soon and check out ALL the episodes of L.A. MPG on the YouTube channel or iTunes (below)

The Best Car Blog (this one) is now the best iTunes Car Podcast (or Vodcast if you prefer)

2008-11-29T23:31:00.003+00:00

Apparently, everyone and their mother has been obsessively watching Alex's CARmageddon and my first mini car movie Top Gear thing - L.A. MPG OutSmarted. YouTube has clearly had a hard time handling all these billions of foaming audiences. That must be why they say only like three people have watched the 2 videos I've posted so far. But, not to worry, if YouTube's not your cup of car awesome, you can now see this latest episode, featuring street interviews about the Smart ForTwo in Los Angeles - on iTunes! Eat that other car blog guys! Alex's Carmageddon is now an iTune that you can get by clicking on that button there - it launches iTunes and you can subscribe to get the latest videos in high quality on your iPod or iPhone or iPod Touch or whatever else you got for Hanakuh. And, obviously, it's totally free (some people I know though podcasts cost money - those people are dumbasses)

Or, I guess, if you're boring, you can still watch it here as a uTube. You can also subscribe with your Creative Zen MP3 player (i'd make fun, but I used to have one) OR pretty much any other way you want. Check out AlexsCARmageddon.com for all your options.

Video: L.A. MPG-OutSmarted Part I - Driving the Smart ForTwo in Los Angeles

2008-11-19T12:08:00.007+00:00

The Smart ForTwo has been around in Europe for like a decade. But, just like the last season of Friends to the French, the ForTwo is totally brand new to Americans. Los Angeles is a city known for big, bling, pimped trucks; supercars; hypercars; two-tone Cadillacs on hundred-spoke wheels, custom Hummers on thirties and phat rides on dubs.

The Smart doesn't really work with any of this. It's dishwasher-like dimensions get lots in L.A. traffic and people do look at you like you're helmet-wearing Special.

Check out my latest Alex's Carmageddon video podcast (vodcast) / YouTubentary / iTune as I drive the Smart ForTwo through the streets of Los Angeles and tell you what it's like. Plus more on this summer's fuel proce crisis and even the environment!

The next episode includes even more interviews, followed by a conclusion clip. Then we're done with L.A. MPG and moving onto Alex's Car Scheisser - my journey from Munich to Berlin on the fast road in the world....in what must be the slowest car in the world - the Mercedes A-Class.

Subscribe on YouTube or iTunes and keep up to date on the newest, Top Gear-wannabe, online car show at Alex's Carmageddon

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT ON ALL THESE - I know you've got that kind of time!

Where do old movie cars go?

2008-10-09T21:26:00.007+01:00

Did you know that Cheetah the Chimp from the original Tarzan movies is still alive and well, at 76, living in a mini paradise ranch in Palm Springs with his primate son? He's the world's oldest-ever chimp. Crappy comparison, but where do you think the Batmobile from the 1989 movie is? Don't know? Me neither. And, today, Jalopnik reports that the Ecto-1, the super awesome ambulance from Ghostbusters is for sale - AGAIN. I almost think I blogged about it two years ago when it was for sale to the current guy. At a meesly $27K, less than the price of a super-lame BMW 3 series, this piece of Automotive history could be yours.

But let's face it, what the hell would you do with it? Outside of Halloween, or maybe a really cool prom, you wouldn't commute to work in a massive, 6 litre, 60-year-old ambulance - I guess unless you actually busted ghosts for a living. And who'd pay for that? If there were a museum of these cars, I'd get kinda drunk and go to it. Then, the Ecto-1, all the Batmobiles, Herby and the awesome Mercury from the super-crappy, Stalone abortion that was Cobra could be setup in little stages, themed like the movies they're from. I'd like to see the Land Rover from Tomb Raider (much more-convincing actor than Angelina Jolie) and the Pacer from Wayne's World. Plus the Gremlin Limo from Wayne's World two (only reason I went to see that in the theater). I'd like to see all the cars from the Cannonball Run movies and I'd get my picture taken with Kitt (they used to have it at Universal Studios) and the A-Team van (that they also had).

The hearse from Six Feet Under? Hell, even the Suburban from the Sopranos (unremarkable, but I freaken love the Sopranos). And, yeah, the Gran Torino from Starksy and Hutch. And, yeah, dammit, the Mystery Machine - which, though a cartoon, is still special.

There's so many rich guys buying stupid old paintings and crazy stripper wives - won't one of you economy-raping bastards please buy all the old movie cars and start a museum? I will totally make the suggested donation!

