The Cleveland Daily Banner Sunday, January 10, 2016 | Page 27

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Cleveland Daily Banner—Sunday, January 10, 2016—27

VW unveils microbus concept in Las Vegas
LAS
VEGAS
(AP)
—
Volkswagen’s old microbus is
getting a major update and
could be in a garage near you in
around three years.
The company unveiled a
futuristic battery-powered concept of the bus at the
Consumer Electronics Show on
Tuesday night called the
BUDD-e. VW expects it to be
able to go a staggering 373
miles on a single charge, far
longer than electric vehicles
today, due to a more efficient
battery technology.
The Budd-e has Internet connections to smart home devices
and can be charged to 80 percent of its battery capacity in
about 15 minutes, VW says.
Many charging stations for
other electric vehicles now take
hours to do the same thing. It
also has gesture recognition
technology to control the infotainment screen, and the doors
can be controlled by voice commands.
VW didn’t say in its releases
if the new Microbus will actually go into production, but said
that the BUDD-e “demonstrates
what electric mobility could be
like by the year 2019.”
VW Brand CEO Herbert Diess
says it’s likely that the Budd-e
will become a production
model.
Besides the Beetle, the
Microbus
is
probably
Volkswagen’s most iconic
model.
Officially called the Type 2
and driven by everyone from
surfers to Charles Manson, the
VW bus is a symbol of the
1960s and undeniably cool
today.
While still technically a concept, the Budd-e rides on the
new Modular Electric Toolkit
that will underpin future small
electric cars from VW. Even if
the Budd-e doesn’t make it to
showrooms, some of its hardware might.
The Budd-e name is a play on
Bulli, the original name of the
VW Microbus in Germany.
But instead of an air-cooled
boxer-four engine in back, the
Budd-e features two electric
motors, one for each axle. They
can propel the van to a top
speed of 93 mph, while the
101-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion
battery pack provides enough
juice for 373 miles.
Admittedly, that’s as measured on the European testing
cycle. You can expect a slightly
less impressive performance on
the U.S. EPA cycle. Wireless
charging is also included, and
VW claims the battery pack can
be charged to 80 percent
capacity in 15 minutes.
The tall, slab-sided, design
certainly recalls the Microbus,
but isn’t as retro as some people might have expected.
There’s a modern-style front
fascia with thin headlights and
a prominent grille that serves
no obvious purpose on this
electric vehicle.
That grille is at least Vshaped in reference to the old
bus’ chrome-trimmed face, and
the Budd-e sports a two-tone
paint job and full LED lighting.
The battery pack is also flat like
in a Tesla, freeing up interior
space.
The interior is packed with
technology.
An “Active Info Display” is
divided into three sections:
Drive, Control, and Consume.
The “Drive” section features a
3D navigation map with highlighted points of interest, while
the “Control” section includes
other relevant information like
vehicle status and trip data.
The “Consume” section displays infotainment content like
messages, a calendar, and
audio menu. There’s also a
13.3-inch central display
linked to the driver-focused
Active Info Display.

Contributed photos

VOLKSWAGEN IS BRINGING back the old microbus. The auto firm unveiled a concept of the iconic 1960s vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this
week. Above is a side view, left, and a heads-on look. The company didn’t say when the microbus would go into production, or where, but did say the BUDD-e “demonstrates
what electric mobility could be like by the year 2019.”
Other news from the gadget
Show in Las Vegas:
———
Volkswagen plans
The top executive of the
Volkswagen brand says he’s
optimistic
that
U.S.
Environmental regulators will
approve fixes within the coming