Kombi Karma

Kombi Karma examines a cultural icon through the eyes of a diverse group of VW Kombi van lovers. Rachael travels the Victorian countryside in her Kombi and describes her camping trips as ‘more comfortable than being at home’. David, a Kombi enthusiast for over 30 years, is fascinated by the van’s early beginnings as an economical utilities vehicle in occupied Germany during World War II. Some tell of their love of the Kombi’s idiosyncratic design, ‘I love the box shape because it’s such a practical thing to put things in’. Andrew lovingly restores Kombis and believes ‘once you’re bitten by it, it never really goes away, once you own one you really wouldn’t want to own any other sort of car’. And Jan has learned to love Kombis again after her former partner smashed her newly restored Kombi to pieces with a wood splitter. But perhaps Ben sums it up best when he explains that being a Kombi devotee means that ‘you are someone who enjoys the journey as much as the destination’.