Productopia | Minivans

The original Volkswagen Type 2 (or Transporter), commonly known here in the U.S. as the Microbus, is beloved by many. Synonymous with the hippie movement of the 1960s, the bus can rightly be called an automotive icon, and the increasingly rare sight of one out on the road never fails to elicit a smile.

(Fun fact: Did you know that the Type 2 is still manufactured today? It's sold in Brazil as the Volkswagen Kombi.)

Now, while the original-style VW Transporter hasn't been available since 1979 (Brazil excepted), a concept car introduced today at the Geneva Motor Show hints at what a modern take on the Microbus could wind up looking like... if VW gives it the green light for production. It's called the Bulli.

There's plenty of action in the minivan segment this year. The 2011 Toyota Sienna went on sale this summer; the 2011 Honda Odyssey, which we recently drove, arrives on September 30th; the all-new 2011 Nissan Quest will be formally unveiled in November (observant TV watchers have already seen it teased in Nissan's new television spot); and the 2011 Chrysler Town & Country goes on sale sometime in the fourth quarter of 2010. Speaking of the Chrysler minivan, photos (see them at our Facebook and Flickr pages) and details about the new-for-2011 changes were released today. Read on for the full skinny.

If a 2010 Nissan Quest was on your minivan shopping list, you'll want to reconsider. That's because Nissan has announced that there won't be a 2010 Nissan Quest. The 2009 Nissan Quest will continue to be produced at the company's Canton, Mississippi manufacturing facility until later this year, when Nissan will pull the plug on its U.S.-based minivan production altogether. (Canton will continue to produce the Nissan Titan pickup and Armada SUV.) But that's not the end of the story.