(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Today Volkswagen agreed to pay California another $154 million in its dieselgate scandal, but the German carmaker wasn’t always the face of pure evil. Fifty years ago it was the Summer of Love, and the VW bug and bus were symbols of everything groovy. Whether you’re an old hippie pining for the good ol’ days or you’re a social-media influencer living the #Vanlife, you’ll want to get out to the VW Traffic Jam on Governor’s Island next month.
The annual confab of Kombi crazies and Beetlemaniacs is set to take over the island on August 20. Every year, VW owners line their camper vans up along Colonels’ Row and pop their tops like they’re at Fort Tilden. Put on by the hippie-bus hobbyists at Old VW Lovers of NY, past shows have featured no less than 100 air-cooled bugs, buggies, and buses. This year’s installment should be even more exciting– in addition to the usual beer garden and food vendors, the Grand Banks team has opened a new oyster bar on the island.
Admission to the event is free, so attending it won’t cost ya much– unless, of course, you have to summon a tow truck when your Westy craps out on the way there. #Vanlife!