# VW Microbus going into production!



## 20AE428 (Feb 23, 2005)

Sorry if this is old news but just read this in the star this weekend that the new VW minivan based on the microbus concept will go into production soon and be the first VW vehicle to be produced right here in Canada!
http://www.wheels.ca/article/34495


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## mouseOfMars (Jul 30, 2002)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (20AE428)*

I really doubt that is the microbus. 
Maybe a re-badged Dodge Caravan, but not much more.
From what I have read on here is that VW killed the microbus concept. http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif


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## yvrnycracer (Apr 17, 2007)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (mouseOfMars)*

does anyone besides me think that a chrysler badged as a VW is a scary concept... i sense problems on the horizon for this monster!


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## Duderino (Dec 1, 2007)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (yvrnycracer)*

The minivan will be a flop. Doesnt matter if its made by chrysler or vw.


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## quailallstar (Dec 2, 2001)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (Duderino)*

Yup not the Microbus







Just some re-badged American van


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## Sixtysomething (Aug 7, 2003)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (quailallstar)*

There is hope for a Microbus...not the one from a few years ago that VW killed...but rather a Bus-styled Space up! The upcoming minivan will probably just be a Caravan with a VW emblem.


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## Hajduk (Jan 24, 2000)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (20AE428)*

Old news


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## 20AE428 (Feb 23, 2005)

Since when has VW ever put there name or badge on another companies product. I just don't see it. The microbus would have rocked just like the beetle redo. I'll admit the day of the minivan is dead so I thought they would do something innovative. Also the article pictured the microbus. Guess i'm just dreamin they hadn't giv'n up on the bus.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

*Re: (20AE428)*

Okay... I'll repeat this again... because it's been about two weeks since the last person asked.
The VW van is NOT a rebadged Chrysler.
It shares the same chassis and drivetrain. 
Interior: Exclusive to VW
Exterior: I beleive the only metal shared is the roof, everthing else is exclusive to VW
Suspension: Tuned to VW specs

But, this info will not stop people from calling it a rebadged Chrysler --- so I guess that's up to them.


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## Chico (Jul 26, 2004)

*Re: (TREGinginCO)*


_Quote, originally posted by *TREGinginCO* »_Okay... I'll repeat this again... because it's been about two weeks since the last person asked.
The VW van is NOT a rebadged Chrysler.
It shares the same chassis and drivetrain. 
Interior: Exclusive to VW
Exterior: I beleive the only metal shared is the roof, everthing else is exclusive to VW
Suspension: Tuned to VW specs

But, this info will not stop people from calling it a rebadged Chrysler --- so I guess that's up to them. 

So what you're saying then is that it's just going to be a rebadged Chrysler?


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## Vrucizzy (Oct 25, 2004)

*Re: (Chico)*

I posted this in the last thread about this topic but some people may have not seen it so here it is again.
http://www.illicitvw.com/site/...art=0


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## jimlockey (Feb 17, 2001)

*Re: (Vrucizzy)*

I'll wait and see, but it has to have a diesel engine.


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## GoFaster (Jun 18, 1999)

*Re: (TREGinginCO)*


_Quote, originally posted by *TREGinginCO* »_Okay... I'll repeat this again... because it's been about two weeks since the last person asked.
The VW van is NOT a rebadged Chrysler.
It shares the same chassis and drivetrain. 

Therefore, it is a Chrysler.


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## vr6fanatic (Apr 5, 2003)

*Re: (GoFaster)*

all it is that VW and Chrysler are getting together and designing a Minivan for the Avg. American Soccer mom.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

*Re: (vr6fanatic)*

Here ya go... read this from Car and Driver
http://www.caranddriver.com/au....html


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## Blue Golfer (Feb 4, 2003)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (quailallstar)*


_Quote, originally posted by *quailallstar* »_










A Dodge minivan coming ouit of a giant Wonder Bread-like wrapper . . . how appropriate!


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## DUTCHMANia (Apr 7, 2003)

*Re: (20AE428)*


_Quote, originally posted by *20AE428* »_Since when has VW ever put there name or badge on another companies product. I just don't see it. 

you have alot to learn young grasshopper....
Audi 50?--> VW Polo
Toyota Hi-Lux ---> VW Taro


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## B4A3WhatNext (Apr 14, 1999)

*Re: (TREGinginCO)*


_Quote, originally posted by *TREGinginCO* »_Here ya go... read this from Car and Driver

Thanks for the link. 
The second paragraph starts out "It will be second only to the Jetta in sales, Jacoby tells Car and Driver in an interview." That struck me as odd since Jamie had stated earlier that VWOA's expectations for this minivan are low (~3K/mo), I wondered whether Passat sales have really dropped that much. And they have. Under 3K in November. My, My...
Subject to actually seeing it and seeing the price (standard caveat when discussing unreleased products), I'm still skeptical that anyone who knows that it has a Chrysler drivetrain would ever want this over the less expensive Chrysler version. 
And I don't get why Jacoby says that the diesel engine would be too expensive for the minivan. (Call it a short honeymoon, but I'm tired of Jacoby already - he just seems like a tool of Wolfsburg who views the American market with contempt.) Honda has said they will have a diesel Odyssey in the 2009-ish timeframe, and VW's only advantage will be gone.


