Date:         Wed, 13 Apr 94 16:56:56 GMT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         William Warburton <william@festival.ed.ac.uk>
Subject:      Re: Sportsvans: the saga continues ...

 Hi,
	
 Gerald Skerbitz writes:

> When I went looking for vans, I was looking for vans.  The minivan is not 
> a full sized van, and would never replace the Vanagon.  A "Eurovan" is 
> not a full sized van either, and is no replacement for the Vanagon.  

 In Europe vans are smaller- the "Eurovan" is a full sized van, the long-
wheelbase version is a fairly large van. The LT is bigger yet, but is much more
industrial.

> Basically, VW doesn't make a real van anymore.  The competition for 

 They do- they just don't sell it in the US. On the other hand if they are
sending over VR6 vans then maybe they will be persuaded to start sending over
lwb VR6 vans, too!

 Jerry Dunham writes:

> 					Mexican Golfs and Jettas
> have not had much success meeting American quality expectations.  Remember
> that this country is crawling with trouble-free Hondas, Toyotas, and Buick
> LeSabres.  (Buicks??  Yes, Buicks.)

 Big problem for VW. The public perception of Hondas is really interesting-
in the UK (dunno about the rest if Europe) Hondas are generally driven by
the "0ver 50s", they are expensive and yet lack class. Even the Prelude is
often seen as a "womens" car: not macho enough. Toyotas are boring- perfectly
adequate cars but without much to offer (though their sportscars have a better
image). VWs are still seen as "better" cars than the competition.

> I see no evidence that VWs are currently being built
> to last any longer than Toyotas and Hondas.

 Maybe not, but who wants to drive a Honda/Toyota when you could have a VW?

 It seems to me that VW have *really* screwed up in the US! The QC and dealer
problems must be *huge*!

 If the US-built vans are better and cheaper than the Eurovan then VW should
probably just give up on selling it in the US- IMHO it's the best vehicle of
its size available in Europe (My parents agree- they've bought two for their
business) and that size is correct for the European market. If this isn't the
case in the US, and they can't undercut the competition on price (seems very
unlikely) then they can't expect to sell the thing!

Cheers,
        W.

PS. On the "no-nose" topic: I have been driving TIIs so long that I never
   think about this but it does make me smile whenever I pull into a parking
   space and my passenger winces!
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