Date:         Mon, 11 Apr 1994 15:00:06 -0600 (CDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         dunham@mpd.tandem.com (Jerry Dunham)
Subject:      Re: Sportsvans (sic)

]From vanagon@lenti.med.umn.edu  Mon Apr 11 10:49:44 1994
]From: William Warburton <william@festival.ed.ac.uk>
]
]> This is yet another van from VW, separate from the "Eurovan" (U.S. name)?
]
] Yes. Not really a van, though, more like a car without a bonnet or boot.
]It is similar in concept to the Renault Espace and Toyota Previa.

I like the Previs, but if I want one I'll go to the Toyota store.

]> not particularly quiet).  The salesman said that he'd skip the VR6 and go
]> with the work-horse (Audi) 5-cylinder, if it were up to him.
]
] I've only driven the Audi-5 (diesel). What engines do you get in the US?

I've only seen the Audi-5 (petrol).  Is there a diesel here?

]> Can we have the Vanagon back? (VW start manufacture again...) Are Vanagon's
]> still being made?  Will the dies be shipped to Mexico and Brazil to bring
]> them into the '80s?
]
] 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
wheels out at the corners and reducing (in the case of front-wheel drive)
the turning angle of the front wheels, creating a MUCH larger turning
circle.  I like the parking-lot maneuverability of my Vanagon.  Nothing
else that will hold as much comes close.  My wife's aunt has a new Grand
Caravan.  I've driven it and like it very much on the highway, but that
119-inch wheelbase makes it a handful in the A&P parking lot.  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 think the root of the problem is that the van was designed for the European
]market, in which (as far as I know) it's being successful. While this policy
]has worked for VW in the past it doesn't seem to be working now. Given that
]VW probably don't have the necessary R&D effort to produce vehicles
]specifically for the US they seem to be stuck with modifying their existing
]lineup to meet US requirements and that doesn't seem to be working. Presumably
]since they are committed to remaining in the US they will either continue to
]become a niche manufacturer or the US buyer will start to appreciate what VW
]has to offer again. In my opinion what VW need to do is to sort out their
]perceived quality problems in the US (either by solving them or by changing the
]perception) and then start a serious marketing campaign to encourage people to
]buy the cars. VW seem to be perceived very differently by the buyer in the US
]and Europe and this is an issue which they need to address. Whether they do
]this by selling cars that meet the US expectations or by changing the US buyers
]perceptions to suit the cars they want to sell is an interesting issue.

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-
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.  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.

	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.

-- 
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Jerry Dunham, MSE          hoosier@rider.cactus.org           (512)244-8598
Tandem Computers, Inc.                                dunham@mpd.tandem.com
Integrity Systems Division                          dunham_jerry@tandem.com

  "A healthy male adult bore consumes each year one-and-a-half times his
   own weight in other people's patience."

			        - J. Updike