The Backstory of the VW ID.Buzz - The Carmudgeon Show feat. Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott Ep. 167

[@Thaiseaweed]

The cut of Derek pulling away in the Miura with a window rolling down and someone being shushed is peak car enthusiasm.

[@therealpickleahoy]

"Look at this quirk and features!!!" I about fell off my chair

[@thejword72]

It was funny but I seriously don’t get where Jason’s sense of superiority comes from on this. He’s probably upset because Doug gets more views but I don’t think they compete with each other. Doug targets most his content more towards a new car buyer and Jason says he doesn’t care about new cars. I wish he could get off his high horse and they could do a collab

[@ianhardin1148]

​@@thejword72annnd Doug just released a video where he said Jason was one of his favorite car youtbers. He really praised Jason.

[@ydrts_915]

@@ianhardin1148oh wow. I generally praise that approach/attitude. What vid was that in?

[@ianhardin1148]

@ydrts_915 on Doug's youtube channel, released 9 days ago. It's titled who are my favorite car youtubers.

I was cracking up at this! And Hyphen's "wow" response haha First Mat Watson, now Doug Demero, who's next on Jason's impersonation list?!

[@Scorpio1075]

ICONS is out?!?!?! Let me pause this and go watch the best automotive series ever! AND... I'm back! Hats off to another iconic ICONS.

[@ianhardin1148]

I did the same thing. I paused this and went right to the ICONS episode.

[@sjruiz7]

This is the way

[@huntersmith8338]

Paused and back..

[@donschiffer7400]

The problem with VW these days is they are still building the peoples cars but pricing them like entry lvl BMW’s. I say this as a fan whose first car was an ‘87 GLI. The old buses had a variety of engine sizes. Often people replace an aging engine with a later year. From 1950-1966 they went from 20 something hp to almost 60.

[@JurisKankalis]

There's nothing "volks" or even decent - about the touch-madness and screen-idiocy. They're going down the drain - and I've enjoyed many VWs - but cannot bring myself to using these touch stupidities. The last decent ones were B8/B9 gen Passats and Mark 7 golfs. It's not about the price. It's about a self-imposed conviction of destroying their own infotainment, climate, driving mode and other systems - by making them unusable. A total no-go.

[@aygwm]

The relentless German pursuit of additional complexity for the sake of… complexity

[@mynt253]

@@JurisKankalis It's not about the price? I thought it was ALL about the price. Glueing two touch screens to your dash and using capacitive touch "buttons" is far cheaper than molding and assembling physical buttons.

[@FroTzeN12]

What shall I say... In my first semester at university, a student conducted a study on desireability for the "new" VW Design back then and on their behalf. Said I didn't like it, especially the interior and infotainment. Sadly (as one of the few hundreds/ maybe thousands) they didn't listen to me... but I tried all i can guys!

[@donschiffer7400]

@@JurisKankalis Okay but virtually all carmakers are going the same way. I suspect places where they go too far will self correct (like with the Rivian merger) but the Germans have always been a bit arrogant and slow to change.

[@spenzalii]

Great show guys. And have to agree on the New Beetle. That was a HUGE automotive moment. The car sold, not because of the merit of the car as a vehicle, but how it made people feel about owning a Beetle. I know a few people that bought them and will never, ever think about getting rid of them. One of my aunts is devastated hers had to be bought back because of dieselgate

[@chinchilla0906]

Exactly! Not a family car, but a car that's my family! No way can I get rid of my bug

[@rubbersidedown5620]

Loved the Buzz episode. Told a heck of a story. Top quality automotive journalism.

[@kensanders6241]

Jason, you do something that I thought of 30 years ago when I was attending auto tech courses at De Anza in Cupertino, and that is Automotive Anthropology. I love it thank you.

[@Munkenba]

38:20 the Kubelwagen was NOT 4WD, can't believe I'm the one telling you! 4WD was developed for the Schwimmwagen, because they needed the extra front driven wheels so it could pull itself out of the water. (Not yelling, just quite giddy that I could still pull a fact out that I learned originally from Gran Turismo 5, however many years ago that came out)

[@vercingetorige400]

does the schwimmwagen came before vw iltis?

[@Munkenba]

@@vercingetorige400 Yes, the Schwimmwagen was a ww2 vehicle. It was the amphibious variant of the Kubelwagen.