Pure Car Sex - the fourdoor Lamborghini Estoque Concept

2008-10-01T20:59:00.005+01:00

There's cars you want to have sex in and cars you'd like to have sex with. Today, Lamborghini announced a car that's both! The Lamborghini Estoque Concept has four doors, so you can put very, very lucky people in the back. Finally, an Italian sedan to make the Maserati Quattroporte look like a Chrysler K Car. Expect to see this in front of really expensive hotels where amazingly bad things happen next year. Expect to see Maybach chauffeurs get put in their place. Expect to see strippers who aren't as hot as the car in the back. Don't be surprised if they don't mind being videotaped.

You can read all the techy specs on a real car blog. We just want to gawk at it and touch it.....do stuff to it - yeah, you like that, don't you, car.

Basic Transportation Car Blog goes Video - with Alex's Carmageddon and L.A. MPG

2008-09-10T18:13:00.002+01:00

Writing's dead, when you think about it. So, check out Basic Transportation's latest online-sibling!

Jaguar XK - Really cool or not-quite-for-dudes cool?

2008-07-09T00:20:00.004+01:00

The Jaguar XK is fast, comfortable, really Jaguary, compared to the Buick-like XF, for example. So why is it still not-quite-right? Is there just something less James Bond and more the-guy-who-cuts-his-hair about it? When you pull up next to one at the light, do you half-expect to see a woman behind the wheel? Or perhaps and older man and his...personal trainer riding shot gun?

The newer body style is 'gorgeous' in a museum-sculpture way, definately not a porn star way. Next to a TVR Sagaris or even an Alfa Romeo Brera, the Jag just lacks a certain masculinity.(my college paper)

But, maybe we're just trippin' - so you decide:

Opinion Polls & Market Research

The American Man Gets a New Van - and F'd in the Can

2008-04-16T00:24:00.006+01:00

Vans do lots of stuff. Or, at least, they carry lots of stuff. Stuff usually weighs a lot - tools, parts for other stuff, ladders to reach stuff up high. And, since the Eurostar and the Astro van met their doom, the van man has had to buy pickup trucks and camper shells.

With Ford killing off the Crown Victory Cop Killer, it means that anything big, like vans, with a V8 has to be replaced by something less big with smaller engines. A lot of car companies would get clever and base something on a Mustang. Instead, they're bringing the European Transit Connect to van-hungry Americans. But are repairmen, plumbers and deliverers or heavy stuff going to rush out to get this Eurovan?

Probably not. The Connect is Front-Wheel Drive (FWD). Even with a relatively-torquish, 1.8L Diesel, the idea of merging onto a freeway with a washing machine, compressors, socket wrenches and replacement washing machine motors on-board doesn't sound likely. Sure, the Europeans can carry their cheese, flowers and impressionist paintings around round-abouts and narrow city streets in Barcelona, Nice and Stafordshire - but the American van man needs rear-wheel drive and and triple-digit horsepower. In other words, if you see this van arockin' - actually, you just won't see this van doing much. Not anything that an HHR sedan delivery can't do while looking cooler.

So, as gas prices keep climbing, expect to pay much more for all your van-man needs, since he'll keep driving his pickup, waiting for someone to sell him a real, mid-size van.

A Cool Volvo? Thanks Galpin for your Custom C30

2007-12-01T03:03:00.001+00:00

If you were at the L.A. Autoshow - you were probably dissappointed. A lot of the same old without many debuts. Generally, a lot of plastic, already-available cars for close to $30K. It left us wanting a restored Chevy Malibu and one of those eight dollar Margaritas they were peddling in the convention center.

But, if you'd stopped by the Galpin booth next to the Garage Envy Ford GT display, you saw something you have never seen before. A customised / hot-rodded Volvo. And not just any safety-obsessed Ikea couch on wheels - but the C30.

Shocking the world with a radical use of flat paint (like the Lexus, flat black, FiveAxis concept but not). This thing was purple, had a Galpiny white racing stripe and massive, color-matched purple wheels with white walls. So, what it looked like was a lead sled from the 50s but on a cutting edge Volvo hatchback. The car appears in Galpin's 2008 calendar but it's still in the Basic Transportation official car - so we're not sure which month. A hatchback that looks fast but not 'import scene fast'? Awesome! What do you think about the fast and furious C30? Comment at will!

Fiat 500 coming to U.S. - But is U.S. ready? Autoblog Comments say 'Nope'.

2007-11-29T01:00:00.001+00:00

The Fiat 500 promises unbelievable gas mileage (an amazing 39.7mpg !!!), neat style and, according to Fiat, over 500,000 combinations of engines (3 not counting the Abarth tuned version), , colours, wheels and accessories can be had!

But reading the Autoblog comments to the 'Fiat 500 in U.S.' announcement shows that American folk aren't excited about almost-4o MPGs and an interior that looks like this (right).

