Attached Link: Mini Bus Fan

I know this is so OT that it's not even in this galaxy but I thought some other folks might find these minis amazing too. From what I can tell from the links, some Japanese folks are taking little native delivery trucks and highly customizing them to look like VW mini-buses. I have no idea why it would be VW buses. They're just so cute it's hard to imagine them tooling down the road. The some of the pics at the link will take you to other sites that supply parts and some of the custom shops that do the work. Kawaii!

lol Sweet rides. I wonder if I should go into the VW bus exporting business. ;) Thanks for the link. =)

VW Micro Bus. That brings back old flashbacks. Notice all things go in circles? Specially Fashions. What's next. Reto TyeDye shirts to go with the retro bus look. LOL.

Attached Link: http://www.mitsuoka-motor.com/

One Japanese car company is making a wide range of obscure retro-cars, ranging from a Wolseley Mini to a Jaguar Mark VI to a Messerschmitt. These aren't fakes or kits; they're modern sedans styled to resemble the old.... Also, the Engrish descriptions are absorutery derightful!

Cute... :) The funniest site I have ever seen regards a VW is my 6foot 6' brother in law driving one. The car ended up with an indentation in the roor where his head would constantly hit and he sat with his knees up around his chin when driving. He LOVED that car. Helen

Kawaii indeed! Man I feel like hugging a car O.o These are aboslutely too cute for words!

Awwww ! Absolutely cute ! Awesome, now that's a great morning smile :) That other link is interesting too. Nice cars with a classic feel. Very elegant.

How are they getting away with using the Volkswagon symbol?

Anyone remember when some were putting on the RollsRoyce front end on the VW Beatle? There must be some kind of copyright agreement or a way to get around it with these kits. You see these type of rebuilds all the time. I meet a guy in Vancouver that would replace the engines in imports with Chev 350's. Ferrari's were a favorite one. Less of and cheeper maintenance but the great look.

A Chevy block in a Ferrari? That's just silly. Not that Chevy hasn't designed some good engines.

My friend in highscool had a kit to put a lambo body or ferrari on a little fiero.

I used to see windup keys on the back of VW's on occasion..;) yeah, there was a whole set of conversion kits for Beetles back in the 70's..;) That mini up top wouldn't make it over a speedbump..;)

Yes, there's been plenty of kits, body or body-and-chassis, when end up resembling some famous sports car with a more ordinary engine and suspension. If you want to make the effort you can have something that looks like a Shelby Cobra, and has performance to match. But stuffing a Chevy engine in a real Ferrari? That's a barbarism. It makes more sense to stuff the engine from a portable firepump in a Formula One car and send it to Indianapolis.

Sorry, It was a 69 Jaguar, not Ferrari. Working late and doing to many things at one time. They did it because chevy parts are more reliable and cheeper maintenance. There were a few done that way. The guy that did the work was a retired machanic and did it more as a favour. A costly favour. Now I have had some sleep, I wonder why I had writen Ferrari. I need a vacation.

"What If an Anime Artist Had Designed the VW Mini-Bus?" Welll... The headlights would have been moved much further up, made huge and glistening, and the bumper/fender at the front would have been truncated to a small, filled-in "o" shape..:-)) Cheers, Diolma PS: I also saw a vehicle with a wind-up key stuck to the back (in Bristol, Somerset, UK). The vehicle was a Fiat 500. It looked almost possible..:-))

there are still many many VW based kits out there ... and fans of older kits hunting them down (a friend of mine has 3 Bradley VW kitcars) and incidentally .... Dudley made a fairly good VW bug for poser that can be kitbashed similarly .. I'm working on modeling my friends 68 Bradley GT scorpion (with porsche engine)

Omg lol I love the vw minivan everyone I know thinks I'm nuts, but the old hippy style is the one I love....rather have that than a sports car lmbo...

diolma said: " 'What If an Anime Artist Had Designed the VW Mini-Bus?' 'Welll... 'The headlights would have been moved much further up, made huge and glistening, and the bumper/fender at the front would have been truncated to a small, filled-in "o" shape..:-))' " ...and from certain angles, the headlights would look concave instead of convex! (^o^) Well, maybe that's a little obscure for some people, but anyway, these buggers are cute! They also remind me of the front end of a subway train.

The first " Ferrari " (black) in "Miami Vice" was actually a mock-up American car ... untill Ferrari heard of it and gave them a real one (white) instead. jl