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HackAl
Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2016
Posts: 343
Location: Bergen County, NJ
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 Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:52 pm Post subject: VW T6.1 California & Mercedes Weekender vs. Vanagon Campers |
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https://jalopnik.com/all-the-new-updated-details-and-cool-stuff-in-the-lates-1841132286
It is really telling that the new design continues the basic tried-and-true design in Vanagon Westfalias since 1980. All the amenities are just where they have always been. [Edit: by "design", I mean "layout".)
The touchscreen functionality is very nice and it would be interesting to see how users here have created their own functionally equivalent modifications.
The comments to the story are interesting, with readers questioning market viability in the United States, making comparisons to custom-built campers, etc.
I find myself asking whether or not, even if I had the means, I would trade "up" for one of these newer T6 models. I'm really not sure I would. Part of that is sentimental, part of that is aesthetic, part of that is functional.
Thoughts?
(Note the white Vanagon in one of the photographs.)
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91 Westy.
Ever consider temporarily trading your van? Join the list.
Last edited by HackAl on Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:17 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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dabaron
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Joined: June 21, 2018
Posts: 2724
Location: Philly, mang
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:05 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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it's a minivan with a pop top. not really the same thing as a Vanagon. far less usable space between the bumpers, and it's longer than a Vanagon.
the Vanagon is the ultimate in utility per square centimeter. can you put a sheet of plywood in the back of your T6 California (europe wants to be the US, and vice versa it seems in marketing departments).
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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic |
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elizer
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2016
Posts: 1501
Location: Northern Virginia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:16 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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| I am in 100%. Where do I pre-order? |
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dabaron
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2018
Posts: 2724
Location: Philly, mang
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:50 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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| elizer wrote: |
| I am in 100%. Where do I pre-order? |
Germany.
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic |
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HackAl
Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2016
Posts: 343
Location: Bergen County, NJ
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mikemtnbike
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015
Posts: 2934
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:00 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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Got one rented for part of an upcoming trip to Scotland; plan to post some impressions here after. Should be interesting!
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled  https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual |
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bobbyblack 
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Joined: May 21, 2015
Posts: 4624
Location: United States, Iowa
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:11 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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I bought a T4 Westy brand new. It was a CAR. An AUDI CAR. AND, I liked it just fine.
Very very true, it is nothing like a Vanagon or Bay or Split. NOTHING, regardless of the layout.
BUT, I loved the car for what it was. Like real A/C, real 203HP engine, seat heaters, yatta yatta. Sure, I would buy a T6.1, but I certainly would not sell the Vanagon. NO WAY I would rely on just ONE VolksWagen, ever.
-bobby
_________________
'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch |
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12168
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:46 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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There's nothing mini about the T4/T5/T6 vans.
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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MsTaboo
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Joined: June 02, 2006
Posts: 4573
Location: East Kootenay, British Columbia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:55 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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| Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
| There's nothing mini about the T4/T5/T6 vans. |
Except the complete layout 
Personnally I could easily live without all the electric motors and other "hi-tek" bits.
All that crap just makes the vehicle heavier, more expensive, and failure prone.
How lazy can you be if lifting the pop top is too much work?
Volkswagen has to be one of the stupidest companies out there. They went from simple, easy to maintain cars with a huge slice of world vehicle sales to just another car company making bland overly complicated cars and lost sales.
Their reluctance to give the Vanagon a decent engine for the North American market and then retreating from that segment when their minivan Eurovan couldn't compete with Detriot's minivans. Instead they should have capitalized on the uniqueness of the Syncro AWD bus platform with a robust engine.
And they abandon that market for two decades and finally come back with the ID Buzz???
(remember they build cars here in North America So saying the dollars not strong enough to the Euro is no excuse they could build a van here.)
This business of cheating on the diesel emissions?!? WTF?
Teasing us with the new AWD Doka and then not building it? That thing was totally unique and very viable. (same as above, build in NA and avoid the "chicken tax")
And while I'm all for an electric or hybrid minibus they give us that over-the-top ID Buzz?? The driving position of that thing is ridiculous. The sight-lines must be terrible and unlike the Vanagon telling where the front end is will be a nightmare.
Electric doors? Just how lazy are people?!? You have an all electric vehicle and then they weigh it down and suck juice by electrifying everything?
Just give me a simple, easy to maintain vehicle without unnecessary electric doodads. I don't need a huge touchscreen "infotainment" center, I can push buttons and pull on levers just fine for the heater, etc.
I want to be able to replace the crappy factory stereo without it being part of the CANBUS. I don't need flatscreens to tell me a door is open, and I sure as hell don't need a car that parks itself.
