Volkswagen is in financial trouble, and the ID.Buzz might signal whether the company survives. This is Jason Cammisa's full review of the U.S.-specification 2025 ID.Buzz, plus perspective on why it matters so much to VW's success here in America.
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After 23 years of teasers, VW's new electric Bus is finally for sale in America. And this documentary-style review will teach you everything you need to know about the Buzz — and why it's a bellwether for VW's continued existence.
Volkswagen's history is easily divided into three chapters: the Aircooled VWs; the Watercooled VWs; and now, the Electric VWs.
To understand why the ID.Buzz is so important, we need to look back through VW's three chapters to see how the presence of a high-emotion, style-first vehicle seems to be something without which Volkswagen can't be successful in America.
To that end, award-winning automotive journalist Jason Cammisa takes us on a journey from the original Type 1 Volkswagen (which we call "the Beetle") and its platform-mates Bus, Karmann-Ghia, Squareback, Thing, and Porsche 356; through to the second-ever Volkswagens, the Mk1 Golf (i.e. Rabbit), GTI, Cabriolet, Scirocco, Jetta, and Caddy Pickup — plus the Concept One (New Beetle); and then onto today's lineup of electric, MEB-platform VWs, including the ID.4, the only one sold in America so far.
Cammisa is joined by SCCA Hall-of-Fame race-car driver Randy Pobst in period costume, pretending to smoke some Mary Jane (Pobst has never consumed marijuana), for flower-power comic relief.
Always the best, most comprehensive big-picture review in the automotive industry, ICONS is edutainment with an emphasis on journalism. This comprehensive Road Test includes instrumented acceleration testing. This 2025 VW ID. Buzz 1st Edition with 4MOTION accelerated to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, earning a 1/4-mile run of 14.2 @ 96 mph.
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"Jason Cammisa on the ICONS" is a 3-time-in-a-row winner in the Best Journalism Film category of the International Motor Films Awards, the most prestigious award for automotive content — as well as the recipient of more than a dozen Telly Awards and a Webby.
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction to the 2025 ID.Buzz
3:42 Quick Review of the ID.Buzz w/ Cheat Sheet
4:28 23-year Gestation of the Buzz
5:03 Drag Race! ID.Buzz vs VW Bus vs Miura vs Bicycle vs Scooter
7:53 Thoroughly Modern Car Underneath
9:02 The 3 Chapters of VW's History
9:20 Chapter 1: The Air-Cooled Volkswagen: the Beetle
11:36 Porsche's VW Platform-Sharing Genius
13:22 The Original VW Bus as a Cultural Icon in America
14:35 Chapter 2: VW's Clean-Sheet Water-Cooled Cars
16:07 The Legendary Mk1 VW GTI
17:18 The Rabbit Didn't Sell in America
18:33 Volkswagen's Second Brush with Bankruptcy
19:39 The New Beetle Saves Volkswagen of America
21:25 Chapter 3: The Disastrous Electric VWs
23:36 The ID.Buzz is different from the ID.4 — functional review
25:28 VW has an Emotional Car For America Again
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