Woodstock bus rockin' and rollin' again

The 1969 Woodstock music festival has gone down in history as the place where a whole generation was exposed to rock 'n' roll, good thoughts of world peace - and one wild-looking VW bus, which showed up in photographs taken by The Associated Press and Rolling Stone and Life magazines.

Now, after five decades, that trippy rolling relic is returning for an encore, getting re-created for the historic event's 50th anniversary.

The original hippie hauler was a 1963 standard Volkswagen Microbus that artist Bob Hieronimus painted by a Maryland lake in the summer of '69 for friends in the Baltimore-based rock band, Light. Later that August, the crew loaded up and drove north to the now world famous Yasgur's farm fields.

Upon arrival, band members were initially delayed because of traffic congestion, but the musicians not only finagled their way onto the grounds, they managed to park to the left of the main stage. Because of their prime position and the bus's eye-catching colors, it showed up in photographs taken by the media and seen all over the country.

Upon the festival's close, the vehicle became the errand bus around the commune where Dr. Bob lived. Over time, it bid a far-out farewell, being lost to the sands of time. It's last known location was somewhere around Baltimore in November of 1972.

In 2016, Canadian documentarian John Wesley Chisholm caught wind of Bob's desire to find and restore the bus in celebration of the festival's 2019 50th anniversary. The two partnered up and began hunting for the original van. After six months of fruitless searching, a Kickstarter page was founded to pay for an exact re-creation.

Word of their efforts spread to Volkswagen of America, which chipped in and lent support. A suitable replacement was found in a Tennessee field and purchased for restoration. Since then, this second bus has been fully restored. The final touch was getting all the exterior artwork, painted on by Bob (with help from five other artists) in the same psychedelic manner as the original.

The completed pop-art piece was unveiled for the first time last week in Long Beach, California. It has now embarked on a cross-country tour, leading up to Woodstock's big August anniversary. Follow along at woodstockvwbus.com.

<h3 class="leadin">Ram Warlock

Ram Trucks is looking to recapture some of the retro magic from a 1970s custom truck, resurrecting its Warlock name. First launched in 1976, the Warlock package was a factory-customized pickup featuring fancy items like bucket seats, chrome-plated running boards, gold striping, upgraded wheels and tires and real oak sideboards.

The Ram Warlock didn't stay long, being discontinued in 1979.

Now, the mystical moniker is returning on the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic Warlock. This new offering has been given a healthy dose of black magic, featuring a blacked-out grille, 20-inch semi-gloss black aluminum wheels, blacked out badging and smoked headlights.

There's also front and rear powder-coated bumpers, a 1-inch factory lift, heavy-duty rear shocks and an optional Sport hood. Inside, gray cloth seating is standard, along with a leather-wrapped steering wheel, LED bed lighting and a 7-inch cluster display.

To further bewitch customers, options like a heated bench or bucket seats and a spray-in bed liner can be added. Either a 3.6-liter V-6 or 5.7-liter V-8 can be selected under hood, paired with an eight-speed transmission.

The pickup will go on sale soon with a price starting at $35,345.

<h3 class="leadin">Bugatti Chiron Sport

The Bugatti brand is celebrating its 110th anniversary and honoring its French heritage by releasing a very rare edition, the "110 an Bugatti."

Only 20 of the uber-exclusive models will be built, which are Chiron Sport models. Around the vehicle are French tricolor blue, white and red highlights, including on the mirror caps and on the underside of the massive rear spoiler. Those hues carry over to the inside where the tricolor design can be found in special embroidery running down the center of the seats, at the 12 o'clock mark on the steering wheel and on the key fob.

Another special feature is a medallion made of solid silver with enamel inserts, positioned on a carbon fiber plate in the center dashboard.

The package appears to be all about looks as there's no word on performance gains or modifications. There's also no word on pricing (either in dollars or francs), but considering the Chiron starts just shy of $3 million, this special edition should ring up slightly more than that.

• Share you car's story with Matt at auto@dailyherald.com. Check out his book at COPOthebook.com.