What the hells the matter with people these days?
(This is just a very small part of what could be a very long rant about what is happening to modern vehicles, and is just my humble opinion.) 
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec
The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
All that's needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.
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bobbyblack
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Joined: May 21, 2015
Posts: 4624
Location: United States, Iowa
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:01 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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Still a couple feet shorter than a Buick Roadmaster, regardless of 'mini' or not.. Everyone loves to call the T4+ a minivan, but nope, its just a big car. Big, 1 TON carrying CAR. Oh okay, maybe 'truckster' would do..
_________________
'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch |
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12168
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:06 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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Stupid like a fox. VAG is currently either #1 or #2 vehicle manufacturer on a global scale, so they're clearly doing something not quite so stupid as you think.
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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MsTaboo
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Joined: June 02, 2006
Posts: 4573
Location: East Kootenay, British Columbia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:28 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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| bobbyblack wrote: |
| Still a couple feet shorter than a Buick Roadmaster, regardless of 'mini' or not.. Everyone loves to call the T4+ a minivan, but nope, its just a big car. Big, 1 TON carrying CAR. Oh okay, maybe 'truckster' would do.. |
https://vehq.com/how-long-is-a-minivan/
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rl...p;oe=UTF-8
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rl...p;oe=UTF-8
Minivan= front engine / front wheel drive. Yep, just a big tall station wagon.
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rl...p;oe=UTF-8
And as you can see the Vanagon is actually the smallest.
(there's actually nothing wrong with minivans, but the "soccer mom" label killed the love affair)(and why Eurovan drivers hate it being called a minivan  )
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec
The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
All that's needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.
Resist Kleptocratic Oligarchy (and Idiocracy)! |
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MsTaboo
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Joined: June 02, 2006
Posts: 4573
Location: East Kootenay, British Columbia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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| Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
| Stupid like a fox. VAG is currently either #1 or #2 vehicle manufacturer on a global scale, so they're clearly doing something not quite so stupid as you think. |
Yes they're making a comeback but not quite like the heydays of the 60, 70, 80's
http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/volkswagen/
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec
The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
All that's needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.
Resist Kleptocratic Oligarchy (and Idiocracy)! |
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12168
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:03 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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Your favorite, Ford, needs to kick it up a notch and get with the program. And the Fuji fanboys really have their work cut out for them.
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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HackAl
Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2016
Posts: 343
Location: Bergen County, NJ
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:18 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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| MsTaboo wrote: |
Personnally I could easily live without all the electric motors and other "hi-tek" bits.
All that crap just makes the vehicle heavier, more expensive, and failure prone. |
I wonder if that's how owners of older bay window campers felt about Vanagons with their cassette players, reservoir level light indicator, battery voltage indicator, digital clock, etc. Maybe everything is relative.
I embrace the technology. Bluetooth stereo, GPS navigation, better auxiliary battery were much-welcomed additions. I don't always need to see how much propane is left, but its nice to know I can. Knowing if the van is level is also nice. (I've read threads about these mods here with interest).
Now,- whether these stock options are worth the money is another question,- and unfortunately, a moot one.
I'm surprised they don't make the T6's beefier. No off-roading in Europe?
_________________
91 Westy.
Ever consider temporarily trading your van? Join the list.
Last edited by HackAl on Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:09 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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elizer
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Joined: May 02, 2016
Posts: 1501
Location: Northern Virginia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:24 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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Ya I know they arent available. Just wishful thinking. There is a guy in germany who does lift kits and rugged tires for them. Far from off road but can get you more places I bet.
Multicamper.com |
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12168
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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Yikes! That quote attributed to me isn't mine. The T4/T5/T6 can all be had with AWD drivetrains. I eventually plan to order a T4 Syncro kit for my rig, which unlike the T3s, just bolts right into place.
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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HackAl
Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2016
Posts: 343
Location: Bergen County, NJ
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:38 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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Sorry Zeitgeist. Fixed quote attribution. I've embraced the technology but have not quite mastered it.
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91 Westy.
Ever consider temporarily trading your van? Join the list. |
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elizer
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2016
Posts: 1501
Location: Northern Virginia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:40 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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| I built one out a year ago on the vw uk website. They have a diesel 4 motion with automatic. I want to say they had an electronic locking diff option but dont quote me. My old bones are starting to dislike manual. |
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12168
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:49 pm Post subject: Re: Jalopnik, T6.1 California |
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Thanks, I have a ton of respect for MsTaboo, and don't want to be seen as trying to steal her thunder.
_________________
Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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