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Caleb Kraft decorated his 1977 VW Microbus with a mural of an “octophant,” an elephant head with a trunk and tentacles! That’s not all -he installed handmade stained glass in the van as well. So if you see a Microbus with stained glass and an elephant inside, you know who it is. Or continue reading for a video of the project.
I spotted this Volkswagen Beetle today. It could only be improved upon by hooking it up to a matching high-rise Beetle trailer.
This ain't your mail carrier's stodgy mail truck. Volkswagen has teamed up with the German Mail Service to design this sleek electric mail van called the eT!
The van's good look isn't all that the eT! has going for it: it's also an autonomous van that can follow behind the mail carrier as he or she walks down the sidewalk delivering mail.
Fast Company has the details: Link... as far as we know, this is the first delivery vehicle that can follow the delivery person as he walks from house to house and drive over on demand (these modes are called "come to me" and "follow me"). This seems like it would be incredibly dangerous, however, until the technology is perfected. Just one wrong move, and the delivery truck could injure the mail carrier, or that pesky dog on the route.
If the driver is wary of having a truck follow them around, the vehicle can also be controlled via a joystick in the passenger’s seat. According to Volkswagen, "This makes unnecessary walking movements around the vehicle a thing of the past." Unnecessary walking movements are not what’s hurting global postal services, but the eT! could help boost productivity.
Paul McGee spotted this Volkswagen Beetle at the Belladrum Festival, an annual music fair held in Scotland. On the atmosphere of the event, McGee wrote “Brilliant small festival for families though, I’d heartily recommend it.” Link -via Colossal | Photo: Paul McGee
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Sadly, this is not a functional mecha. That’s a pity, because it would be awesome to drive around town in a Spider Bug. Web Urbanist has a roundup of fifteen Spider Bugs around the world erected by various artists. This particular one is outside a Jehovah’s Witnesses kingdom hall in Oklahoma.
Link -via Dude Craft | Photo by Flickr user meltedplastic used under Creative Commons license
My one-year-old likes to rip pages out of magazines and shove them in her mouth, and now, thanks to Volkswagen, she might actually get something edible the next time she does that. VW South Africa’s “Eat the Road” campaign places pages made of “glutinous rice flour, water, salt, propylene glycol, FD&C colour, glycerine” in publications like Auto Trader with the slogan “Eat the Road. Seriously, eat it.”
Have any brave souls out there given this a shot yet?
These Dutch automotive engineers chopped up a Volkswagen Golf and it became the Mini-Golf. Then they added roll bars and it became the Rollgolf! See more videos at mastermilo82′s YouTube channel. Link -via Everlasting Blort
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Got an old Volkswagen "Hippie Van" Type 2 Bus you’re not using? Why not turn it into a pool table? Billiards Forum has more photos of this unusual pool table: Link – via Auto Motto
The personal home, a project that began in 2003 is a 900 square foot, 3 story livable home inspired by the Bug, by builder Markus Voglreiter . The 36 year old master builder spent £750,000 to create the 3 story structure which is based on the original Beetle produced by Porsche in 1935.This unusual homage to the VW Beetle, not only exists as a personal residence built in 2003, but inspired a larger version four years later that is now a restaurant and bar by the same builder.
I’ve never wanted to live in a car but Voglereiter’s house and reataurant may have changed my mind. The photos are fabulous.
In the 60s and 70s, various recreational vehicle manufacturers mounted small motorhomes on the Volkswagen Beetle chassis. It was called the “Bugaroo” or “Beetle Minihome”:
The MiniHome is a tour de force of ergonomic design and space-saving ingenuity, if one can get past the stereotypical 70s Harvest Gold & Avocado Green interior color scheme – the decor is up to the buyer, at least. At 125 inches long, 79 inches wide and 73.25 inches high, the camper offers copious living space that includes a full-size bed in the cabover section. Other VW RV amenities include a slide-out butane stove and stainless steel sink (above), a 50-lb icebox and a closet.
Web Urbanist has a large gallery of pictures and links to technical information about these unusual RVs.
Link via DudeCraft | Photo: Fred W. Truman
Yes, this is a viral ad by Volkswagen, but this giant slide in a Berlin subway still looks like a lot of fun! Sure beats going down the stairs …
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Going Underground’s Blog
Previously on Neatorama: Turning a Staircase into a Piano
In an effort to position itself as a green company, Volkswagen has introduced a folding electric bicycle.
This folding, pedal-free electric bike designed by VW, made its debut at Auto China 2010 and is designed to fold up and fit in your spare tyre comparment. The Bik.e is capable of 12.5 miles on a full charge with a top speed of 12.5 mph, and it’s designed to draw a charge from the car itself so you won’t need to worry about plugging it in.
The idea is not particularly to use the bike for emergency breakdowns; it’s more for helping you reach a destination that the car alone cannot access, or where parking is not available where you want to go. Apparently this is not just a concept – the bikes will be marketed, although pricing information has not been released. A video at the link shows the bike in use.
Link.
This Volkswagen commercial is about one effort to get people to take the stairs instead of the escalator (presumably for the exercise). The company turned a staircase at a Stockholm subway station into a piano and videotaped how travelers responded.
via Urlesque | Commercial Credits