And, just to show off their mighty car knowledge - lots of Autoblog commentators bring up the historically crappy quality Fiat's become known for. But, the truth, is if you've been into a Panda or Punto lately - not the freaken 80s - you know that a Fiat is made about as well as any other not-expensive car. A little engine noise but panel gaps smaller and straighter than any American (as-in, assembled in Mexico) car. You'll get a warranty - if you didn't, why would anyone buy an Evo, WRX or Viper?

This is, by the way, from people who drive cheap-plasticky-interior Chevies (this picture is a 2008 Silverado Interior) and recall-loving Fords (link to all Ford Recall notices). These are fine cars too - cause all new cars are not very high-quality so why not get 40mpgs and park in urban centers.

So, open your heart to the Fiat 500 -by 2010 - you're looking at 5 bucks a gallon but a quarter of Americans (according to our gas price poll) say

"I don't care how much gas costs, not even a little - I love my truck!"

Shit, Really? 22MPG Chevy Tahoe is L.A. Green Car of the Year

2007-11-29T00:45:00.000+00:00

There were electric vehicles (EVs), there were hydrogen cars, even a hybrid Nissan Altima. But who takes home the green gold? An eight-cylinder truck that gets 22 MPG on the highway! Don't get us wrong. We like the Chevrolet Tahoe a lot! But green car it ain't. If you're going over 33mph - you're using all 5.3 liters of V8 the big-ass Chevy's got to offer. GM clearly bought themselves a meaningless award that kinda mocks the whole gas price nightmare L.A. is actually in.

BMW hints new Isetta - Massive Balls or Vaporware Bullplop?

2007-11-29T00:09:00.000+00:00

Auto Express, UK's awesome car weekly is teasing us with a possible new Isetta from BMW. Like the New Beetle, New Mini and new Fiat 500 - it's another everyman car that history loves. Of course, like the other fake retro econocars - the above drawing seems to have door handles on the side. Already not very Isetta. But the rear-engine design will be retained (in this fantasy, might never happen scenario.)

Auto Express is telling us to wait until 2010 to hear more. They also raise the interesting point of the Isetta not really fitting into Bimmers 'Ultimate Driving Machine' thing. As gas prices keep skyrocketing like bastards in the U.S. - can new, tiny cars like the Smart, Fiat 500 and this thing be the future?

Penny a Day - Sponsor a Poor Kid or Fuel up Your Truck?

2007-11-28T23:57:00.000+00:00

Gas in Southern California is going up about a penny everyday. And there's rumors of $200 barrels next year! So, yet again, Basic Transportation whips out its gas price poll.

What's it going to take to get you into a Toyota Yaris, Scion tC, Honda Civic or Prius?

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Buck Pimps out an Enclave for the 'Urban CEO'. Sounds suspicious.

2007-10-03T08:08:00.000+01:00

If you really run a tech company, rap record label, hell, even an insurance company - you're not driving a Buick. But what if you want to spend 10 thousand dollars less than the price of an Hummer H2 - about 45 grand? Well, Buick has a suggestion they're debuting at the SEMA show. Autoblog has the details, but here's what we know. It's an Enclave, which is actually the least-sad Buick since the 93 Riviera - lowered, on big wheels and with a glued-on ground treatment that makes it look like a C student's Porsche Cayenne! And that's not bad! The 45 grand is the price of an Enclave, plus, let's say airbags, bumpers, sideskirts and rims. Let's say 50K - but you can build your very own 'Urban CEO Enclave' (it was better than calling it The Street Pharmacist Special.

Video: Oh My God, Your Car - The Hottest Ferrari Ever!

2007-10-01T07:06:00.000+01:00

Have you ever been like, 'screw you, people with nicer cars than mine. Maybe you worked harder in school, but I bet you just have rich parents'. We at Basic Transportation have. And that's why this video of a beautiful and exotic Ferrari 612 flaming like a charcoal barbecue makes our heart smile. And why is an expensive feat of engineering excellence catching fire anyway?

Think about that...

Good news! There's one 612 (just one!) on eBay for $200,000

MySpace Video: VW Microbus is better than you thought

2007-09-30T01:09:00.000+01:00

Have you seen those Toyota commercials where the Tundra does impossible-looking stuff? Well, here's some news, Tundras suck. They get brake problems and aren't even really Japanese. What you got there is an American truck without the self-esteem.

On the other hand, the modest Microbus, is still a hardcore steel box that you just can't kill. Check out this amazing video from MySpace. Let's assume, for fun, that the VW in the video still works fine after a jump and a splash.

As for the future of the Microsbus, Volkswagen scrapped plans to produce a retro-rehash of the Type 2/Transporter VW van based on the 2001 VW Microbus Concept - in the spirit of the new Beatle.

So, for now, there's little hope for the man who wants a van that's fun too with no Mystery Machine contenders coming our way.