[@fraserwright9482]

The Type 87 Komanderwagen was 4wd, as was the type 182 iltis.

[@Munkenba]

@@fraserwright9482 didn’t know about the Type 87, interesting

[@Official_MikeyT]

I miss GT5 open lobbies running spec Kubelwagen and Schwimmwagen competitions.

[@amyboehm802]

Data shmata. Huge cheers to Derek for bringing out the Miura. As far as I'm concerned, wins every single race it's in regardless of how it places. Possibly, the most beautiful car ever made, and for me, the thing that dreams (and probably, nightmares) are made of. Thanks to you both and to Hagerty for your work! Great Carmudgeon and Icon episodes. Also, that effing song Soothing Bliss..pffft, per-fec-tion.

[@matchsticks4]

So the cyclist's resemblance to Valtteri Bottas was unintentional?! 🤯

[@markherndon7160]

Another terrific show! From the proud owner of a 2016 Jetta 1.8t. It handles the PA roads/traffic pretty well along with numerous trips to VA. Changed to lighter 17" wheels, better brake pads, and upgraded all the fluids. Conti' Extreme DWS tires work well. It's much better than the domestics in build quality and more solid feeling than the Asian brands. One crank sensor in 110,000 miles isn't bad. Maintenance is ....early is on time and on time is LATE! Including the brake fluid. Keep the shows coming, Hagerty would be moronic to let you guys get away!

[@Nightwalker86]

I have an episode request- what makes a good naturally aspirated 4 cylinder? Versus a bad one? For example, you both seem to dislike the BMW M42 and S14, but like the Mercedes M107 and Honda K series.

[@mikefaulhaber]

The related ICONS episode is surely among the best of the lot. It's informative, sympathetic, and yet in no way beholden to the brand.

[@JK061996]

I think my BRZ would work well in SF, you can only fold the backseat from the trunk which you can set up to unlock exclusively with the physical key

[@bavariancarenthusiast2722]

Awesome show - my fav journalist and his friend! Giving sh*t to VW is tradition - especially over here in Germany, that does not mean you don't like them, it's giving respect and wanting them to do better. Everybody in the world knows you love VW´s and you want them to do better, you are in club! After this fine teaser now I can´t wait to watch the show - several times! Can´t wait to see ahem the quirks and features 😂

[@urbanstrencan]

It was awesome Icon video, proper TV cinematics and just amazing story telling ❤❤❤. Keep up with great work

[@Miggy2j]

LOVED the icons video, brilliantly done!!

[@AliBaba-vh9ni]

"Please continue to join the Hagerty Driver's Club, which includes sexual innuendo" 🤣🤣🤣 Now I want them to add random features every time they do that plug at the beginning of each episode

[@garythecyclingnerd6219]

Would have preferred it stayed as the cheap bus that college kids could buy and got hot box at concerts with - not a rich SoCal mom van.

[@TwoDollarGararge]

That no longer exist if you want cheap it's used.

[@garythecyclingnerd6219]

@@TwoDollarGararge Americans choose used expensive cars rather than new cheap cars. By product of them lasting longer and our insane financial illiteracy

[@TwoDollarGararge]

@garythecyclingnerd6219 there is no such thing as a cheap new car the average new car is nearly 40k

[@garythecyclingnerd6219]

@@TwoDollarGararge Not in the US, correct. However, they _could_ exist. Mirage, Spark, and Fiesta were *cheap*. But Americans refused to buy them.

[@williamgechtman9287]

I drove a friend's 1965 VW Westfalia pop top camper (gorgeous on the inside, rusted on the outside) with her sitting next to me on a night-long excursion from North Carolina to New Jersey, going up and over the mountains into the Shenandoah valley in the process. Did I mention it was a windy night? I had to crank about 45° into the steering wheel, turning into the wind, to keep the bus going straight. It was that much of a sail. The real fun happened when the road went through a cut in the side of the mountain, the wind suddenly stopped, and the bus took a sharp right turn until I could turn the wheel straight again. Then we came out of that little cut holding the wheel straight and the bus started veering into the left lane, so back to 45° to the right again. Repeat as needed. Slowly. All the way to New Jersey. It was terrifying but I'm glad I had the chance to do it. And now that bus, were it fully restored, would be around $50k. What a world!

