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posted on April 29th, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Hahaha yeh
Everyone always says "theres a topic for this"
and i guess there is...6 years ago!
So the split refers to the front windows on the bus and the rears on the beetle and squares are type 3, gotcha
I meant type 3 when i said 4 :P
Thanks
Phil74Camper
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posted on April 29th, 2009 at 04:16 PM
I am still here, thanks for asking ! :-)
A 'split' Beetle is just a colloquial term (ie. not a VW model name of any sort, just a nickname) for Beetles made prior to 1953. They are named
after the split back window. They were never sold in Australia so any you see will have been privately imported since. Aussie sales began in early
1954, by which time the 'Oval' had replaced the 'Split' (yes, also named after the rear window). Strangely, when the rear window was made
rectangular in 1958, no one called the new model the 'rectangle'. Funny how nicknames work.
A 'split' Kombi (or Bus, or Bulli, or Type 2, or Transporter, etc etc) on the other hand is named after the split front windows (windscreen), as you
have guessed. This was only on the 'Mk1' Kombi (or 'T1' Transporter, to use VW's terminology), that was made from 1950 to 1967. The Mk2 (T2)
Kombi is the so-called 'bay window', so named because of its panoramic, curved single piece windscreen. This is a 'wrong' nickname, because real
bay windows on houses aren't shaped like that - they are made of three window panes, side angled and double-sashed. I think the term came from the UK
in the early 1990s, from someone who didn't know any better. Anyway, there are two series of T2 Kombis - the 'low light', referring to the
low-mounted front blinkers (1968-72) and the 'high light' with the blinkers above the headlights (1973-79). The next series of Kombi, the squarer T3
(1980-92), is sometimes called the 'Vanagon' as that was it's official name for the US market. The Brits call it the 'wedge' or the 'loaf' -
both stupid names. The front-engined T4 (1993-2004) doesn't seem to have a nickname. Everyone just calls it the 'T4'. The current series you can
buy now - the T5 - is called the T5 Transporter and doesn't have a nickname either - yet.
The Type 3 was made in three body variations - sedan ('Notchback' or 'Notch' for short, although VW also called it the 'Halfback for a short
while), station wagon (Squareback) and coupe (Fastback). All only had two doors. The 'Type 3' name was an in-house name that VW used to describe the
series (like Type 1 for Beetle and its derivatives, and Type 2 for Kombis), and was not used to sell the car - EXCEPT in Australia. Everywhere else in
the world they were called the VW 1500 or VW 1600 Notchback, Squareback, etc. Australia was the only country that officially sold the vehicle as the
'Type 3' (eventually), although only later in its life. Our locally-made late Type 3s had 'Type 3' badges on the front guards.
The Type 4 was a bigger model than the Type 3, sold in two and four door sedan versions (the first ever four-door Vollkswagen), and two-door wagon
format. They were sold as the 'VW 411' and later the 'VW 412' series. Apart from a few preview examples in 1969, none were sold in Australia so
they are rare here. They don't have a nickname as such in the Englilsh-speaking world, but in Germany they are called the 'Nasenbaer', or 'Nose
Bear', because of their front-heavy appearance. They were a comparitive failure and were replaced by the new Passat series in 1974. The Type 4's
1700 and 1800 engines were used in the Transporter, and a hotted-up 2000cc version was used in the Porsche 914. A low-spec 2000cc version was also
used in the Transporter, right up to 1983.
Some more explanation about the Superbug names might be handy. In 1970 in Germany, VW sold the VW 1200 Beetle (a basic cheapo Beetle), the higher spec
'normal' VW 1300, and the top of the line VW 1500. In Australia we only got the 1500 Beetle - the others were too 'low spec'.
In 1971, VW Germany introduced a new Beetle with double-joint rear (from the semi-auto 1500), and with a new nose with Macpherson struts. In Germany
it was fitted with the 'regular' 1300 engine. As it was to be built alongside the existing range, rather than replacing the VW1200, 1300 or 1500, VW
needed another name. VW tried to use the '1301' name, but this was already registered to Peugeot, who had already trademarked model nos ending in
'01' (the same reason why the Porsche 911 is not the Porsche 901). So, VW just used the next available, and the VW 1302 was born. A higher-spec
model of the 1302 was also introduced, fitted with a 1600cc engine. This was called the '1302S'. However, for the US market, VW chose to market this
as the 'Super Beetle'. In Australia, it was sold as the 'Superbug S', a sot of average of the German and American names.
In 1973 the 1302's front was redesigned again, with a new dash and a bigger, curvy windscreen. In Germany this was called the VW 1303 - the next new
model in the series. Again it was available in 1300 or 1600 engines, with the 1600cc version called the 'VW 1303S'. In the US it was still called
the 'Super Beetle'. In Australia it was sold as the 'Superbug L' (or 'L-Bug' by enthusiasts). The UK market saw both 1300 and 1600 versions of
the Superbug (they were sold under the 1302/1303 name), but the US and Australia only ever got 1600cc versions. Ours were better than the US ones as
ours had front disks - the US ones had drums. Ours were made in Melbourne, not Germany, like most VWs of the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
modulus
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