The ID. Buzz is here! Here! Here!
...Come along for the ride
First Buzz. Flwr Pwer. Tie-Dye. Buzz On.
These are the top four license plate picks Richard and I contemplated for the ID. Buzz that came into our lives on Saturday. We name our cars, and I’m leaning toward a Flwr Pwer license plate but calling her Daisy.
The first Buzz in Iowa arrived a few hours earlier in Sioux City, and I had to have it. I abandoned a salesman at another dealership because it was uncertain when their allotment would arrive, and they were trying to get $3,000 more than the MSRP sticker price. I had a better time negotiating the price of the EV in northwest Iowa than in the larger metro area—the first ID. Buzz to hit an Iowa showroom was going to be mine.
Mine and the leasing company.
It was 2017 when I first read about the concept car Volkswagen had designed for reviving the retired VW Van, and I announced to Richard that I had to have one.
So, the 365 days of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 ticked by, and the vehicle was still just an unrequited love. I scoffed when stories appeared saying it would arrive at the end of 2024.
Through the years, the teases, the sign-up-now-to-be-the-first-in-line promotional emails, and the FaceBook groups for ID. Buzz fans taunted me. A few months ago, YouTube car reviewers started uploading reports, and it felt like, FINALLY, the Buzz was real.
I had my name on a list to be called when they arrived with dealerships in Des Moines, Chicago, Chattanooga, and Fort Myers. I added Davenport, Iowa City, and Sioux City to the list three weeks ago. Chattanooga? I made a bet that a dealer with a VW plant in town might get a first batch.
But it wasn’t until last week that dealers were notified the automakers' pivotal re-entry in a market it had abandoned was about to become a reality.
The first VW Van I owned was a 1968 dark green beauty with rust in all the wrong places, a manual transmission, and so many things that didn’t work that it had a certain personality. I probably paid less for it than just one of the premium upgrades offered on the new Buzz.
First Reactions
It looks cooler than I even imagined
It’s roomier
It rides a whole lot better than my 1968 VW van
It’s expensive
It has a convenient place for a purse (automakers: be sure to have women engineers to understand the importance of these things)
It has a back massage feature
The ambient light is nice
It’s a 2025 VW Van!
How it Drives
I’ve driven it from Sioux City to Des Moines, all in Eco or Comfort mode, so I don’t know yet if it has the zippity-doo-dah of the Tesla Y, our first EV we abandoned because the issue of phantom breaking wasn’t resolved. When I put Daisy in Sport mode, I suspect she’ll be more like a racehorse.
Nostalgia sells, and the VW engineers triggered lots of it when I first climbed into the driver’s seat. Yes, it’s a climb, just like the original van was, but it makes the driver feel perched above the sea of sedans on the highway.
This is our third electric vehicle, and when it comes to a new car purchase, I won’t go back to fossil fuel-dependent vehicles that play an outsized role in the planet's extreme weather.
If you haven’t entered this world yet, I promise you’ll enjoy the new paradigm of not paying for an oil change or gasoline again. Charging the car is a bit of a learning curve, but it’s worth it.
How Will The Buzz be Received?
This is a massive gamble for VW. They brought back to life a vehicle that was a beloved right-of-passage for many baby boomers. Unlike today’s version, the VW van was an inexpensive mode of transportation, and when the time came, the car helped ease young parents into family life.
I am the stereotypical target market for this car. Will a younger generation find the Buzz as exciting?
Will the unusual colors have staying-power in an ocean of silver, black, gray, white, and beige?
I don’t know. That’s one reason to consider a two-year lease. Also, until the incoming president eliminates all incentives to save the planet, there’s a tax credit for leasing but not buying a foreign-made car - another reason to act now, before that’s gone.
For now, I could not be more excited to drive the long-awaited ID. Buzz.
The familiar feel of a dog by my side, resting his nuzzle on my arm from the passenger seat, reminded me of the four-legged loved ones who came before him and with whom I had many adventures.
Of course, I played 60’s music from XM radio, singing along to the Beatles, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Blood Sweat and Tears, Donovan, etc., and got a lump in my throat when this old favorite by Mary Hopkins came on.
Those Were the Days, My Friend
Once upon a time, there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
Think of all the great things we would do.
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever, and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
La-la-la-da-da-da
La-la-la-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, la-da-da-da-da
Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If by chance, I'd see you in the tavern
We'd smile at one another, and we'd say
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever, and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days
La-la-la-da-da-da
La-la-la-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da
….
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever, and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days
La-la-la-da-da-da
La-la-la-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da
La-la-la-da-da-da
La-la-la-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da
Through the door, there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh, my friend, we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts, the dreams are still the same
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever, and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days
La-la-la-da-da-da
La-la-la-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da
La-la-la-da-da-da
La-la-la-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
More about the ID. Buzz:
https://www.vw.com/en/models/id-buzz.html
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a62638170/2025-volkswagen-id-buzz-test/
Okoboji
Daisy is the official vehicle for the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat, to be held September 28-October 1. Smile.
Say hi.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative has added a new writer this week. Please check out Joan Zwaggerman’s new column, Nuts and Bolts. She joins a distinguished roster of over 50 professional writers. Check out the IWC Roundup, then subscribe to get it delivered to your inbox each Sunday.
one of my first methods of making some extra money was repairing and fixing up old pre-1967 VW buses.
Julie, you have generated fond memories of the first car I purchased on my own--an orange VW Bug. So happy you have recaptured the spirit of those times in your new VW!