TheSamba.com :: View topic - Bring it Back: We need alot of John Hancocks'

Mon May 06, 2002 7:00 am

Hello Al. Im new to this board. Do I stand alone in thinking that the Thing need to be brought back? VW said they have no plans to, HOWEVER, they said it was because nobody has requested it. If we can get enough demands for it, maybe we can have a new---2008 (or something) VW Thing. Lets do this. I put the first down.

Thu Jul 04, 2002 3:40 am

I think this all depends on if they stopped losing customers since they seem to be trying to remove all us air cooled fans from being able to fix our vehicles with parts from VW parts places and such and trying to kill the "old way"

Sorry, just venting.

Jax
http://www.simplywagens.homestead.com

Thu Jul 04, 2002 9:34 am

Your absolutely right! VWOA seems to have forgotten that a 30 year old car on the road is pretty good advertising for them. I hope they see the folly in thier tactics.

Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:02 pm

I pulled this back out of the 2002 post I think there are alot more people on this site now just wondering if there would be anymore feed back 6 years later

Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:14 pm

I think that's like asking for a "new" '57 Chevy. It just wouldn't do the original justice.

Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:16 pm

yeah really look what they did with the beetle

Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:21 pm

I work at a Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche shop in sales. Yes, I'm one of "those" people.

But. Slow down. My daily is a Vanagon Westy and my Thing is laid up after a stupid mistake. Parts are in hand, and it'll roll someday soon.

That said, I had a conversation today with another mouth breathing sales wonk about present offerings.

I pointed out that no one is going to restore 15 and 20 year old Cayman's, 911's or any Volkswagens for that matter. The current cars we have are safe, fuel efficient, and fun to drive. They're also made to be disposable and nearly completely recyclable.

The halcyon days of restoration and bringing a car back may well have been seeing it's sunset when the last Thing was sold new in the US back in '74. Oh, it puttered on, some folks are still restoring old GTI's and Siroccos, but it's pretty much over.

The last air cooled Porsche rolled off the line in '98. We're 10 years on. Their values continue to rise, while the plastic fantastic Porsches are dropping like stones.

There is a reason for that.

Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:59 am

Nahh, let's not bring it back.

The Thing has no hope of ever meeting current safety and emissions standards. If it did it would be an even bigger joke than the New Beetle.

The part I love about the Thing is it's very simple and basic nature. I modern version may look similar, but the basic and simple look would belie a very complex and engineered vehicle.

I have a very modern car, and I'll keep her. She looks like every other porpoise shaped car, but she works. For fun I'll drive my thing.

Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:54 am

csmith181 wrote: Nahh, let's not bring it back.

The Thing has no hope of ever meeting current safety and emissions standards. If it did it would be an even bigger joke than the New Beetle.
I agree with this line of thinking. Think how any re-vamped model loses charm with each iteration.

Ford Mustang. A Frankenstein-ish melding of old feel and new tech.
Mini Cooper. A travesty to compare it to its namesake. Call it something else.
Corvette. The only thing it has in common with its predecessors is the niche it fills in Chevrolet's line-up.

There would be no joy in seeing a new Thing updated to current safety standards.

Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:30 pm

Todays car seems to be a "dealer only" repair senario. A new car that the normal everyday people can repair or service is not going to happen. It looks as though we might end up with a car that we can't even put "fuel" in ourselves in the near future :-k .

Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:45 pm

I think a new 181 would be kinda cool, or just a new VW jeep or something, just so I could use that as my daily driver and drive the Thing during the summers and weekends...

Sure it wouldn't be nearly as fun or cool as the original (and the fact that it couldn't be air-cooled would pretty much defeat the purpose) but I still think it could be a neat car... My buddy is a huge Jeep guy and I've never heard him complain that his 89 Islander is not fun because it's not a Willy's

Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:55 pm

kuebelwagen84 wrote: ... My buddy is a huge Jeep guy and I've never heard him complain that his 89 Islander is not fun because it's not a Willy's
Maybe so, but would change the tone a bit if they called it a Willys.

Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:27 pm

kuebelwagen84 wrote: My buddy is a huge Jeep guy and I've never heard him complain that his 89 Islander is not fun because it's not a Willy's

Has he actually driven a Willy's? ;)

I agree with csmith and the Cap'n: we all know, deep down, that a new attempt at a Thing would fail hard. It would be too heavy, watercooled, needlessly complex, and overpriced. Let's not forget that VW really didn't want to make the 181 in the first place, and they didn't sell incredibly well the first time around.

We really just need to rejoice in the fact that there are still old Things driving around and for sale. There will never be another Thing, just as there will never be another Beetle.

- Scott

Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:59 pm

i thought they made a new beetle in 1998, and they are still in production? could be wrong, but i thought my old man owned a 98, but then again, i cant figure out if im in iraq right now , or hell.

Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:47 am

I think a new Thing could be a cool idea. It would not be like a real Thing but it could still be a good selling fun vehicle. We have a new Beetle and it is a great functional car, especially with the TDI and its 45mpg. It is well laid out and is fun to drive. It is not the same as a 63 Rag top, but then again it couldn't be, could it? If you remember the new Beetle pretty much saved VW in the states. Shortly before it's release there were rumors of VW pulling out of the US altogether. If VW would have actually made sure the Beetles were ready, before they released them, it would have been even a better comeback, since the first few years were a nightmare.

I think the Honda Element is the closest thing to a modern Thing that we have. They are stripped down and fairly cheap (by todays standards). You could take something similar to the Element and offer it in removable hard top and a soft top, like on the new Jeep Wranglers. If it held 4 to five passengers and had some luggage space and was about $20,000 with 4wd, I bet VW would do really well with it.

Sure it wouldn't be loud, cold, and completely unsafe in an accident like our cars. It would never replace my real Thing. It would be a lot more fun than most of the cars out today and may be able to actually have some character, which is greatly lacking in most our modern vehicles.

Just my take,
Craig

Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:51 am

I don't see VWoA spending the bucks to bring back the Thing. As is the case for all auto manufacturers these days, sales are slow, and design and development dollars are tight.

Spending the tooling to bring back the 181 for a select handful of buyers makes absolutely no profit sense.

Just like the Westfalia....that won't happen either. Too expensive an investment for a small crowd of buyers.

Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:06 pm

I guess it depends on whether a Golf with a roundish body could count as a Beetle. I guess if you just look at the outside... ;)

Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:23 pm

I learned to drive in a Willys pickup. My first "car" was a '59 Willys Overland wagon.

Very good memories from the late 70's and early 80's, but want them back? Nah. They were even more Flinstone than my Thing.

Thinking about it, though, it may be one reason why I have a '71 Dodge D100 truck and a '73 Thing. Simplicity, ruggedness, and based on systems that I understand.

Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:19 am

spaeth wrote:
I think the Honda Element is the closest thing to a modern Thing that we have.
Craig

My wife has one and it has become my surf/ town car. Very utilitarian and better for sandy wet conditions than my Thing

Surfarii

Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:15 am

The Type 183 (Iltis) was the updated Thing. It share many of the parts also. It had a civilian version that did way worse in sales than the Thing.

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