Restoration from the Palisades and Altadena fires in January is ongoing, however one small brilliant spot has emerged from the destroy and darkness.
A blue-and-white 1977 Volkswagen T2 bus — a viral sensation after miraculously surviving the mass destruction of properties, faculties and companies — will probably be accessible for public viewing following a significant restoration.
The revamped “Azul, the magic bus,” as 30-year-old proprietor Megan Weinraub calls it, will probably be featured at this yr’s Los Angeles Auto Present, which runs from Friday by Nov. 30 on the Los Angeles Conference Middle in downtown L.A. From there, the VW will probably be on show on the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard from Dec. 4 to Jan. 11 earlier than being returned to Weinraub.
For these unfamiliar with Weinraub’s bus, there’s a again story. As individuals worldwide watched wildfires ravage neighborhoods round Los Angeles County in January, some discovered consolation within the story of Weinraub’s little engine that would.
A Volkswagen T2 bus sits amongst burned-out properties in Malibu on Jan. 9.
(Mark J. Terrill / Related Press)
Her 1977 Volkswagen was left standing after the Palisades fireplace devastated the Malibu neighborhood the place Weinraub had parked it after a day of browsing. She came upon the car had survived when she noticed it in a strong picture taken by the Related Press’ Mark J. Terrill. Within the photograph, amid the destruction and burned rubble, Weinraub’s brilliant blue-and-white VW stood seemingly intact.
Throughout a Wednesday night occasion on the Petersen, Weinraub stated she couldn’t consider her eyes.
“It was loopy to see, however I knew it was mine as a result of I’d parked it there,” she stated. “At first, I felt responsible as a result of everybody did lose quite a bit, after which my issues made it. So I used to be like, ‘Everyone seems to be struggling.’ However everybody was like, ‘This bus is popping out in a constructive manner, as a beacon of hope.’ I might love for it to be an emblem of that. I’m grateful that I would be the gentle within the instances of darkness, and my bus is for that. I like that. I wish to be of service.”
The picture was so placing that some individuals on-line questioned if the {photograph} was one way or the other manufactured by AI. “Folks had been like, ‘She Photoshopped that,’” Weinraub stated. “I’m like, ‘Why would I try this?’ ”
Nevertheless, as soon as Weinraub noticed her VW in individual, she found one thing. “It did burn,” she stated. “It simply survived one way or the other.”
Gunnar Wynarski, left, and Farlan Robertson are two Volkswagen technicians who helped restore Weinraub’s VW.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Instances)
For Volkswagen, the scenario offered a chance. The German auto firm contacted Weinraub and supplied to examine the car. VW introduced the bus to its location in Oxnard, a facility that homes a lot of the auto model’s historic autos. Volkswagen decided Weinraub’s autos wanted vital mechanical repairs and bodywork to be prepared for the highway.
“It turned out that that photograph that all of us noticed, that stunning photograph that Mark took, solely confirmed Azul’s good facet,” stated Rachael Zaluzec, senior vp of brand name advertising and buyer expertise for Volkswagen of America. “What we didn’t see was the opposite facet of the car that was actually badly scarred from the fires. The bus required some fairly intensive work. Now, not simply on the outside, but additionally the mechanicals. We needed to substitute issues like burnt-out wiring and hoses. There was a number of bodywork, a number of paint work that wanted to be finished.”
Though a full car restoration like this one would possibly take years to finish, staff of Volkswagen of America’s Oxnard Engineering Campus spent the previous few months restoring Weinraub’s VW. The Oxnard staff repaired and changed mandatory inside and exterior items whereas conserving the bus’ ’70s spirit in tact. GE Kundensport offered extra bodywork, and different contractors offered engine refurbishment and powder coating of assorted elements.
Company at Petersen Automotive Museum try a restored Volkswagen bus often known as Azul.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Instances)
Volkswagen unveiled the restored bus throughout a gap evening occasion on the Petersen in celebration of the 2025 L.A. Auto Present. To commemorate the mission, Volkswagen partnered with Candylab Toys to create a limited-edition wood model of the bus, which is out there for buy throughout the auto present.
“She’s glowing,” Weinraub stated as her Microbus was revealed. “She seems lovely.”
Fittingly, the photographer behind the viral photograph, Terrill, was current, however on project like different photographers on the occasion.
“It’s all due to you,” Weinraub instructed him between pictures.
“I might like to say that I noticed it for what it was after I shot it,” Terrill stated. “That isn’t actually the case. I noticed it for what it was afterwards. Whereas I used to be within the helicopter, I began trying by the photographs. I believed, ‘Oh, that’s a pleasant splash of shade.’ What I noticed was, ‘Oh, that’s so California.’
“You by no means know when an image’s going to go viral,” Terrill stated. “Footage take out on a lifetime of their very own generally. And that’s what occurred with this. Folks noticed it and so they noticed one thing extra in it than I did. They noticed what another person coined as a ‘beacon of hope.’ It’s gratifying that it implies that to so many individuals.”
Azul the Volkswagen bus was restored by VW of America’s Oxnard Engineering Campus.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Instances)
The inside of Weinraub’s restored VW.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Instances)
Volkswagen stated it made contributions within the quantity of $250,000 to the nonprofit California Fireplace Basis, which helps first responders and their households all through the state.
Though VW declined to share the price of the renovation, the auto firm stated 50% of the car was repaired with greater than 900 elements, and 2,080 hours had been put into the restoration, from analysis to labor.
Megan Weinraub sits her restored Volkswagen T2 bus.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Instances)
For Weinraub, a customized surfboard artist, Volkswagen’s efforts have been life-changing. “Two years in the past, I made a imaginative and prescient board and put a Volkswagen bus on it,” stated Weinraub, who lives in Laguna Seashore. “I nonetheless have it. Then, I wrote magic, magic, magic, magic, magic throughout it. After which, actually, this occurs. I’m like, ‘Shut up. Like, I low-key manifested it.’
“I wish to use this as a clear slate to begin over and re-create my life,” stated Weinraub, including that she plans to take her restored VW on a number of tenting journeys, together with one to Massive Sur. “This was a perspective change.”
