Date: Tue, 12 Apr 94 8:43:39 GMT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: William Warburton <william@festival.ed.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Sportsvans (sic)
Hi,
Hmm, I seem to have stirred things up a bit... oops!
> I've only seen the Audi-5 (petrol). Is there a diesel here?
I have heard that the diesel isn't available in the US, though I think it
is sold in Canada. I gather diesels are generally unpopular in the US, at
least for "normal" cars, but it still seems a bit wierd to me.
> ] I don't think many people in Europe would want to see the Vanagon back.
> ]The Eurovan seems superior in almost every way- my only criticism is the
> ]lack of length in the interior which, in Europe, can be countered by buying
> ]the long wheelbase version (though that's more expensive on a ferry).
>
> Not in every way. Putting the engine in front causes the machine to be
> longer for the same internal hauling volume. It also drives putting the
Yes, that's precisely what I meant about lack of length in the interior: the
"brick" is long enough to get a <3 metre windsurfer behind the drivers seat
whilst still being about 4.5 metres long overall. The new vans arn't.
> ... If the
> same effort that was put into the EuroVan had been put into a new genera-
> tion of Vanagon, with perhaps a transverse five on it's side behind the
> rear axle, the result could have added the advantages of the EuroVan to
> the advantages the Vanagon already had, while making for greater common-
> ality of parts with the rest of the VW-Audi line. The EuroVan may be nice
> in many ways, but I think they blew an opportunity to make it even nicer,
> and less of a clone of other machines already on the market.
I see what you mean and I strongly suspect that this was considered by VW.
Bear in mind, though, that a lot of potential buyers chose not to buy the VW
because of the wierd shaped interior. I think VW decided that they would gain
more by offering a van with a conventional layout than by continuing with
the rear engine. I have to agree with you- I preferred the rear engined
setup- but I think VW probably made the right decision having seen the large
number of vans they are selling (in Europe).
> I don't think the EuroVan is any more "European" than the Vanagon. Both
> are somewhat out of the minivan mainstream here in North America. If any-
What exactly *is* a minivan?
> thing the Vanagon is further from the mainstream than the EuroVan, which
> comes across as a somewhat industrial clone of the Dodge Caravan to many
> non-VW people.
The what? I think I've seen one Dodge Caravan. The competition for the VW
are vans like the Ford Transit, Toyota HiAce, Renault Trafic and Fiat Ducato
against which it is perceived as better built, nicer to drive and more
reliable. The reason the camper conversions are popular is because VW
continues to offer a high quality, pleasant to drive vehicle to use as a base
for the conversion. The VW manages to sell into the "People Carrier" market
as well (Espace/Previa) because of the relative sophistication of its vans.
> I think the problems with the EuroVan are two:
>
> It's not perceived as enough different from the mainstream vans
> for people to believe it offers any real advantage to compensate
> for its lack of style.
However, in Europe, this lack of difference is a major plus as it means that
all the people who didn't buy it because they couldn't march a large load
through the rear doors can now do so. Timber merchants don't care about style.
> VW as a whole is suffering through a quality crisis here. This
> is not good when the public perceives your products as more ex-
> pensive than the competition.
This is not the case in Europe- VW (financial problems aside) is generally
seen as a quality product, offering dependable, durable transport.
This is why I think the problem VW has with the new van (I find it really
hard to think of it as a "Eurovan" :-) is the difference between the US and
European markets.
I hope I'm not coming across as too abrasive, here, I'm just trying to show
the European perspective, which I hope is interesting given that it is VWs
main market.
Cheers,
W.
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