TheSamba.com :: View topic - Will VW figure it out? When r they re-making the split VDub?

Wed Sep 02, 2015 5:32 am

When will VW figure it out? Will they remake the Split window VW? Maybe not a split in the front, but it definitely needs a very accurate (to splittys) V in the front and lots of windows all around. And people will pay big bucks! Jump in with any ideas. Maybe if we give enough ideas they will integrate some of them…

Wed Sep 02, 2015 5:36 am

So these are selling for north of $100k and won't go over 60mph…

Jacked Syncro's are selling for $80k+

Panel Van's (high top lovers will enjoy this) are a big hit and selling for $60k+

And supposedly VW comes out with this weak example here… The V in the front is not a V and really a sad shot at it… it's small, can't really sell as a Panel, it's missing a lot. It looks like a Rav4. Come on folks… get it in gear and get on the BUS!

Comments?

Wed Sep 02, 2015 7:16 am

vw gave us the shit ass new inflatable ha ha its a beetle the beetle is back, buy it now gotta have it $22k. Do you think since they F'ed that up, they are going to get a split bus right? Hell they forced the dealers to quit stocking or selling old parts lol.

Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:32 am

the people who designed, built, or even assemble the original buses have long been given the boot from VW

the VW of today cares most about profit margin then what people actually want
if you need evidence of this just look at all the issues their cars have had over the last few decades

VW also turned into a large corporation in the late 80's/early 90's and now owns several other car manufacturers that make more profit then VW itself does

bottom line the only way your getting a "new" bus is if they find a way to make it super cheap and can guarantee X million amounts of sales

Wed Sep 02, 2015 12:37 pm

joe56vw wrote: the people who designed, built, or even assemble the original buses have long been given the boot from VW

the VW of today cares most about profit margin then what people actually want
if you need evidence of this just look at all the issues their cars have had over the last few decades

VW also turned into a large corporation in the late 80's/early 90's and now owns several other car manufacturers that make more profit then VW itself does

bottom line the only way your getting a "new" bus is if they find a way to make it super cheap and can guarantee X million amounts of sales Excellent explaination. The only thing that new modern VW's have, or will ever have, with air-cooled cars is the 2 letters on the emblem.

Wed Sep 02, 2015 6:26 pm

Breckskier wrote:

And supposedly VW comes out with this weak example here…

Comments?

They never came out with this bus. It was a concept. And it is at least a decade old at that.

Wed Sep 02, 2015 6:32 pm

VW has been rehashing and 're-unveiling' that concept for about a decade now. Their latest van in the US (Routan) was a rebadged Dodge Caravan.

Not sure they will ever do anything that resembles a splitwindow bus in any meaningful way.

Wed Sep 02, 2015 7:04 pm

I spoke with a VWOA marketing VP about that concept bus back around 2005. They decided that they couldn't make a viable model. It was based on the Tauareg platform and would have to sell for over $60 K to make any money on it.

The numbers didn't add up.

I was lucky and bought a 2013 manual stick TDI Golf. German made.
Can't get that in the US anymore for the same reason, too expensive to sell for a profit in the US.

Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:48 pm

Breckskier wrote:

Jacked Syncro's are selling for $80k+

Comments? That thing looks like it has adventure written all over it and so folks will pay for one. Who wouldn't want one of them? :D

Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:40 am

Haven't you guys figured it out yet? We are dinosaurs, obsolete! Most people will smile and remember stories of being a child when they see your VW, OOH and AHH when they see it, but they don't want one. People don't love their car anymore, it's a toaster, as long as it does the job they really don't care. Look at the condition of cars on the road, they are mostly dirty, dented, scratched, mostly neglected. Why don't you park your classic at the grocery store parking lot next to these cars? Do you think someone like this would be willing to maintain their car every 3,000 miles, hell no they take it Jiffy Lube when the change oil soon light comes on!

VW is a business, they are designed to make money, they never planned on building iconic classics, they are not trying to do that today either. They are trying to maximize profit, it is the whole concept of surviving in the market. It makes absolutely no sense to them to make a vehicle that either will only sell to a niche market or will make little to no profit.

Did you buy a new beetle when they came out? If not why, didn't like it, was a half hearted attempt to copy the original, wont buy anything VW makes today because its unreliable, or too complicated to work on yourself. If these sound familiar to you, you wont buy a new microbus either, especially when they price it high enough to, God forbid, actually make a profit.

Not defending VW, I am just a realist and understand that the market does not design things for people like me, movies are made for teenagers and early 20 somethings, clothes are definitely designed for their tastes. Here is a good litmus test for you, do you like to shop at the mall. There is your answer, if you do and have 60 grand that you are willing to drop on a new car then give VW a call and put your deposit down for your new VW microbus. My guess is the answer to one or both of the above criteria is no, and that's not a bad thing.

