Monday, September 30, 2013


VW's hippie hauler is ending its long, strange trip

Brazil is the last place in the world still producing the iconic vehicle, or "bus" as it's known by aficionados, but VW says production will end Dec. ...
Andre Penner / AP
Brazil is the last place in the world still producing the iconic vehicle, or "bus" as it's known by aficionados, but VW says production will end Dec. 31.
It carried hippies through the 1960s, hauled surfers in search of killer waves during endless summers and serves as a workhorse across the developing world, but the long, strange trip of the Volkswagen van is ending.
Brazil is the last place in the world still producing the iconic vehicle, or "bus" as it's known by aficionados, but VW says production will end Dec. 31. Safety regulations mandate that every vehicle in Brazil must have air bags and anti-lock braking systems starting in 2014, and the company says it cannot change production to meet the law.
Although output will halt in Brazil, there should be plenty of VW vans rolling along for decades if only because there are so many, and they are so durable. VW produced more than 10 million Volkswagen Transporter vans globally since the model was introduced 63 years ago in Germany, though not all resemble the classic hippie machine. More than 1.5 million have been produced in Brazil since 1957.
The VW van is so deeply embedded in popular culture, it will likely live on even longer in the imagination.
"The van represents freedom," said Damon Ristau, the Missoula, Montana, director of the documentary "The Bus," which follows van fanatics and their affection for the machine. "It has a magic and charm lacking in other vehicles. It's about the open road, about bringing smiles to peoples' faces when they see an old VW van rolling along."
Perhaps nothing with a motor has driven itself deeper into American and European pop culture than the VW, known for its durability but also its tendency to break down. Van lovers say its failures only reinforce its charm: Because its engine is so simple, it's easy to fix, imparting a deeper sense of ownership.
The van made an appearance on Bob Dylan and Beach Boys record album covers, among many, though in music circles its most closely linked to the Grateful Dead and the legion of touring fans that followed the rock group across the U.S., the machines serving as rolling homes. Steve Jobs is said to have sold his van in the 1970s to buy a circuit board as he built a computer that helped launch Apple. The vehicle is linked to the California surf scene, its cavernous interior perfect for hauling boards.
But in poorer regions like Latin American and Africa, the vehicle doesn't carry the same romantic appeal. It definitely doesn't hold the cool mystique in Sao Paulo that it does in San Francisco.
It's used in Brazil by the postal service to haul mail, by the army to transport soldiers, and by morticians to carry corpses. It serves as a school bus for kids, operates as a group taxi, and delivers construction materials to work sites. Brazilians convert their vans into rolling food carts, setting up on street corners for working-class lunchtime crowds.
In Brazil it's known as the "Kombi," an abbreviation for the German "Kombinationsfahrzeug" that loosely translates as "cargo-passenger van."
One recent drizzly morning in Sao Paulo, Jorge Hanashiro took a break inside his light green 1974 Kombi while his wife, Anna, served deep fried meat and vegetable pastry pies to customers at an open-air market.
"There may be safer and more modern cars around, but for me the Kombi is the best vehicle to transport my stall and products to the six open air markets I visit each week," the 77-year-old Hanashiro said. "It is economical, rugged and easy to repair."
The vehicle has found its way into the hearts of Brazilians like Enio Guarnieri, 54, who stood grinning next to the blue-and-white 1972 van he keeps in his cluttered garage in a working-class Sao Paulo neighborhood.
Guarnieri bought the vehicle a year ago to stoke childhood memories. When he was 10, his father taught him to drive a van.
In this Sept. 3, 2013 photo, Jorge Hanashiro and his wife Ana, prepare deep fried meat and vegetable pastry pies at an open-air market, with their lig...
Andre Penner / AP
In this Sept. 3, 2013 photo, Jorge Hanashiro and his wife Ana, prepare deep fried meat and vegetable pastry pies at an open-air market, with their light green 1974 Volkswagon van or Kombi, parked nearby, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
"Driving a Kombi with your face up against the windshield is a thrilling adventure," he said. "There is no other van like it. There is no other van that is so easy and inexpensive to maintain. Anyone with a minimum amount of knowledge about engines and a few tools can fix a Kombi."
A VW plant in Mexico stopped producing the classic version of the van in 1995, leaving a factory on Sao Paulo's outskirts as its last lifeline. Production in Germany was halted in 1979 because the van no longer met European safety requirements.
Sao Paulo advertising executive Marcello Serpa says the van's spirit will live on after its demise.
He has a 2007 version meant to have a 1960s American hippie feel. He painted it in bright green, yellow, blue and red colors with cartoon-like drawings of his wife, daughters and himself, surfboard in hand.
Serpa said the bus evokes "a spirit of playfulness and happiness," causing people to pause and smile when he drives it down Sao Paulo's chaotic streets.
"The Kombi is part of Brazil's cultural and emotional landscape," he said, "and that explains the strong feelings of affection most people have for it." 
Jeana Fraser in her cheerleading uniform (David Fraser/Tampa Bay Times

Cheerleader uniform too short for school, yet somehow fine for games

The Pinellas school district in Florida won't let its cheerleaders wear their uniforms during school hours this year. One district principal says the issue boils down to fairnesss and an attempt to hew to a recently implemented stricter dress code. Countryside High School principal Gary Schlereth told the Tampa Bay Times, "A parent looks at their son or daughter getting 'dress coded' for wearing something short, then they look at the cheerleading uniform and they say, 'What about that?'" The logical objection to the double-standard of a district-approved uniform being banned in school has been raised: Christine Johnson, mother of one of Countryside's cheerleaders, asked the Times, "... Why can they wear it in front of thousands of people at a football field if they can't wear it on game day at school?" Another school principal, Lakewood High School's Bob Vicari told the Tampa Bay Tribune that, "I have at least 80 to 100 students that have come to me with positive comments about our new dress code," which doesn't sound like a thing high school students would really ever do, but we'll take his word for it.

Saturday, September 7, 2013


Kate Upton nabs prestigious Model of the Year Award

She's the most in-demand model on the scene right now.


Is any model hotter right now than Kate Upton? From scoring a second Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover to becoming the new face of David Yurman (and landing a major role in a new Cameron Diaz film) there's no doubt she's the most in-demand model on the scene right now.

The people behind the 10th Annual Style Awards seem to agree, because they will award Kate with the prestigious Model of the Year at their ceremony on Wednesday, at the beginning of New York Fashion Week.

If you want to catch Kate's acceptance speech but you weren't able to snag a ticket to the event at Lincoln Center, don't worry. The ceremony will be televised on Sept. 14 on CNN.

More from Glamour: 8 Workout Moves for a Toned Body in Two Weeks

Kate is walking away with the biggest award of the night but plenty of other fashion folks will also be on hand vying for 10 awards. According to Modelinia, nominees include Zac Posen, Victor Cruz, Frederic Fekkai, Patrick Demarchelier, Rachel Zoe and John Varvatos. The event will be hosted by Nicole Richie.