Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 07:55:27 -0500
Reply-To: "Barry E. Muller" <bmuller@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Barry E. Muller" <bmuller@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU>
Subject: Re: Grey Market, was: A different camper van (somewhat O/T)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Hello Tony,
Thanks for the perspective of someone who is able to be see these vans on a
daily basis.
However let me allow you a little insight on North American perpective:
A) VW does not offer a van with a TDI over here - and they don't seem to
have any intention of doing so any time soon - if ever. We just get T4s
with bigger and bigger engines (The latest about 200 HP Audi V6). Sure, it
gets about the same mileage as my 2.1L waterboxer - but I'm not too keen on
that either.
B) MB already sells vans with CDI engines in NA (under their Freightliner
subsidiary), so one could hope any family van might have the same engine as
it is already in this market in the same box. Of course, I admit, if that
idea was true VW would give us EVs with TDI as it is over here too in the
golf/jetta/NB range. <shrug>
C) It seems the T4 VW is pretty much dead in NA - soon we'll see the new
Microbus, which appears to be much smaller and seems to be marketed to the
techie gizmo-requiring market.
D) I'll bet that the Vito is more reliable than (most of) the 10-20 year old
vanagons driving around on this side of the pond.
There are probably other good reasons that some of us are interested in
these vans, but time and memory preclude me from listing those right now.
Besides it is pretty academic at this point. MB has been almost as elusive
as VW in publicly stating their plans.
Thanks for the info though.
bem
----- Original Message -----
From: "Anthony Polson" <acpolson@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 3:19 PM
Subject: Re: Grey Market, was: A different camper van (somewhat O/T)
> Hi Matthew,
>
> If I were you I would not lose any sleep over the M-B Vito van. I see
> several of them almost every day - they are all over the UK like a rash.
>
> The Vito looks good. It is a Mercedes product, so it should be good.
> However, it probably isn't quite as good as it seems.
>
> First, it isn't made in Germany. I believe it is made in South America
> (Argentina?) and the build quality is well below M-B's European standards.
> The Vito is less reliable than other M-B vehicles.
>
> The Vito is also small, much smaller than a Vanagon, and it is difficult
to
> move around inside. An elevating roof is a must. In Europe, M-B also
sell
> a V-Series minivan that is based closely on the Vito; its customer
> satisfaction rating (as expressed in published surveys such as J D Power)
> also seems disappointing for an M-B product.
>
> Vito camper conversions are relatively rare, I think because of the
> relatively small size of the bodyshell. The most popular conversions are
on
> the VW T4 (Eurovan in USA) and the Ford Transit, which are of similar
size,
> both being significantly bigger than the Vito.
>
> In the Vito's favour, it drives well and is popular with self-employed
> tradesmen. But it isn't a van that I would consider at this time, nor
would
> I recommend it.
>
> I hope these comments are useful in some way.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Tony
>
> '84 Vanagon Reimo
>
>
> ---------------- Original Message ----------------
>
> Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 08:28:11 -0500
> From: "G.M.Bulley" <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
> Subject: Grey Market, was: A different camper van (somewhat O/T)
>
> Admittedly, I know nothing about grey-market vehicles and little about
> importing, so Barry's note intrigues me.
>
> I was under the impression that the old, fairly simple (pre 1980's??)
> method of bringing "other country" cars into the USA was gone, and that
> now it was practically impossible, requiring such things as crash
> testing, even if other variants of the same vehicle (ala VW Eurovan v.
> MB Vito) were sold here.
>
> Am I wrong? Is it still a matter of showing the speedometer has MPH on
> it, and that the turn signals are the right color?? Has anyone on list
> brought a vehicle into the US in recent years? I'm not in a position to
> buy a Vito today, but if I KNEW I could get one here, some priorities
> might change (I might sell that kidney after all).
>
> Bringing ideas to life,
> G. Matthew Bulley
> Bulley-Hewlett
> www.bulley-hewlett.com
> AIM = IExplain4u
> +1.919.658.1278
> "Fax mentis incendium gloria culpum"
>
>
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