[@jimiverson3085]

Driving a VW bus in the wind is a bit like having a sailboat - you have to plot the course based on the wind and if the wind suddenly stops it requires a quick correction of the helm.

[@marty1780]

I remember buying parts for my 16V Scirocco (I did a lot of that) in the early 2000's and seeing the posters for the retro-styled van concept back then. If only they'd done it sooner we'd have it with some awd ICE options to choose from.

[@aakar1s]

In the 60s/70s, Renault did the same, ditching its whole lineup of rear engined, rear wheel drive cars, and going FF layout (The 8 replaced by the 12, the 4cv by the 4L...)

[@CianHa]

Ooh, you just remindede, I have a couple of bottles of that Currysoße on a shelf here, I really need to check the expiry date on that! I remember reading Jamie's thread on the Harlequin (on VWVortex, I think?) what a cool build.

[@cecemercado1740]

Jason! You can’t forget the A1 DASHER

[@matchsticks4]

I've seen companies defend not using a frunk because customers report never using them when they have them 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@shahulhusman]

I watched the icons..great video, .. i have had so many vw and audis over the years lol. Great cars..like all manufacturers, im unsure how easily they can distinguish themselves when it's all ev.. but the buzz is certainly something different.

[@KT-LR]

Could you make an Icons episode about Bruno Sacco? Since it's already been done about a person before (Piech)

[@AlanDampog]

I really enjoyed your id buzz video in Icons!! love the analysis of the company and maybe... just maybe it might save the company...

[@Hawok13]

:O!! r129?! where's the studio?? I would totally love this as a new background if the car would change from time to time also!

[@nirfz]

28:26 The Kübelwagen was rwd only. (VW Typ 82) But it had a LSD. There was a "Kommandowagen" (Typ 87) that was 4wd, but it just looked like a beetle and not like the Kübelwagen. I think what you were thinking off, was the Iltis (which came way later and was a slightly changed DKW Munga. Roland Gumpert got tasked with its construction by Ferdinand Piech) 49:59 Some cars are "immune" to it: in most modern Mercedes you fold the rear seats down from the trunk. not from the inside of the car. So those glass smashers can't fold the seats down, because there's nothing they can access to do it.

[@tonyflorio3269]

Ford shut down at the end of Model T production to launch the Model A, which was a significantly different car down to how you operated it. So -- that was a revolutionary and successful change.

[@robertberry5859]

I contribute 99% of my car knowledge to this podcast

[@garyonnen7634]

I have watched the episode. I was rooting for the scooter. This and that were great. Thanks.

[@Zimmernld]

Fully agree on the appearance of the ID4, luckily we have the Skoda Enyaq in Europe which is still not a looker, but atleast it isn't a generic blob.

[@brianisimo76]

Another crakin' episode! Am of the generation when the square headlight Vanagon (T3) with the deeper chin spoiler was the COOLEST van at school. Loved later driving a manual one down to Santa Cruz on 17. The only other van that got my van-blood up was the first Previa. Love, love clever packaging, if not substantial front crumple zones. The Buzz...doesn't get the blood up. The retro-cool is alright; the shorter wheelbase version should be here. Better still, VW should have that new California in the US. Would probably be a fortune, though. Let's hope they sell enough Buzz to keep us in stockings and GTI. Also, Nadir is one of my fav names and words:)

[@naarealy]

50:30 emergency Funk release on a Tesla only works if the 12-volt system is dead.

[@dougrobinson8602]

The aftermarket needs to come up with an illuminated "Peace" sign to replace the VW badge on the front. That'd be great.

[@Ryan-fg3pe]

10 minutes on classic car key technology available in specific MB sub models is really why I’m here all along.

[@SirPierreSe]

Wonderful color of the SL 😍

[@ak1s4]

I see parallels to another German brand that used to make funky stuff and then pivoted entirely; HK used to make roller delayed guns, they even had a whole families of weapons derived from the g3 and then they reinvented themselves in the 90s into what they are today.

[@TheLuisg92]

There are several car companies that have forgotten everything and started over (sometimes for good, more often than not for bad): Citroen, Peugeot, Lancia, Rover, Lotus, Hyundai, Mercedes Benz, Volvo and more recently Lotus and Jaguar.

[@deancostello14]

Derek just gave me a flashback to my Dad's 1992 Citroën ZX with that bloody infrared central locking sensor and my dad having to shield it and get it basically on the windows pointing at the sensor to get his car to unlock.

[@ericfried2125]

My friend told me years ago that when Mexico was making the original bus, the locals called the "Jesus llama" Jesus calls, as a nod to the vehicle's safety features and history.

[@Cato-the-Antipodean]

18:54 Oh the editor is dirty for putting in that photo of the air-cooled bug 😂

[@Buuster1999]

😂😂😂😂

[@punjabeeplaya]

He's not wrong though

[@EUC-lid]

It’s undoubtedly in the script.

[@PeppigUndBillig]

Living in Braunschweig, deep in VW land, you can buy the original VW Currywurst and VW Curryketchup in nearly all supermarket 👍 The Currywurst get deep fried, drained in Curryketchup and curry powder sided with fries 🤤🤤

[@ramdynebix]

Never driven a (New) Beetle but I was obsessed as a 25 year old. Begged and pleaded at the dealer for promotional material and still weirdly possessive of my New Beetle silhouette pin.

[@justinschultz4325]

Thanks for teaching me what somatic means.

[@markbloxham1313]

I'm in the UK and when the Buzz came out a while ago they didn't really sell because they were too much money and very inefficient and they have dropped like a stone in value.

[@indietonne]

This is such a authentic episode of the icons. Every line is amazing (including every disclaimer up to the bubbles). I just continue watching it on my tesla screen after missing to not block my EnBW charge point because I not just loved to watch this amazing icons AND had to finish watching this carmudgeon show to the last minute 😂.

[@tonyclewes8]

Fun fact - Buzz is the Brummie for Bus ! No confusion there !

[@JohnNick72]

Swear jar got full on that one - LOL!

[@ramdynebix]

I am so sad that I drove from Amsterdam to Braunschweig (and back) just to be able to buy some of the VW sausages that I promised my colleagues for a company BBQ a few months ago. That was the first big supermarket that had the sausages in stock, the ketchup is much more widely available.

[@C0LDK1L3R]

My 99 Citroen Xsara actualy has a lock for the rear folding seats, it locks out the buttons, it's a switch in the back of the seats, always lock it when not using the seat folded

[@EUC-lid]

Many modern sedans only allow the seats to be folded from releases inside the trunk. Combined with the servo trunk latch they’re vaults against the smash & grab.

[@JoshuaKoerner]

The icons episode was amazing. It feels like VW finds, in extremis, something that works. Then VW lets the executives get in the way over the course of 20-30 years and they end up ruining it, and then they almost run out of money and need to find someone to make something magical for them, in extremis again, and again, and again.

[@wombatsauce]

I think VW needs to come out with a "T" trim level for the ID cars. This way, they can eventually come out with an "ID.10T" variant. 🤭

[@BEGGARWOOD1]

My neighbours have one bus each, run of the mill round here !

[@xophere]

Yes you are.

[@Laundry_Hamper]

Canon performed a similar fundamental rewrite of their product architecture when they introduced the EF lens mount, which had no mechanical control interfaces between the camera and the lens. All focusing and aperture control was electronically communicated to the lens and performed internally, and as a result they dominated through the end of film and into digital with the same technology introduced in 1987. The mount was "current" for so long that an EF lens purchased new today would work on a camera body from the 80s - there're only a few still in production, but the mount still hasn't been retired, and the current RF mount "speaks" the same protocol, and the adapter to put those old lenses on new RF bodies is "dumb", without active electronics of its own. Contrast this against Canon's main competition, Nikon and Minolta, whose new mounts introduced for autofocusing SLRs beat Canon to market by a couple of years, but which both relied on autofocus motors in the body of the camera - as a result, the lenses lost compatibility with older bodies as the technologies matured (i.e. as it became apparent in-body focus motors bottlenecked focus speed, and as more control pins needed to be added to the mount standard once digital focus assist became a possibility)

[@Laundry_Hamper]

Also, the EF/EOS cameras had the best ergonomics - the weird organic curves and grips and things came from Luigi Colani, who also did a load of extremely batshit cars. Worth googling!

