VW trucks heading stateside?

Jayg said:

Voted. Bring an open bed TRUCK TRUCK, tdi motor with the size of a Ranger and the Jetta would be traded in immediately.

Click to expand...

I'd second that.

Lightflyer1 said:

Yep and in the link I posted it said it got 600 miles to a 21 gallon tank. 30 to 35 mpg for a truck I could work with would be fine for me.

Click to expand...

Question is, would you be willing to pay $40k+ for it? Because that is probably what it would end up costing. And if your answer is 'yes', how many more Americans do you think would follow suit? Enough to make the case to sell them here? Probably not.

No probably not. If they make it cost the same as a US full sized truck no one will buy it. In Australia they run from $26k to $60k in US dollars (single cab to dual cab). They should be able to sell one for under $30k here.

Lightflyer1 said:

Yep and in the link I posted it said it got 600 miles to a 21 gallon tank. 30 to 35 mpg for a truck I could work with would be fine for me.

Click to expand...

35 mpg, a real tow rating, a manual trans, and $25k starting would guarantee they would be the number one selling light duty truck in America. (Like that is a category anymore)

The Caddy 7 passenger TDI is what I rented for two weeks on our trip to Germany. I got 36mpg with the 7spd DSG and it was a blast to drive. It was a hightop with three row seating. Dash was hard plastic but I liked it better than my 06 Jetta. Much quieter and pretty snappy. We had it loaded with people and up to the ceiling with luggage and it happily drove on. I'd estimate over 1000lbs loaded into it without feeling much difference in the drive. The price is the killer though. I saw what they were pricing the various version at the Autostadt way back when and I thought ouch! Everything is high as a cat's back now though.

Couldn't they build them in Mexico and get around the Chicken Tax?

I'd frankly love a JSW turned into an El Camino type thing (two bucket seats, and the rest for cargo) but the chances of that ever happening are infinitesimally low

I'd be interested in the Amarok if it came with TDI (that is probably the case) and a six speed manual, auto (even DSG) would be a no sale for me.

Analogeezer

They could be made in Kansas but no tapping of Alice's shoes is (likely) going to make it happen.

Jayg said:

35 mpg, a real tow rating, a manual trans, and $25k starting would guarantee they would be the number one selling light duty truck in America. (Like that is a category anymore)

Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't think it'd work without a bowtie, blue oval, or ram badge on it.

The little Toyotas did well for a time, but even then, they couldn't really break into the domestic truck market. If Toyota or Honda can't do it -- which are approved by the likes of Consumer Reports and JD Power, VW doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hades. It'd only be a niche vehicle for the likes of folks on this forum.

I'd seriously consider a new Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon if they are offered with a diesel when that truck is re-released in a year.

TDIMeister said:

They could be made in Kansas but no tapping of Alice's shoes is (likely) going to make it happen.

Click to expand...

Dorothy.

Kansas is phenomenal, but it's no Wonderland.

frugality said:

Safety regulations, certification, etc.

Click to expand...

Chrysler, Ford, and even Nissan seem to have no trouble dealing with this. Why would it be such an insurmountable obstacle for VW?

Dooglas said:

Chrysler, Ford, and even Nissan seem to have no trouble dealing with this. Why would it be such an insurmountable obstacle for VW?

Click to expand...

Go here, and look at how many vehicles VW offers in the biggest car market in the world:

http://www.vw.com/en/models.html

Now go here, and see how many vehicles VW offers in Brazil:

http://www.vw.com.br/pt/carros.html


The point, Dooglas, is that the regulations in Brazil are much less stringent than in the U.S. So they can offer whatever cars they want. In the U.S., you have to put vehicles through all kinds of red tape documentation, crash testing, etc. This costs big bucks. So it's not worth an automaker's while to go through all that more than they have to. So we get fewer cars to choose from.

You know those sensors that sense whether you have anyone in the passenger seat, and it activates/deactivates the airbag? There was a European supercar company (like Lamborghini, but smaller volume) that made only a few hundreds of cars per year. They opted not to offer their car in the U.S. because it would have cost them $1 million just to certify that passenger seat sensor thing for the U.S. market. They decided it wasn't worth it.

I once spent 6 weeks on the little Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire. Being a tiny island, you can drive whatever you want on the roads. I saw cars brought in from the U.S. and Europe. I saw Ssongyang cars from Korea, and Toyota Hiluxes. And you can drive quads and just about anything else on the road. Why? No regulations to speak of in that tiny island state. Anything goes. (that said, the top posted speed on the island was 40km/h, I think.)



That's one side of the coin. The other is that you can compare all of the car/engine/options configurations available in, say, the U.K. and Germany. For the size of those countries, they can get their VWs in an amazing variety of options. The difference there is that Europeans are willing to pay for it. Price is huge in the U.S., and that drives more volume and fewer options.

I'd pay 35k pre-tax for a double cab diesel pickup from VW or toyota. It would need to be:
manual
4cyl diesel 2-2.5L
4wd
achieve 30mpg hwy

tadawson said:

Chrysler/Mercedes did well with the Sprinter (and apparently Mercedes continues to do so), so tax be damned, it can be done!

- Tim

Click to expand...

MB's are shipped in pieces to NC and them assembled. That's how they "beat the chicken tax"
At least that was what I was told by the sales manager @ Jack Ingram MB dealer in Montgomery AL. (they also did my 20 k VW service @ their VW dealership next door. I liked their VW service dept).
Some doctor had them working on his $250k Lamborghini

If I could get a VW Caddy TDI with manual trans, I'd jump out of my 2013 Grand Caravan in a heartbeat. I might even consider a Caddy with auto trans... wish I had the dilemma of having to choose.

