Date:         Tue, 11 Jun 2002 19:58:26 -0700
Reply-To:     Ari Ollikainen <Ari@OLTECO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ari Ollikainen <Ari@OLTECO.COM>
Subject:      Re: New microbus is a go.
In-Reply-To:  <002e01c211ba$014232a0$a8731e41@kc.rr.com>
Content-type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1

At 9:36 PM -0500 6/11/02, Dave Baker wrote:

> VWTV? Must be a cable channel...
>
> Where do you pick that up?


        It's no secret...here are the details:

GERMANY: VW to build Microbus at Hanover 11 Jun 2002
Source: just-auto.com editorial team
http://just-auto.com/news_detail.asp?art=38161&dm=yes&c=1

Volkswagen has given the Microbus, designed in California and
unveiled as a concept vehicle at the 2001 Detroit motor show, the
go-ahead and will build the new minivan at its Hanover site.

The decision means 1,500 new jobs for the Hanover plant which will be
created as part of the unique 5000 x 5000 labour model.

Under this new concept, Volkswagen AG will employ a total of 5,000
persons for a gross wage of DM 5,000 (¤ 2,556). The decision to
create 3,500 new jobs to produce a minivan at the Wolfsburg plant was
already taken last year.

"Having reviewed the economic requirements for building the Microbus
in the group, we have come to the conclusion that, based on the 5000
x 5000 project and a thorough restructuring of the Hanover site, the
conditions are good," said chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder.

Reports from Germany say that the other candidate for the project was
VW's factory in Palmela, Portugal, where it currently produces the
Sharan people carrier.

According to the reports, VW management delayed the decision on where
the vehicle would be produced due to the lack of visibility of the US
vehicle market - the main market envisaged for the Microbus - and due
to uncertainty about whether VW could sell 100,000 units.

Volkswagen says the Microbus, due out late in 2004 as a 2005 model,
will create a new segment - "a MPV (minivan) combining striking
design and high functionality with the comfort of a limousine".

Making the announcement, Pischetsrieder said that "with the Microbus,
a legend begun some 50 years ago when the first VW bus left the
production line here is now returning to Hanover.

"The VW bus was never just a means of transport, it has always been
an emotive cult object. The public's reaction at motor shows combined
with the findings of market studies already show us that the Microbus
design has a spontaneous appeal, and that the vehicle will follow in
the footsteps of its successful predecessor."

----------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Dog is my copilot
----------------------------------------------------------------------
       OLTECO                    Ari Ollikainen, Consultant
       P.O. BOX 20088            Networking Architecture and Technology
       Stanford, CA              Ari@OLTECO.com
       94309-0088                415.517.3519