Thu Sep 03, 2015 10:04 am

I would love to have VW produce a new bus about the size of a vanagon, mostly empty (why do you think all those seats disappeared? - most people don't need them), and powered by the TDI with a five or six speed manual. Say about 3200-3500 pounds empty with a ton payload. Windows all around, unless you want a panel. It should not cost much more than a Golf wagon with much the same running gear.

I'd buy one of those. I looked at the new Dodge Ram (Fiat) models which do have a diesel, but you only get windows with the stretch version (and all trucks sold are automatic).

Thu Sep 03, 2015 11:14 am

Breckskier wrote: When will VW figure it out? Will they remake the Split window VW? Maybe not a split in the front, but it definitely needs a very accurate (to splittys) V in the front and lots of windows all around. And people will pay big bucks! Jump in with any ideas. Maybe if we give enough ideas they will integrate some of them…

Give it up - that time has passed.

First of all, there's no way the original split bus design would be possible today in light of modern safety and fuel efficiency standards. Sure, they will parade the same tired 'retro' designs through the auto rags from time to time to generate publicity, but that's about it.

Second of all, VWAG doesn't give a flying fig about you or your ideas.

Thirdly, if there was a "new bus" - would you really want one? Seeing what POS' the A-chassis lineup is, after however many years of practive, do you actually think they'll get the mechanicals "right" with a new bus? I dunno, maybe you have a secret crush on the service manager at your local VW stealership - I won't judge.

Fourthly, VWAG (and VWOA) don't give a flying fig about you or your ideas.

Thu Sep 03, 2015 2:16 pm

It will never happen.

They already tried with the Beetle and how many here who has an Old Beetle is a fan of the New one? Very few.

Different eras, different cars. VW AG of today is completely different from Nordoff's VW.

Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:28 pm

When has VW ever thought about nostalgia other than the "new beetle"? All these concepts are design studios that do research 101 for VW and base a "new creation" off of that. If you were some new intern at design studio x what would you look into replicating? The success of VWs past, a throw back to days of old when the make meant something. :roll: :lol: Then its put on display to tease interest to see if they can make the margins if they produce it.

Flights of whimsy wanting a modern rendition of what you love in a classic is a pipe dream. When has VW ever supported our hobby like numerous others do like Chevy and Mercedes - being involved in after market parts for cars of the past?? VW sure the hell don't care if you can find an ignition set for your stock 63 bus distributor or where will you find rims for your 52 barn door? Let alone having decent rebuild parts for a 76 FI T4 motor!

I have very little respect for VW as a whole.

Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:38 pm

If you look at cars on the road today... they all look the same. A bus doesn't look the same, so will never be built.

Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:57 pm

notchboy wrote: When has VW ever supported our hobby like numerous others do like Chevy and Mercedes - being involved in after market parts for cars of the past?? VW sure the hell don't care if you can find an ignition set for your stock 63 bus distributor or where will you find rims for your 52 barn door? Let alone having decent rebuild parts for a 76 FI T4 motor!

I have very little respect for VW as a whole.

Plenty of room for improvement but to say VW has done nothing for the hobby or the classics is not true, a couple of examples...
http://www.volkswagen-classicparts.de/
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/04/05/volk...-microbus/
http://www.gizmag.com/go/8149/

Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:08 pm

joe56vw wrote: the people who designed, built, or even assemble the original buses have long been given the boot from VW

the VW of today cares most about profit margin then what people actually want
if you need evidence of this just look at all the issues their cars have had over the last few decades

VW also turned into a large corporation in the late 80's/early 90's and now owns several other car manufacturers that make more profit then VW itself does

bottom line the only way your getting a "new" bus is if they find a way to make it super cheap and can guarantee X million amounts of sales
Believe it or not, Volkswagen loses a shit-ton of money on each Bugatti Veyron they built. All 455 of them. And by shit ton, I mean like $700k! :shock:

Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:19 pm

otahuhu wrote: notchboy wrote: When has VW ever supported our hobby like numerous others do like Chevy and Mercedes - being involved in after market parts for cars of the past?? VW sure the hell don't care if you can find an ignition set for your stock 63 bus distributor or where will you find rims for your 52 barn door? Let alone having decent rebuild parts for a 76 FI T4 motor!

I have very little respect for VW as a whole.

Plenty of room for improvement but to say VW has done nothing for the hobby or the classics is not true, a couple of examples...
http://www.volkswagen-classicparts.de/
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/04/05/volk...-microbus/
http://www.gizmag.com/go/8149/

Not the same but close. Having a site that tells you your stuff isn't available, a high price restorations service and a rah,rah event only helps sell later parts they have, have their museum guys do more that museum stuff and generate interest in the brand. You forgot the Wolfsburg old parts, the ability to get a birth cert from Germany and the events that VWoA hold all the time as well.

I will give them credit on the Wolfsburg parts stash. I heard wonderful stories about that place - but also ones recently where knowledge is lacking bad as the older people leave or retire.

Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:01 pm

I just want them to make original German parts available again.

Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:10 pm

norcalmike wrote: I just want them to make original German parts available again.

Exactly :lol: