Date:         Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:14:23 -0800
Reply-To:     Jeff <vw.doka@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeff <vw.doka@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: 2013 California
In-Reply-To:  <1CB6AB61-D321-42ED-965F-AC11D3B4C19A@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

The American full-size van is soon to be extinct.  Ford is dropping
the E series and bringing in the full size Transits from Europe.
Dodge Ram vans will soon go away and replaced by rebadged Fiat
Ducatos.  Not sure what GM plans, but I'm sure they're working on
something as well.

Nissan already is selling a full-sized van in the USA, although it's
quite ugly (IMO).

Cheers,

Jeff

On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 2:05 PM, Jarrett Anthony Kupcinski
<kupcinski@gmail.com> wrote:
> Interesting speculations. Here's mine: There isn't a market here in the U.S. for a high-priced, full-sized van. There might be one for a moderately priced minivan, but the T5 is not a minivan. It would compete class-wise with domestic full-size vans, which is to say it would never sell. A new Ford E-series runs about $30K. The base VW Multivan costs over $40K in Germany, and likely as much here even if manufactured stateside. A camper conversion would only add to the price, and it would appeal to a very limited consumer base.
>
> It's not just VW. Toyota and Nissan (among others) have vans exported worldwide that are not sold here in the U.S. They're not sold here largely because there's not enough demand to warrant the costs of making those vehicles meet US standards.
>
> -Jarrett
> Armchair marketing analyst
>
> On Feb 12, 2013, at 3:24 PM, Jim Felder wrote:
>
>> I heard somewhere from someone purporting to know that there was an old labor
>> agreement that volkswagen truck chassis would be made only in Germany by
>> German workers.
>
>>> What about a T5 built in Chattanooga, TN next to the Passat line?