The Volkswagen Type 2 (also officially known as Transporter or informally as Bus) was the second automotive line introduced by German automaker Volkswagen. It was a panel vanBeetle". introduced in 1950, initially based on Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1, the economy car also known as the "The Type 2 is the forerunner of modern cargo and passenger vans. The Type 2 spawned a number of imitators, both in the United States and Europe, including the Ford Econoline, Dodge A100, and the Corvair 95 Corvan, the last even adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration. As of January 2010, updated versions of this line are produced for international markets, both as a passenger and cargo van, and as a pickup truck. It is also unofficially known as a "microbus", "minibus", "kombi" or "hippie van," the latter due to its popularity with the 1960s/70s counterculture movement.