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## Sixtysomething (Aug 7, 2003)

*Re: (B4A3WhatNext)*



B4A3WhatNext said:


> Thanks for the link.
> The second paragraph starts out "It will be second only to the Jetta in sales, Jacoby tells Car and Driver in an interview." That struck me as odd since Jamie had stated earlier that VWOA's expectations for this minivan are low (~3K/mo), I wondered whether Passat sales have really dropped that much. And they have. Under 3K in November. My, My...
> 
> 
> ...


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## 71DubBugBug (Dec 3, 2006)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (20AE428)*












































what has VW come to!


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## Chico (Jul 26, 2004)

*Re: (fortysomething)*


_Quote, originally posted by *fortysomething* »_
Actually, if you count the Golf/Rabbit/GTI/R32 as one model, this now holds the #2 spot in VWoA sales. The New Beetle isn't far behind the Passat, either. I love my B6, but it's sure a slow-seller right now...









The problem with the new Passat is that VW moved into a no-man's land of a market. The new Jetta is almost as big as the outgoing Passat and has more trunk space than the current Passat. I'm guessing the most previous Passat customers moved to a new Jetta instead of a new Passat since they were getting as much car as they were accustomed to having for less than the price of the current model of the same car. Moving the Passat up and not introducing a car below the Jetta in the lineup are two of VW's most glaring mistakes over the past handful of years (Phaeton excluded).


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## 54-46 (Jul 12, 2005)

Yes, its old news. That's fine, its new to you.
On the actual discussion of the van, there's a pretty healthy thread in the Car Lounge, here:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3570760
On the cars getting bigger...Deal, all have gotten bigger. Compare a Civic or a Corolla to one several generations ago, and you'll see the same thing.


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## randyvr6 (Aug 17, 1999)

*Re: (Chico)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Chico* »_
The problem with the new Passat is that VW moved into a no-man's land of a market. The new Jetta is almost as big as the outgoing Passat and has more trunk space than the current Passat. I'm guessing the most previous Passat customers moved to a new Jetta instead of a new Passat since they were getting as much car as they were accustomed to having for less than the price of the current model of the same car. Moving the Passat up and not introducing a car below the Jetta in the lineup are two of VW's most glaring mistakes over the past handful of years (Phaeton excluded).

I actually thought the opposite. We moved up from a 2001 Jetta to a 207 Passat Wagon because I needed more room for our 2 dogs. 
The Passat without a lot of expensive options was not any more than a 2.0T Jetta with a few options, so why not just buy the Passat for about the same money. The Base level B6 for 26K is a great deal, I am not sure about the VR6 4 motion lux version form 38K however.
I am very happy with my B6 Wagon although I see very few others on the road. Not sure why it is not sellling better. 



_Modified by randyvr6 at 2:40 PM 12-11-2007_


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## haunted reality (Apr 18, 2001)

*Re: (randyvr6)*


_Quote, originally posted by *randyvr6* »_
I actually thought the opposite. We moved up from a 2001 Jetta to a 207 Passat Wagon because I needed more room for our 2 dogs. 
The Passat without a lot of expensive options was not any more than a 2.0T Jetta with a few options, so why not just buy the Passat for about the same money. The Base level B6 for 26K is a great deal, I am not sure about the VR6 4 motion lux version form 38K however.
I am very happy with my B6 Wagon although I see very few others on the road. Not sure why it is not sellling better. 

_Modified by randyvr6 at 2:40 PM 12-11-2007_

Um, I'm the opposite. Wife had a B5.5 Passat she loved, now she drives a MKV Jetta and loves it even more. Its basically the same size, and at $20k her WE Jetta has a lot of feature we wouldn't get in the stripped $26k Passat VE.


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## honkey (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: (haunted reality)*

it doesn't surprise me that vw would make a re-badged american craptasic mini van, they've been F'ing up the american market for a while now so this is just the next step in the evoloution.


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## randyvr6 (Aug 17, 1999)

*Re: (******)*

There is a very good reason why they are teaming up with Chrysler and that is economics.The minivan segment has been shrinking for several years and frankly speaking VW is going to be a niche player at best. It's not like the old Eurovan ever sold any appreciable numbers of units in the past.
Why spend hundreds of millions of dollars in developing a unique VW minivan for a relatively small number of sales when you can team up with Chrysler which has been a class leader in this segment for years. 
That way they can offer another vehicle for their dealers to sell without spending very much capital to do so.


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## Boogety Boogety (Jun 22, 2003)

*Re: (randyvr6)*

I have had a Dodge full-size all-American (as far as I know) converted van ("The Big Ass Van") for almost ten years. Seats seven, always starts, never needs anything except oil changes, 90,000 trouble-free miles (but it _does _suck gas... 13 mpg!). So there _is _some hope.








