Riviera Motors Inc.
1737 S.W. Morrison St.
Tel. CA 6-3831
Some of the earliest and best information on the origin of Riviera campers comes from Fred Stormer and Charles Lukey, courtesy of the type2.com archives. Fred Stoermer writes:
"Riviera Motors was the Beaverton, Oregon based regional
distributor of Volkswagens. At some point they decided
to contract with ASI (Automotive Services, Inc.), based
in the Vancouver, Washington area, for Type 2 camper
conversions modeled after Westfalia Campmobiles. Why
Riviera decided to do this is a puzzle, because Campmobiles
sold like hotcakes in the Pacific Northwest."
Charles "Luke" Lukey responds:
True - they sold so well that Riviera Motors could not keep their downstream dealers supplied. VW offered the following take-it-or-leave-it deal: You get X number of Westfalia campers when you buy Y number of pickups and panel vans.
This posed a problem to Knute Qvale, owner of Riviera Motors. VW pickups and panels were slow movers, prone to "lot rot." Knute knew a cabinet maker named Lasko and assigned him to design and build a camper conversion that would work with the VW panel. He then imposed a new regime on his downstream dealers: You get X number of Westfalia campers when you buy Y number of my "Riviera" campers.
The dealers were hesitant at first, but once they'd seen the workmanship of the conversion, they got on board. This was in 1965.
So the first Riviera conversions began in 1965. But there's documented proof of Riviera campers made from buses as early as 1963 and perhaps even 1958! In the case of the 1963, it was delivered into the east coast and presumably came west before being converted into a Riviera camper. Does that make these "early" campers any less Riviera than one built in 1966? Of course not. But if you are looking to buy a Riviera camper or establish the history of your camper, remember that official production began in 1965.
1965 through 1967. Three model years of split window buses that became Riviera campers. Sadly, no one at Riviera Motors nor ASI (so far as we know) kept accurate records of Riviera production numbers. Look over any confirmed Riviera and you won't find a body badge or ID plate anywhere. It's very disheartening as a Riviera owner to be unable to say "This here's Riviera #456." or something of the kind. We simply have the ability to say "This is a Riviera". If I ever discover production numbers from ASI or someone associated with Riviera Motors, you bet I will post them here.
While Riviera produced camper initially based on the Westy campers, you can tell there are some very unique differences. If you're wondering what those are, check out the guide here on the site. A handful of Riviera camper were also fitted with Sportsmoblie pop tops courtesy of Travel Equipment Corp. in Elkhart, Indiana. As of yet, I have never found any original literature pertaining to the early Rivieras. I cannot imagine that a dealership would market a camper without doing some promotional work for it, but the only literature out there that I have seen is for bay window Rivieras.
Since this site is dedicated to split window Riviera campers, I will not delve into the history of the Riviera beyond 1967, but believe me they continued in earnest! Riviera and ASI converted bay windows and vanagons into campers well into the 1980s.
Companies like ASI and Sportsmobile are still in business:
| Riviera Motors Is No More.
The Nearest Dealer is: Herzog Meier Volkswagen 4275 SW 139th Way Beaverton, OR 97005 (503) 644-9121 http://www.herzog-meiervw.com/ |
Automotive Services, Inc.
2001 West Fourth Plain Blvd. Vancouver, WA Tel. (206) 693-5835 |
Sportsmobile, Inc.
250 Court St. Huntington, IN 46750 (260) 356-5435 http://www.sportsmobile.com/ |