[@David_Journey]

You can’t talk about VW Bug without mentioning that Porsche stole the design from Czech Tatra. @JasonCamissa please give credit where it is due

[@mattr8904]

VW BRING THE CADDY PICKUP TO AMERICA ☺

[@flacjacket]

The problem with the Buzz, and why i dont think it will be the success that the new beetle was, is that it starts at $60k and being an EV will depreciate like a rock. People can't afford it.

[@triaxe-mmb]

They should REALLY bring the SWB version here as well as a lower specd LWB and such as a lower cost options...the most difficult thing about it to sell is the price...its very well featured, but its still 60-70k before taxes...thats tough to get most buyers to care about since its literally a 30th or worse percentile vehicle...

[@BassDawStew]

I am listening to this in Bockenhein, Frankfurt am Main, while driving a Skoda Superb with a VW Golf R 2.0 EA888 in all its turbo lagged glory pushing some Haldex not Quatro. I plan on driving the wheels off this thing and transitioning to an ID Buzz. Here's hoping VW survives and can address the electrics and UI in the next 5 years....

[@JurisKankalis]

Yes. Absolutely. We visited Germany a couple months ago for some weeks in my better half's Passat B8 (I myself have a BMW 530 which I deemed to be too unreliable to take on the trip from Latvia for 6000 kms through Europe). Her car still has buttons and dials and decent infotainment as well. You can actually control all the functions in the car - without taking the eyes off the road - which is especially important on an Autobahn. How VW could be getting this so wrong - is hard to understand. The current Gen 8 golf and Gen 10 passat (as well as other models) are unusable because of the touch-climate and other functions buried deep in the screen. The only hope is they start building VOLKS-wagen again in some years. Let's hope they still exist then.

[@BassDawStew]

@@JurisKankalis We got the very last 2019 version of our car with the actual physical climate controls - buttons and dials. The steering wheel buttons are phyisical. We bought this used in 2022 specifically to get the physical buttons. I am praying that they come to their senses on this and realize that some functions need dedicated physical buttons and knobs that can be activated without taking eyes off the road, just as you say.

[@stevemartegani]

More cars need sliding doors! Sooo much easier to deal with in parking spaces. They don't have to be Van's either.

[@jono6379]

Jason "I didn't inhale" Camissa 😂

[@mynt253]

Isn't the ID.3 more of a Golf Plus rather than a regular Golf? I think I even heard a VW executive put it that way.

[@zgSH4DOW]

Idk much about European brands VW fans strike me as more reverent of their older cars than most, but I can't imagine there's a huge market for VW enthusiasts looking to jump into EVs

[@thedownwardmachine]

I wonder if you can get an IR emulator to spoof the unlock code. Seems like tech of that vintage wouldn’t be terribly secure.

[@Levibetz]

I can't believe Jason didn't know about the beetle's suspension changes being tangentially a vw guy via A1s. Super Beetles also got mcpherson strut. A Super Beetle is a pretty nice driving classic car when in good condition (they also go bad and get death wobble). Anyway the point about the A1 contrast cannot be overstated. There is more difference between a 1975 Beetle and 1975 Scirocco than between any American car of the same era. Completely different mechanically and in vibe. Even down to the engine beetle's got port EFI d-jet where A1s got CIS mechanical injection. I hate the A1, love an aircooled.

[@f.kieranfinney457]

The Suzuki Jimny is a proper ‘people’s car’. There’s just so much more profit in highly optioned cars for most manufacturers to ignore.

[@Jadawin-kk3fz]

As far as I know, VW still produces more Wurst than cars. And yes, in Germany, you can get / order a pack of Currywurst and the Curryketchup in every VW dealership.

[@hpraz]

My 93 w140 has the ir locking, derek was right!

[@huntersmith8338]

For the record, if you don't watch the icons episodes with the cc on you're missing a ton... 😂😅

[@ianhardin1148]

I've had an 81 rabbit, 83 jetta, 85 golf diesel, 07 rabbit and a 2015 sportwagen. I dont understand why VW didnt make the ID Buzz as a hybrid. Vintage bus owners love to road trip their bus...and a non roadtrippable new "bus" doesnt recapture the spirit of the original.

