The I.D. Buzz packs some nostalgia as well as many new ideas in a bubbly yet familiar packageBy Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Detroit- Credit it to the power of nostalgia or the thirst for something completely new, or a mix of both. In its solitary corner at the Cobo Center here in Detroit, the Texas yellow, neon and white I.D. BUZZ, a futuristic re-imagining of the iconic VW Microbus seemed to radiate a strangely seductive glow which seemed to draw the most crowds here at day two of the North American International Auto Show.
There are a handful of Volkswagen models that capture the imagination even with an entire generation of consumers who may not have been alive to actually ride in them. Some, like the Beetle, have been reinvented ad nauseam and others, like the Microbus transporter (or Kombi, if you prefer) and the Karmann-Ghia, have been begging a re-introduction.
For VW, the I.D. Buzz, a concept vehicle that's both autonomous and fully electric, the idea couldn't have come at better time. The company is still reeling from the long and highly damaging Dieselgate scandal. Now, some of its officials are being charged with fraud in relation to the scandal. If VW needed a ray of sunshine, this is the time, even if that ray comes in the form of a promise for what's to come in 2020.
Now,most concept cars almost never make it past the prototype stage and while some of the ideas they foster and technologies they introduce are later harvested for future vehicles. There's a very strong indication that a product like the I.D. Buzz will attract users. Unlike with the New Beetle, VW isn't trying to update an old design. While the I.D. Buzz has similar lines to the first buses, it doesn't have the friendly bug eyes and generally rounded curves.
There are Zen-like attributes to the van's character. Seating can be converted in myriad ways so you can seat as many as seven passengers comfortably or turn it into a rolling office, a utility vehicle and even a camper, just like the original.
Being an autonomous or self-driving vehicle, the square steering wheel (a bit weird, I'll admit. But weird and different are what VW is going for here), can disappear into the dash when the bus decides to drive itself. This affords more space to passengers and also allows for various creative configurations for the front chairs.
The I.D. Buzz ( a play on bus, I get it), will also know who is driving or riding and adjust various settings, including infotainment options for your trip. The key here is flexibility, something that's a bit novel coming from a German automaker known for rigid engineering but it's a new day, after all.
VW really managed to strike a chord with many attendees here at NAIAS 2017. For old fans like me, it was like seeing a cleaner, nicer smelling and totally teched-out version of an old friend. The fun and mobility aspect is still ever-present but so is the promise of full electric vehicle (as far from Diesel as possible) plus autonomous driving for families.
For newer drivers, the I.D. Buzz represents something completely new, a chance at experiencing the fun of a Microbus but will all the streaming connectivity that they're used to in a car that's good for the environment. This made a bigger statement than the real, in-production Electric Golf that sat a few steps away and was generally ignored.
Concept cars are usually loosey-goosey collections of ideas or a way to show a brand's superiority or imagination. For VW, in 2017, the I.D. Buzz is both a calling card rekindling the spirit of what made VW and its cars a lovable entity, and it is a promise for the near future. It is simply a vehicle the company must make in some shape or form. The world needs to have it.