A 2.0 TDI engine in the Caddy would be perfect for the uses I put the RAV4 to. When I bought that vehicle I was loading it to the gills to head to the prairie dog towns, and with that load aboard getting 21-22 mpg on the road. A TDI Caddy would do the same job on the road, grunt around out on the prairie, and get likely much better mileage. Unloaded for running errands and hauling the dog to his preferred walking areas it'd bury the Toyota.

A friend went from a Dodge V8 van to a 5 cylinder Sprinter a few years back, has more room and gets about 50% better mileage with the Sprinter.

I liked the Caddy more than the 06 Sienna we had. The Sienna would do 21mpg too. They were about the same on power measured seat of the pants. Caddy felt more nimble too.

My 2002 Toyota 3.4L V6 5 speed is a pig on fuel and slow, my 59 El Camino V8 with a carb gets about the same fuel economy, and the 59 is way faster. A truck the size and setup of the Toyota I would buy, with a TDI and like said, 30 + MPG. I think a 2wd TDI would sell really well, likely get 20-30% better fuel economy than the 4WD.

frugality said:

The point, Dooglas, is that the regulations in Brazil are much less stringent than in the U.S.

Click to expand...

Darned if I know or care what the regulations are in Brazil! My point is that other manufacturers such as Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz with the Sprinter, Nissan with the NV Cargo, and Ford with the Transit Connect - and the full sized Transit next year - all deal with the same issues as VW in the US market. And they all manage to deliver small utility vehicles. Same market, same rules, the only difference is the willingness of the company to get it done. (And have you noticed how many of those Transit Connects you see running around in both commercial and passenger configurations - there is a message in that)

^^^
What Dooglas said!

The first truck was back in the 50's and it was a bus front with a 3 sided tail gate flatbed.

Can't vote anymore, but I would have voted yes. I don't want or need a small van anymore but would love to have the single cab amarok. I think the only way we'll see that is if VW starts to offer a truck line over here.

NSTDI said:

My 2002 Toyota 3.4L V6 5 speed is a pig on fuel and slow, my 59 El Camino V8 with a carb gets about the same fuel economy, and the 59 is way faster. A truck the size and setup of the Toyota I would buy, with a TDI and like said, 30 + MPG. I think a 2wd TDI would sell really well, likely get 20-30% better fuel economy than the 4WD.

Click to expand...

Nice truck, I use my Passat for commuting and when I want to drive agressively and fast (or just tool along and get 45+ mpg!).

But when it became quite clear that VW or any automaker would not let me buy a true mini truck anymore, I just got a first gen Toyota. $3000 (OK, add a fuel pump, battery and set of wheels and BF Goodrich Commercial T/A tires increased that to about $4500).

But it get's me 20mpg city, 25mpg highway, hauls cement, building supplies, I can sleep in it quite comfortably, and it hauls my 5' x 10' trailer. And, so much room around the engine you can practically climb in there to work on it. Timing chain, water pump, and accessory belts right up front and totally accessible... (and no broad obscuring engine cap or hose/tubing nightmare). Parts? This truck has a dedicated aftermarket crowd, and lots of expertise out there. Amarok? ppphht! Who cares anymore. I got tired of complaining, and got something that does the job for maybe 20% of cost...The 80% savings will buy lots of gasoline, and it will NOT lose value! and property tax is like $30 per year on this 30+ year old vehicle. In many states, it qualifies for an antique plate




If you are in a hurry, spend more on something bigger, that gets crappy mileage and is newer. Maybe I'll get around to new paint someday, but only to preserve the metal.

dubStrom said:

But when it became quite clear that VW or any automaker would not let me buy a true mini truck anymore, I just got a first gen Toyota. $3000 (OK, add a fuel pump, battery and set of wheels and BF Goodrich Commercial T/A tires increased that to about $4500).

Click to expand...

I'm with you. Those were good trucks when they were first sold, and they are still good trucks. Darned if I know who in their vehicle marketing wisdom decided we didn't want vehicles like that anymore.

My brother has a rough-looking but solid (from Texas) '89 Xtracab 4x4 Toyota pickup (used to be mine). I rebuilt the 22RE, it is a stick, but otherwise all stock. Paint is faded, full of dings and scratches, front tin-foil bumper and lower valance caved in... but you know, he gets notes left on that truck about once a month from someone wanting to buy it. Amazing how well those old Hiluxes hold their value, especially the 4x4s.

My brother just bought an '09 Toyota truck because he couldn't find an older one that wasn't toast. The one he got is manual everything, and the short cab. We will see what kind of mileage he will get. It's mid-size, so we're hoping that its not toooo bad. Don't people know that those small trucks have a purpose?!

I bought an 07 GMC canyon last year with 40k miles. Extended cab, 4cyl, manual, crank windows. I get around 20 in town and have hit 25 on the highway. Serves my purposes and rode better than the tacoma I was cross shopping. Would have bought a new single cab toyota but you don't a split seat in the basic cab and I would have had to sit with my knees in my face when ever my wife or daughters drove. About a foot difference in height between us.

I'd consider a new diesel small truck or even the Ram 1500, if the mileage were around 25 city and 30 highway. Otherwise, I'll stick to the canyon until it dies.

That's funny you say that. My brother is 6'1" and my sister-in-law is 5'2". Quess who drives when they're together!

In this truck crazed country (USA). I say yes what are you waiting for VW. Build them in Tenn. or Mexico or Canada.
I don't see any way I'll be buying any truck anytime. But bring them and make mucho $$$.

How is it that Mexico has VW trucks of all sizes and descriptions?

Jetta_Pilot said:

How is it that Mexico has VW trucks of all sizes and descriptions?

Click to expand...

A: have you seen the roads in Mexico?

B: have you ever seen a Mexican in anything BUT a truck? (and no, I am not a racist, and FYI Mexico is a COUNTRY, not a race.... so pipe down)