Date:         Tue, 12 Apr 94 16:08:30 GMT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         William Warburton <william@festival.ed.ac.uk>
Subject:      Re: Sportsvans (sic)

 Hi,

> Perhaps they would have been ahead of the game to come out with the new
> front-drive model for the Euromarket, while merely updating the Vanagon
> with a different drivetrain for the North American market.  I can't be-
> lieve that development costs for putting a Passat drivetrain under the
> floor of a Vanagon would have been very great, and they might well have
> garnered more sales here in this market.

 Hmm, why do you think that an updated Vanagon would have been more successful
than the Eurovan? We agree on the one advantage (better interior to exterior
length ratio) that the rear engined design has but I don't think that single
factor would make a huge difference to sales, do you?
 If you are right and the Vanagon was well-perceived in the US then it sounds
like this would have been a very sensible move.

> Here in our market things have apparently developed differently from what
> you see on your side of the pond.

 Thanks for the information- very useful perspective.

> Today the volume markets for minivans are: people movers, owned by 
> Chrysler but being attacked by Ford vigorously; and commercial, owned
> primarily by GM and Ford.  The EuroVan comes across mechanically as a
> competitor to the front-drive, car-based people movers, but has the
> style of a commercial van.  Since GM and Ford commercial vans can be
> bought (with V6s) for less than a EuroVan, VW hasn't much chance of
> taking that market, and it just lacks the style to take many sales from
> the Chrysler minivans in the people-mover market.

 Interesting. You're saying the the Vanagon has more "style" than the Eurovan,
despite the newer vehicle's more sophisticated chassis, better aerodynamics,
cleaner looks, better driving position and more powerful engines?

 The definitive people mover in Europe is the Espace- sophisticated, powerful
(top of the range V6 engine gives 120 mph and 0-60 in 10.3 seconds) and classy.
The VW doesn't have the same grace but is more upmarket than the equivalent
minibuses from Ford etc.

 In the van market the VW is a little more expensive than the alternatives but
is perceived as a better quality product. It seems this isn't the case in the
US.

 I think that if VW could solve its dealer problems and then start remarketing
its range in the US in such a way that it is perceived as a good quality,
durable product then it should be able to recover some ground. From what I've
heard the US buyer expects VWs to be cheap and basic, and is therefore taken
aback by the current cost of the cars. I think this is partly because the US
market expects relatively expensive cars to be tricked out with all sorts of
gizmos rather than built better (preferably both!) and VWs are notoriously
basic. I suppose part of the problem is that if people don't keep cars for
long (new car every 3 years?) then it doesn't matter to the first owner whether
it was designed to last for 7 years or 15!

 In my opinion VWs won't be cheap again (not for a while, anyway) the labour
force is just too expensive and the shipping costs too high (hey, why not
build a factory in Mexico! :-) so they need to change the customers ideas in
order to be successful in the US again.

Cheers,
        W.
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