Recent reports about the bleak outlook for the future of the Volkswagen brand are raising alarm bells among fans of the German automaker. But amid reports that VW may have to close German factories for the first time in its history, an unlikely hero may emerge from VW’s own ranks. This hero is not a person, but a car, and this car is the VW ID card. Buzz.

But how can an electric car, released at a time when demand for electric vehicles is declining, be VW’s savior, you may ask?

Well, it does something that VW has struggled with for several years and that is creating excitement (pun intended) around the brand that extends beyond the niche enthusiast group of GTI lovers. A recent commercial launched by VW USA captures the fun-loving and colorful nature of the ID. Buzz that proves why it could be the model to change VW’s fortunes.

A Life Half Full: A Celebration of Color and Fun

The quirky ad, titled “A Life Half-Full,” is based on the ID. As a family vehicle, Buzz is fun, but most of all it endears viewers because of its quirky nature. Between the music, the happy smiles of everyone who interacts with it and the vibrant color schemes that match the two-tone color schemes that contribute significantly to the retro identity of the ID Buzz, the advertising and indeed the ID. Buzz does something that no VW other than the Golf GTI and Jetta GLI has done since the last Beetle came out: connect people to the car on an emotional level.

It’s not the first time that VW has stirred our emotions with an ID. Buzz ad too, and it won’t be the last. This year’s Superbowl ad was meant to give us a feeling, and at the Buzz’s media launch in the US, VW recreated the iconic photo of a train of colorful VW buses winding through Lombard Street in San Francisco. I dare you to look at the recovery below and tell me it doesn’t put a smile on your face.

The GLI and GTI’s appeal is limited to a small niche of automotive enthusiasts who love them for their heritage and fun factor, but these are not cars with mass appeal. And when you look at the vehicles VW offers that are intended to have mass appeal, none of them trigger any emotions.

The Taos, Tiguan and Atlas (including Cross Sport) are the models that should be VW’s bread and butter, and there’s nothing particularly wrong with any of them; They’re all perfectly OK crossovers that do what they’re supposed to do and nothing more. The ID.4, which was intended to be the launchpad for VW’s electric ambitions in the US and a fresh start after dieselgate, is good to live with, but in a sea of ​​competent electric vehicles it lacks an identity – ironic when identity is meant to be literal First name.

They’re devices in the way most people view their family vehicles, but when was the last time a device touched your soul?

In each of their respective segments, these crossovers fall short of the best (the new Tiguan hopes to change that), meaning most are bought because or because they offer a good midpoint in terms of value for money and practicality There was a VW dealer near your home and had a great deal at a price below the RRP. But that also means they’re forgettable, and the last thing a car maker like VW needs to be when it’s on the verge of collapse is forgettable. Ask Jaguar what it’s like.

The ID card. Buzz is emotion in a bottle

But the ID. Buzz is fun, bubbly and completely unforgettable.

We were lucky enough to drive it both in Europe and here in the US, and every time we did it brought kids running to the side of the road and elicited smiles and waves from passersby. It’s a car that makes people happy just by seeing it, just as the original Bus and Beetle did, and just as the new Beetle did when it first hit the U.S. market in 1997.

And VW is completely oriented towards this identity. The ID card. Buzz makes people care about VW again, and it’s that emotional connection that sells cars, creates brand loyalty and ultimately saves the brand.

That’s what happened when the new Beetle came out in 1996, sparking a wave of interest in VW in America and leading to some of the best sales years ever in the US. A new Beetle is already excluded from the brand’s future plans, but with the ID. Buzz VW may not need a Beetle.

The fight won’t be easy

So VW has the product. It is the only car that can rekindle a spark of passion within the brand. Even at a time when the luster of the EV revolution seems to have lost its luster, the ID. Buzz manages to stimulate the imagination and touch the soul. But that might not be enough, because cars cost money, and the ID. Buzz isn’t cheap.

If this was an offer under $50,000, I would declare it the savior of Volkswagen and a license to print money. But the cheapest ID. Buzz can be had for a few bucks under $60,000, and this one doesn’t get access to the eight fancy two-tone colorways you really want. To get the pop of color the Buzz needs, you’ll have to go for at least the $63,495 Pro S Plus and shell out another grand for the color. That’s a lot of money to part with when most minivans are $10,000 to $15,000 cheaper and the Kia EV9 – a funky, stylish and practical three-row electric vehicle – costs $5,000 less and will likely get cheaper , once battery production begins in the US. The Buzz isn’t made locally, meaning it’s not getting cheaper any time soon, and there are already dealer markups to contend with.

But that doesn’t mean VW can’t do it. The ID card. Buzz is as much a fashion statement as it is a mode of transportation, and we’ve seen time and time again that people are willing to pay more for fashion. If VW continues its campaign to use the ID. Buzz to bring joy to everyday Americans, the desire for the latest car accessories is sure to follow. At least I hope it will be so.

The journalist in me needs to remain objective about VW’s future. But the enthusiast in me doesn’t want to live in a world where VW is just a shell of what I know. For the sake of VW and all enthusiasts around the world, I hope that the ID. Buzz can be the savior VW needs.