Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 10:32:30 -0500
Reply-To: Chris Mills <scmills@TNTECH.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Chris Mills <scmills@TNTECH.EDU>
Subject: Re: ?? SA Engine Conversion ??
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All models that we don't get here in NA...
After spending 3 years in Italy I think the US car market must be very
different than anywhere else with folks much more casual about what they
buy since apparently lots ok folks don't seem to expect to keep their car
past the end of their payments.
Their are some wonderful cars out there that wouldn't have a chance here
(why???) - Opel sporty cars made from the same shell as the fatally boring
Cavaliers here, and some wonderful utility vehicles (4 door small trucks)
that we have only recently begun seeing on the roads here.
All I can figure is that the car companies here know they can make more
money on the big carsthan the little ones and if they start selling (or
the public starts learning how wonderful the) clever little cars are (and
their small utilitarian cousins) the market demand will change and their
profits will fall.
Anyone able to elaborate on the topic?
Enjoying the conversation.
At 08:31 PM 6/16/01 +1200, you wrote:
> >By the way, the story of the Eurovan that Ari Ollikainen put us onto was
> >interesting. The T2 was introduced in 1967 and had its best year in 1971
> >just four years later. After that it was downhill all the way to
> >1978. Every year a successful car is produced and remains on the road
> >makes it harder to sell the same car in the future. In that regard the
> >Vanagon was its own worst enemy just as the Beetle was its own. I'd like
> >to see similar stats for the Vanagon and the Eurovan. You can bet that VW
> >has been tracking such stats closely.
>
>Funny, the current Japanese van bodies (all forward-control/cabover
>designs) were all introduced in 1989 and are still selling like hotcakes.
>The only competition are the Frod Trans*it, very rare Fiat and Renault,
>"Mercedes" ?MB100 and VW T4 Transporter (+Eurovan), none of which are any
>danger saleswise or otherwise to the Nipponese, cheap as the Frod is. The
>only real competition is the Hyundai H100, which is a Korean-made
>current-model Mitsubishi Delica...
>
>My feeling is that VW should have kept the rear-engine/IRS layout (or done
>a midengine/IRS job) for the T4, but used a NEW DOHC engine design with a
>flat full-length floor, with forward-control cab. Instead they screwed the
>pooch and brought out a characeterless and totally anonymous poor-handling
>FWD lump.
>
>On another note, does "cabover" refer to the cab being over the engine or
>the front wheels?
>
>
>Andrew Grebneff
>165 Evans St, Dunedin, New Zealand
>ph 64 (3) 473-8863
>fax 64 (3) 479-7527
><andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
>www.goingplatinum.com/member/vw1
>www.highyieldcrusaders.ws/ref.html?ref=vw
>www.aciimoney.com/index.shtml?vw1
>VW & Toyota vans, Toyota diesels and Macintoshes rule
Chris in Tennessee
'78 VW Westy
'65 Beetle (type IV powered)
'99 CR-V
'81 Honda CB900 Custom (FOR SALE)
ICQ# 5544649