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- Kombi’s last rites: Farewell to a travel icon
- Would you cruise after Concordia?
- Quality Japanese wine? It's no oxymoron
| Kombi’s last rites: Farewell to a travel icon Posted: 24 Sep 2013 11:45 PM PDT It's the end of the road for the classic Kombi, with production to cease on December 31. iReporters recall the camper van that changed the travel world  It's been in continuous production since the 1950s but now Volkswagen Brazil -- the last country where the vehicles are still being made -- has announced that production of the classic Kombi van will cease on the last day of this year. Rolling off the production lines in Hanover, Germany, until 1979 but continuing in Brazil, the VW Transporter, aka the camper van, is the longest-produced model in automotive history, according to Vokswagen. Around 3.5 million of the affordable, utilitarian vehicles, with their classic cloth window curtains, have been made. Attaching themselves to the mini homes on wheels were equally numerous roof racks, surfboards and travel memories. On a backpacking trip to Europe back in 1973, a 20-year-old Californian named Gary Garfield shelled out US$700 to set himself up for the months of travel ahead. He spent a chunk of that money on a 1967 Volkswagen minibus, figuring to combine transportation and accommodation in one slightly rickety but reliable vehicle. He ripped out the seats, put in a platform bed and installed shelves and cupboards.
Garfield spent the next 10 months in this mobile home with his wife battling desert sands in Algeria, food poisoning in Tunisia and enduring six-week stints with no contact with friends or family. Along with all the experiences of that epic adventure there was one constant -- that camper van, also known as a Kombi. A similar story is told by countless other travelers.
VW is calling it quits because the Kombi won't meet new safety standards set to come into force in 2014 in Brazil, the only country where the model is still manufactured. Upgrading it with dual front airbags and anti-lock brakes was ruled too costly. Come next year, old Kombis sluggishly powering their way along highways and up mountain passes, being overtaken by virtually all other traffic, will be all that remain -- ageing steel bodies from a time when people were less concerned about getting somewhere fast. It's worth pausing to reflect on what made the Kombi a travel icon.
Hippies and surfersThe Kombi became synonymous in the 1960s and 1970s with hippies and surfers, its utilitarian features -- capable of carrying surf boards, musical equipment and various loads inside or on its roof -- combining well with its cheap price (secondhand Kombis could be picked up for a couple hundred bucks) and easy maintenance. Garfield's van required the repair of one flat tire and a new battery in 10 months of travel. Many people named their Kombis, like iReporter Jason Kauffman, 40, who affectionately called his Kombi "Double D."
"I have no desire to own anything except an old VW," Kauffman insists. Other iReporters named their vans "Bus Gus," "Homer," "Claire" and "Charlotte." Vince Moellering, 32, explains, "Cars like the VW van are more than just cars, they're cultural icons." Those who traveled in one in their youth keep the memories with them. Others own their van (or vans) for decades before passing them to offspring. Even people without "VW lineage," as iReporter Bryan Scott calls it, can find themselves bitten by the urge to up and travel in a Kombi.
Second life onlineOnline communities provide space to share stories and trade "ideas that help keep our vans going," says Moellering. Australia's Kombi Club is an online forum, co-founded and sponsored by The Bus Stop, a parts distributor. "Roy" from The Bus Stop says the business supplies Kombi enthusiasts in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Canada and other countries. "Once you've driven a Kombi, you're hooked for life," he says. But why?
After all, these VW vans, at least in their original form, are underpowered, slow, have dodgy suspension and don't offer much comfort in either heat or cold. "The Kombi exemplifies the free spirit of peace activists, lovers, world travelers, campers and families moving about together across this planet," says Garfield. "I can't think of any other vehicle that transcends both age, economic and social strata." "Few vehicles scream: 'Let's go exploring!' the way a VW van does," says Moellering.
Modern modificationSimplicity has helped the Kombi remain relevant in a new century. It's undergone plenty of modifications, but its outward appearance remains instantly recognizable. The model being produced in Brazil is based on the second phase of the Type 2 (VW's Type 1 was the Beetle), which was produced in Germany from 1967–1979. It differs from the first phase with a larger engine, more overall weight and a bay window, rather than the previous model's split-windscreen.
Numerous iterations have brought speed and body width increases, automatic transmission and an engine switch from air-cooled to water-cooled. It's not a complicated machine -- handy when something goes wrong. Kombi owner Bryan Scott says part of the VW appeal for him was, "we'd always heard that a bus could be fixed anywhere and by anyone." Jason Kauffman says its iconic status comes down to versatility: "You can travel in it, sleep in it, it gets decent fuel mileage and it's very compact compared to large motor homes." Vince Moellering refers to the Kombi's jack of all trades nature, saying he's used his "as a camper, a mountain bike hauler, a moving van and a construction supply truck."
German effectivenessThe versatility of a Kombi goes right back to its name, which comes from the German "Kombinationskraftwagen," a combination of passenger and cargo vehicle. Its ability to carry both passengers and piles of stuff makes the Kombi more than a mode of transport. "The bus is both our home and a member of our family," says Bryan Scott. "We talk to it as we decide a path for each day, coax it slowly over the next hill and thank it as we arrive at each new destination."
The vehicle also provides an undisputed conversation starter. "VWs in general are a universal language through the world," says Jason Kauffman. "Locals in each country we visit love the bus, and just like those back home they stop to tell us their stories and ask to hear ours," adds Scott. The common bond is drawn tightest among current owners," says Vince Moellering. "This is a breed of people unlike any other, a huge extended family, willing and able to do whatever is necessary to support each other. "The most common questions encountered when meeting new van friends out on the road are: 'Where have you been?' and 'What have you broken?'"
Not necessarily the end of the roadDevotion to the Kombi helps loyalists remain upbeat about the end of production. "As long as enthusiastic owners keep the remaining cars and their spirit alive, a cease in active production has little effect on the overall existence of the vehicle," says Moellering. When Gary Garfield completed his 1973 tour in the bus that had served him so reliably, he sold it for a profit of US$100. Then he "watched it drive away to offer its new owners fond memories." When the factory gates clang shut in December, well-preserved Kombis will rumble on along the road, and in the recollections of 63 years of travelers. Originally published March 2013; updated September 25, 2013. Tags:      |
| Would you cruise after Concordia? Posted: 24 Sep 2013 11:00 PM PDT The Costa tragedy, an aptly named "poop cruise," engine fires ... nothing seems to put hardened cruisers off It was the event the cruise industry had been awaiting and dreading with equal measure. Last Tuesday, the mangled wreck of Costa Concordia was finally raised after a 19-hour, $800 million salvage operation that put the stricken ship back in the news. It's been 18 months since the multimillion-dollar vessel hit rocks off the island of Giglio in Italy and was then steered by Captain Schettino toward land, where it keeled over, killing 32 people. The accident occurred a few months before the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, reminding the world that, while cruising is one of the safest forms of travel, disasters at sea still happen. Wake-up call?The tragedy might have been a wakeup call for the cruise industry, which, in some cases, had let safety drills become fun diversions that passengers took delight in missing. But has it heeded it? Health scares, fires and collisions have kept cruising in the headlines ever since Concordia -- a total of 97 mishaps in 2012 alone, according to CruiseJunkie.com. A few weeks after Concordia, engine room fires caused emergencies on Costa Allegro and Azamara Club Cruises' Azamara Quest.
A month later, a cruise on Carnival Dream was cut short when an emergency generator malfunctioned. A fire on Grandeur of the Seas knocked the ship out of action for several weeks. Celebrity Millennium's Alaska season was cancelled due to mechanical problems. Industry under scrutinyAs Christine Duffy, president and chief executive officer of industry body the Cruise Lines International Association, admits, the Concordia disaster put cruising under "a harsher microscope" -- and there has been little reason for the scrutiny to let up. Despite all the troubles, however, cruising continues to grow. Some 20,335,000 passengers worldwide took a cruise holiday in 2012, up 958,000 on the previous year The bad news, for the cruise lines at least, is that many of these passengers weren't the cruise rookies they need to fill their new big ships, but regular cruisers taking advantage of historically low fares. More on CNN: What's inside wrecked Concordia? Concordia and subsequent disasters, in other words, may have lost a generation of cruise virgins to the industry, while the old hands cash in. After the malfunctions aboard the ironically named Triumph, Carnival Cruise Lines was cutting fares in the United States to less than $50 a day to snare bookings. In the UK, which has the second-largest number of cruisers after the United States, fares of £50 a day aren't unheard of. Those rates are for all accommodation, food (except meals in the speciality restaurants) and entertainment. Cruise fares fallA survey in the UK by online travel agency Bon Voyage found cruise fares were 22% lower now than five years ago. That's painful for the cruise lines. During an earnings call at the end of June, Howard Frank, vice-chairman of Carnival Corp, which owns 10 cruise brands including Costa, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Cunard, said the Carnival Cruises brand was likely to lose about 50 cents per share as a result of lower revenue yields, lost sailings and repairs, investment programs and higher marketing spend. For this story, CNN spoke with a random selection of passengers on Cunard's Queen Elizabeth on the day of the Costa Concordia parbuckling (the nautical term for raising the ship). All were past cruisers and said they never worried about cruising after the crash -- although one seasoned cruiser, Jo Clough, had just returned from a trip with Princess Cruises, said it had made her think more about which company she travelled with. Not everyone is so confident. A May poll of 2,000 Americans conducted by New York-based Harris Interactive found almost two-thirds believe air travel is safer than cruising, after the spate of fires and power failures on cruise ships this year. Half of those questioned agreed they were less likely to take a cruise now than a year ago, with those who had never cruised more wary than those who had (56% vs. 43%). Cruise rookies
But now the vessel is no longer on its side and there are signs the economy is picking up globally. Cruise lines are hoping cruise rookies will again be tempted to try a holiday at sea, especially as passengers have never had it so good when it comes to prices. Cruise lines have always prided themselves on offering good value -- "too good" at the moment, says Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean Cruises chairman. More on CNN: How cruise ship tragedy transformed sleepy Italian island The buyers' market is set to continue for the foreseeable future as yet more ships launch, hungry for passengers. This year, MSC Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Compagnie du Ponant brought new ships into service that between them had about 13,000 more berths. Next year there will be new vessels from Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean International and Costa Cruises -- making more than 16,000 extra beds. That's roughly 500,000 more customers needed just to fill those four ships over a 12-month period. Will the cruise lines get them? Most likely. Cruise lines are resilient. They've weathered fires, sinkings and one of the worst economic downturns on record, and still people are booking, lured by low fares, good value and incentives. "We're only just beginning," says CLIA's Christine Duffy. "Almost 21 million people worldwide will take a cruise holiday this year. "There are incredible opportunities for growth." CLIA forecasts 30 million cruise passengers within the next 12 years. Booked and hooked?Jo Rzymowska, associate vice-president and general manager UK & Ireland for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, is equally positive. "We have the highest satisfaction rates of any kind of holiday," she says. "Once people have booked, they're hooked." It remains to be seen whether bargain fares will temp the vital next generation of cruisers, though -- let alone allow the industry to ride through another Concordia-scale disaster.    |
| Quality Japanese wine? It's no oxymoron Posted: 24 Sep 2013 08:11 PM PDT Put down that sake. Nearly 100 vineyards at the base of Mount Fuji are beginning to produce tasty bottles of vino  Looking for a drink in Japan? A bottle of sake or a few pints of a domestic beer are the most obvious choices, but wine drinkers should give the local grape, the Koshu, a chance. Koshu wine is produced by about 80 vineyards in the Yamanashi prefecture at the base of Mount Fuji. Ayana Misawa, winemaker at Grace Vineyard, describes the variety as charming, with a crisp acidity and low alcohol level. "Koshu has a very elegant smell," she says. "Aromas like citrus, white flowers." Misawa, the fifth generation winemaker in her family, is part of a movement to bring international techniques to Yamanashi to improve the quality of the product. She studied methods in France, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Now she strives to make more international, "food-friendly" Koshu. Japanese wine -- getting better Wine experts say thanks to efforts like Misawa's, the quality of Japan's wines has improved significantly in the last five years. At the Japan Wine Competition, an annual event held in Yamanashi, judges say the focus now needs to turn to making Koshu a name people recognize. "I think we have to do various things and encourage people to taste it, because once they've tasted it they really like to buy another bottle," says master of wine Lynn Sherriff, a judge at the Japan wine competition in Yamanashi.
One factor that could hold Koshu back is price. Due to limited land and high labor costs, a bottle made from Japan's local grape will set you back more than many other varieties. The wine pares well with Japanese food though, and can make a nice companion for travelers already splurging on Japan's infamously pricey food. Koshu isn't the only grape used in the Yamanashi vineyards. Wines are also made from the Muscat Bailey A, a grape variety that's been developed for the Japanese climate. It can deliver wines in a variety of styles. Wine writer Denis Gastin believes koshu is just the beginning of an international journey for Japan's wines. "There's a good story there, and the world will enjoy that story," he says. "It's starting to be told with Koshu, but there are many other stories as well." Grace Winery offers tours by reservation. Tours are in Japanese only; +81 (0)553 4-1230. If you're in Tokyo and want to give Koshu a try, Grace Winery recommends the following places: Wine bar & shop JIP, 2-7-1 Shinjku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; +81 (0)3 6380 1178 Y-Wine (Italian), Nihonbashi Plaza Building 2F, 2-3-4 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; +71 (0)3 3527 9185 More on CNN: Japan's scary 'Skyfall' island: World's creepiest tour?    |
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