Recovery from the Palisades and Altadena fires in January is ongoing, but a small bright spot has emerged from the ruins and darkness.
A blue and white 1977 Volkswagen T2 bus, a viral sensation after miraculously surviving the mass destruction of homes, schools and businesses, will be available for public view following a major restoration.
The revamped “Blue Magic Bus,” as owner Megan Weinraub, 30, calls it, will be unveiled at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, which runs from Friday to Nov. 30 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. From there, the VW will be on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard from December 4 to January 11 before returning to Weinraub.
For those unfamiliar with Weinraub's bus, there is a backstory. As people around the world watched wildfires ravage Los Angeles County neighborhoods in January, some found solace in the story of Weinraub's little engine that could do it.
A Volkswagen T2 bus lies among burned houses in Malibu on January 9.
(Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)
His 1977 Volkswagen was left standing after the Palisades fire devastated the Malibu neighborhood where Weinraub had parked it after a day of surfing. He discovered the vehicle had survived when he saw it in a powerful image taken by Mark J. Terrill of the Associated Press. In the photo, amid the destruction and burning rubble, Weinraub's shiny blue and white VW remained seemingly intact.
During an event Wednesday night at the Petersen, Weinraub said he couldn't believe his eyes.
“It was crazy to see it, but I knew it was mine because I had parked it there,” he said. “At first I felt guilty because everyone lost so much, and then my stuff caught up. So I thought, 'Everyone's hurting.'” But everyone said: 'This bus is coming out in a positive way, like a ray of hope.' I would love for it to be a symbol of that. I am grateful that I will be the light in the dark times, and that is what my bus is for. I love that. “I want to be useful.”
The image was so striking that some people online questioned whether the photo was somehow fabricated by AI. “People said, 'She touched that up,'” Weinraub said. “I ask myself, 'Why would I do that?' “
However, when Weinraub saw his VW in person, he discovered something. “It burned,” he said. “He just survived somehow.”
Gunnar Wynarski, left, and Farlan Robertson are two Volkswagen technicians who helped restore Weinraub's VW.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
For Volkswagen, the situation represented an opportunity. The German car company contacted Weinraub and offered to inspect the vehicle. VW brought the bus to its Oxnard location, a facility that houses several of the auto brand's historic vehicles. Volkswagen determined that Weinraub's vehicles needed extensive mechanical and body repairs to be ready for the road.
“It turned out that that photo that we all saw, that beautiful photo that Mark took, only showed the good side of Azul,” said Rachael Zaluzec, senior vice president of brand marketing and customer experience for Volkswagen of America. “What we didn't see was the other side of the vehicle that was badly damaged by the fires. The bus required quite extensive work. Now, not just on the exterior, but also on the mechanicals. We had to replace things like burned out wires and hoses. There was a lot of body work and a lot of paint work to be done.”
Although a full vehicle restoration like this could take years to complete, employees at Volkswagen of America's Oxnard Engineering Campus spent the last few months restoring Weinraub's VW. The Oxnard team repaired and replaced the necessary interior and exterior parts while keeping the bus's '70s spirit intact. GE Kundensport provided additional bodywork and other contractors handled engine refurbishment and powder coating of various parts.
Guests at the Petersen Automotive Museum view a restored Volkswagen bus known as Azul.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Volkswagen unveiled the restored bus during an opening night event at Petersen in celebration of the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show. To commemorate the project, Volkswagen partnered with Candylab Toys to create a limited-edition wooden version of the bus, which will be given away during the auto show.
“It's shining,” Weinraub said when his VW bus was revealed. “She looks beautiful.”
Fittingly, the photographer behind the viral photo, Terrill, was present, but on assignment like other photographers at the event.
“It's all thanks to you,” Weinraub told him between takes.
“I'd love to say I saw it as it was when I filmed it,” Terrill said. “That's not really the case. I saw it as it was later. While I was in the helicopter, I started looking at the photographs. I thought, 'Oh, what a nice pop of color.' What I saw was, 'Oh, that's so California.'
“You never know when an image will go viral,” Terrill said. “Images sometimes take on a life of their own. And that's what happened with this. People saw it and they saw something more than I did. They saw what someone else coined as a 'beacon of hope.' It's gratifying that it means that to so many people.”
Blue, the Volkswagen bus was restored by VW of America's Oxnard Engineering Campus.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The interior of Weinraub's restored VW.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Volkswagen said it made contributions totaling $250,000 to the nonprofit California Fire Foundation, which supports first responders and their families across the state.
Although VW declined to share the cost of the renovation, the auto company said that 50% of the vehicle was repaired with more than 900 parts and that 2,080 hours were invested in the restoration, from research to labor.
Megan Weinraub sits in her restored Volkswagen T2 bus.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
For Weinraub, a custom surfboard artist, Volkswagen's efforts have been life-changing. “Two years ago, I made a vision board and put a Volkswagen bus on it,” said Weinraub, who lives in Laguna Beach. “I still have it. Then I wrote magic, magic, magic, magic, magic all over it. And then literally this happens. I'm like, 'Shut up. Like I just quietly manifested it.'
“I want to use this as a clean slate to start over and recreate my life,” Weinraub said, adding that he plans to take his restored VW on some camping trips, including one to Big Sur. “This was a change of perspective.”
