Earlier today was the “drive experience” for the new 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz, which is just PR talk for we got to drive the thing. I’m not allowed to discuss my thoughts on what driving it was like until the 21st, but I can show you a bunch of other interesting cars I happened to drive by in Petaluma, California, one of which demonstrated a very odd coincidence, a strange confluence of chance and location that I firmly believe means something, though I have no idea what.
The place I drove by seems to be The Garage, a west Petaluma repair shop that specializes in VW, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volvo motor-conveyances. The place caught my eye because they had a large number of Vanagons and other VW buses out there, so I figured it’d be great to get some pictures of this re-born bus among some of its notable ancestors.
The people at The Garage were nice enough to let me take some pictures of the interesting cars there, and it’s my sworn duty to show you interesting cars, so here we go.
Oh, but first! Let me show you the coincidence! So, back in 2022, I went to Copenhagen to drive the ID.Buzz short-wheelbase version when it was launched for the European market. While there, I happened to see this charming little Citroën 2CV Charleston, and took a picture of the Buzz next to the 2CV:
That’s fun, right? Well, look what I saw when I stopped in Petaluma:
Yes, another two-tone gray Citreoën 2CV Charleston!
What are the odds? Do ID.Buzzes have some strange ability to attract Citroën 2CV Charlestons, or are they, perhaps just drawn to them? Either way, it seems like a pretty good selling point and I hope VW really hypes this up in the marketing.
Most of the vehicles parked at this garage were VW Type 2s, primarily Vanagon-era cars, including some that looked like all-wheel drive Syncro ones.
There were some earlier bay-window buses as well, of course:
That one is sporting a textbook example of the nose-mounted spare tire, a very common modification to these old buses, and, I think, a way to enhance the safety of these things in a measurable way. Tires make pretty good bumpers!
But I think the real jewel in this Type 2 crown has to be this pickup version:
I know the double-cab variant of these is often called a Doka, but I’m not sure if the single cab has a nickname, too? These are real Swiss Army Knife vehicles, capable of doing just about any task. It has a huge bed where all three sides can be opened, and that huge storage locker under the bed. These are cool as hell.
There was also this dirty but remarkably straight and complete Type 3 Squareback; I think this may be a ’65. I’ve always loved these marvels of packaging design, and this one feels like a prime candidate for restoration.
There were some Beetles here, too, like that very shiny ’66 with gleaming chrome, and a very beige ’71 behind it, also with some extremely shiny chrome. 1966 happens to be my favorite Beetle year, so this was a treat.
You know what car feels at home amongst a whole pack of old air-cooled VWs? One of these:
Yes, a Volvo PV544! Mechanically, these are far more conventional than VWs of this era, but the body design that seems to be right out of the 1940s definitely fits, visually, among all the old Beetles and Type 3s. These 544s were charming, rugged cars, and had a lot of racing and rallying successes, despite what its shape may lead you to believe.
So many hidden, filthy treasures!
Speaking of 2CVs, what’s the Motorious SWG doing with the Tin Snail he picked up a few months back?
That nickname works on multiple levels. Double baguette kudos.
What a candy store of cool cars! Thanks for sharing, Jason. Reminds me that I need to get my 86 Westy’s electrical problems sorted over the winter for some camping next year.
FWIW there’s one Syncro in that pic w/ the Mercedes. The other Vanagon looks to be a 83-85 (round headlights), most likely on the earlier side. It *could* be a diesel but can’t tell from the front. There’s a gray 86+ behind it with what looks like fairly nice paint.
The nickname you’re looking for is Sinka for the single cab.
Why is the VW bus thing taking so long to be sold here?
Production capacity would be my best guess. That being said, VW’s been teasing some sort of retro bus revival for a full quarter century while offering US van customers either nothing at all or a rebadged Chrysler.
It’s nice to see them finally do something with the style theme but I really feel like they missed the market a retro-bus could’ve had in the late ’90s throughout the ’00s when the later Boomers were in their prime kid-having-and-schlepping years.
Jason, it’s an odd coincidence that you encountered that particular model Citroën while driving the idBuzz on two different continents, but I may have you beat.
At two of the last three funerals I have been to, the son-in-law of the deceased person fell into the grave of said deceased person. At the one funeral where no one fell into the grave, the daughters were unmarried, so no son-in-law present.
That’s what I call a grave danger.
“At the one funeral where no one fell into the grave, the daughters were unmarried, so no son-in-law present.”
Yeah, hence the expression “grave and present danger.”
I’m not saying it’s entirely your fault, but I’m not not saying that you seem to be the common factor among these funerals.
Does it change things if I’m one of the sons-in-law who fell into the grave?
A grave that I had to dig myself?
I think you should give your funeral attendance the Deep 6.
“Damn! I never was good at avoiding falling into small and readily avoidable holes, especially ones where ceremony and decorum dictate that I be especially careful not to fall into them!”
That silver and red Buzz very suddenly reminds me of the Ford Aerostar XLT long that my manager purchased in 1989 or 90….
Meanwhile, you might want to do a pilgrimage to El Cajon…
https://www.californiawestys.com/