End of the Road for VW Microbus

Volkswagen AG will end production of its venerable Microbus this year when the last factory that makes the iconic minivan VW's plant in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil finishes building the final 600 units.

VW has sold 6.2 million of the vehicles since the Microbus debuted in Germany in 1950. Sales in the American market, where the little minivan became known in the 1960s as the "Hippy bus," ended in 1979.

Safety and emission standards pushed the Microbus out of the U.S. But VW continued to produce the van, also known as the Kombi, for other markets. Now tighter safety regulations in Brazil notably those requiring antilock brakes and front-seat airbags by Jan. 1 will knock out production entirely.

Kombis are still powered by a rear-mounted engine. But late-model versions have switched from the earlier van's air-cooled engine to a water-cooled, 1.4-liter inline 4-cylinder engine that meets South American emission standards.