[@MoreOnEVs]

On Teslas you can pull the cap off the tow loop hole and attach a 9volt battery to pop the frunk. Sorry SF friends 😂

[@AimPointMG]

always the best way to start the week

[@yourhandleshouldbe]

Mini always gets all the fwd credit but what about the 2cv?

[@philbegas]

Oh hey i have a b5 passat wagon! I like to say i have half an audi because it's fwd haha

[@Loukanopoulos]

I think the difference between the new Beatle and the Buzz is that the Beatle was form over substance where the golf alternative still offered engineering character and design over and above its econobox blob rivals Now that new car offerings are merging into an amorphous blob of like engineering and compromises the nostalgia and character is all that remains for distinction. This is why the Buzz will go further than the Beetle.

[@ignacioentrocasso8171]

"My Scirroco has literaly nothig to do with the Beatle"? The first A1 prototye was thoght with the flat 4 engine in the front... check it out.

[@chrisandries3216]

dang i got the free ketchup, but not the rest of that swag....

[@05Forenza]

I've got the shirt, but no ketchup lol

[@azmainabrar697]

thanks for the derek-word on screen dictionary.🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@Ty280z]

God I can't wait for my free bottle of VW ketchup

[@ahmadjavedaj]

Oh wow so early, I appreciate it ! Sometimes I wonder if Camissa is a Masochist for getting these many cars together. I look forward to seeing the video.

[@mchristr]

I have no need of a minivan. But if VW built a microbus with a turbocharged, rear-engine flat four, I'd seriously consider it.

[@bentogel]

everyone in Europe hated the new Beetle and we don't get the ID Buzz either

[@Santoshlv426]

What's the deal with the studio lighting. Did Hagerty not pay the electricity bill ? If this continues, the next episode will be a candlelit dinner for two ! Other than that, the entertainment value is 200%!

[@fraserwright9482]

31:41 Jason is right! Bob Wallace used to fit a steel plate spacer in SVs in Arizona. But when I asked him in the 90s at his workshop why he explained that the diff/gearbox splits in two if you try to do a burnout. They found this out when magazines tested them in the late 60's and this was his "fix" and oil feed to the cams were his thing

[@vercingetorige400]

amazing, here applaud the grasp of the big picture enginering of design by jason

[@urgetodrive]

Been trying to adjust to the new set but ngl, the old one was better.

[@simpwood4973]

The new beetle inspires a lot if things in me: anger, disgust and hate to name a few. I guess that counts as an emotional reaction. I think it looks like shit and from a practicality perspective it is worse than the Golf in every way. But then again I‘m not American.

[@peterpodgorski]

"The sedans are also not immune to this" Laughs in Lexus ES and GS. No folding rear seats 😂

[@matchsticks4]

What about Porsche saving itself by going from rear-boxer engine, RWD sports cars to front-V-engine, large (then smaller) SUVs?

[@betodo9984]

53:00 LMAOOOOOO NOT THE A-TEAM

[@ArnoSchmidt70]

The "Wurst" also has a VW part number (199 398 500 A) and you can get it at any VW dealer in Germany.

[@bernardosilva2540]

17:25 interesting you mention this topic. Doug talked about this difference in content in one of his latest videos about what youtubers he watches

[@eugenux]

unfortunately, the Buzz is just an ID3 made to look pretty...but, all its flaws are present and a van as a city car/short commuter is not the greatest idea.

[@PigglyWigglyDeluxe]

Literally whoever buys it could not possibly care less about any of that. Buyers will buy it solely because it looks pretty. The end.

[@eugenux]

@@PigglyWigglyDeluxe there are tons of other 70k vehicles that look pretty. Maybe it is a California thing and I don't get it. 🤷🏻

[@Loanshark753]

It is large, however there are other electric vans.

[@michaelking6596]

What... An early upload! Stop my racing heart!

[@tonyclewes8]

Off to a great start too !

[@rainsilent]

I don't think the Buzz is in a position to save VW for the very reason that Derek said. There isn't much of anything compelling to go with the Buzz at the moment. With the new Beetle there were the Mk.4s. The Icons episode is great. It felt just like the Piech episode but with an emphasis on the history of VW in general rather than being about Piech's career.

[@aarondavis8433]

they began selling gewurz ketchup in the US as of Sept 23rd, 2024

Gm went all front wheel drive in the early eighties