But I've also had a Chrysler Maserati TC, and if ever I wished I'd stuck a stick in my eye instead of buying a particular foreign/domestic car model, that was the time. So I'm not entirely sold on the VW/Chrysler alliance.








But (bring the eternal optimist I am), this time, after Chrysler spent some time with Daimler Benz, maybe, _just _maybe, they picked up a few hints on how to build an automobile that doesn't self-destruct from normal use, or avoids switches that collapse in your hands, or windshield wipers that fly off the attachment at 50mph in a driving hailstorm, scratching the windshield with bare metal before I had the sense to turn them off... Not to mention a brake pedal that sunk to the floor one fine day, because the original-from-the-factory-and-never-touched cap didn't seal properly and moisture got into the reservoir and ruined the brake fluid (but at least I got to learn what "hydroscopic " meant). Swear to God.








Not exactly holding my breath here, but I'll look at it when it comes out. Who knows, maybe it _will _be a quality product after all, and they'll sell a ton of 'em, and maybe some tuba-playing winged monkeys will fly out of my


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## l5gcw0b (Mar 3, 2000)

*Re: (20AE428)*


_Quote, originally posted by *20AE428* »_Since when has VW ever put there name or badge on another companies product. I just don't see it. The microbus would have rocked just like the beetle redo. I'll admit the day of the minivan is dead so I thought they would do something innovative. Also the article pictured the microbus. Guess i'm just dreamin they hadn't giv'n up on the bus.


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## Blue Golfer (Feb 4, 2003)

*Re: (l5gcw0b)*

Isn't that pickup really a Nissan?








Great, Nissan can't do anything right!


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## artistict (Jun 10, 2004)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (20AE428)*

i wonder if you would use metric of standard size wrenches on this car


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## AusSalzburg (Nov 4, 2004)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (artistict)*

Don't forget about the VW Sharan minivan in Europe.
The Ford Windstar platform was used by VW, Skoda, Seat, Opel and Ford. All the same minivan but each had their own interiors and engines. They all looked the same.
At least the new US minivan will look like a VW.


























_Modified by AusSalzburg at 5:27 PM 12-14-2007_


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## vr6fanatic (Apr 5, 2003)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (AusSalzburg)*

I believe that pickup truck was with Toyota


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## randyvr6 (Aug 17, 1999)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (artistict)*


_Quote, originally posted by *artistict* »_i wonder if you would use metric of standard size wrenches on this car









Everything automotive has used metric fasteners and dimensioning for at least 20 yrs. in the industry.


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## DUTCHMANia (Apr 7, 2003)

*Re: VW Microbus going into production! (AusSalzburg)*


_Quote, originally posted by *AusSalzburg* »_Don't forget about the VW Sharan minivan in Europe.
The Ford Windstar platform was used by VW, Skoda, Seat, Opel and Ford. All the same minivan but each had their own interiors and engines. They all looked the same.
At least the new US minivan will look like a VW.

























_Modified by AusSalzburg at 5:27 PM 12-14-2007_

So much wrong info here... no Windstar platform and only VW, Seat and Ford were incorperated in this design..


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## phaeton (Nov 30, 2002)

*Re: (ElkhornVDub)*


_Quote, originally posted by *20AE428* »_Since when has VW ever put there name or badge on another companies product.

Much much to learn















http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Pointer (Ford Escort)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Apollo (Ford Orion)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Taro (Toyota Hilux)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_K70 (NSU K70)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_3 (Hillman Avenger)


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## bugglesride (Mar 4, 2007)

*Re: (phaeton)*

*FALSE!*


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## B4A3WhatNext (Apr 14, 1999)

*Re: (bugglesride)*

What's false? Do you quibble with the Wikipedia references, or have you simply progressed from NO! to FALSE! in an effort not to sound so much like a three-year-old?
GS, your credibility on accuracy is a infinitesimal fraction of Phaeton's.


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## Island_Yota (Aug 15, 2007)

*Re: (B4A3WhatNext)*

Uhhh great, another POS on the road.. Not knocking VW here but bad decision to build a Van around a Chrysler platform, why would I want a VW with a pos Chrysler motor and transmission? YUCK!
and..
Micro my ass, It looks massive if anything.


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## jsmyle1%... (Jun 6, 2006)

*Re: (Island_Yota)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Island_Yota* »_Uhhh great, another POS on the road.. Not knocking VW here but bad decision to build a Van around a Chrysler platform, why would I want a VW with a pos Chrysler motor and transmission? YUCK!
and..
Micro my ass, It looks massive if anything.









Ryan,
Why is it a bad decision for VW "to build a Van around around a Chrysler platform"? I'm curious to know your thoughts..
And "yes" in advance. I do agree that the Microbus would have been the ultimate solution to VW re-entering the people-mover market. However, with a price tag that might well have been mid-$40Ks, even I would have passed.








So....tell me..


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## bugglesride (Mar 4, 2007)

*Re: (B4A3WhatNext)*


_Quote, originally posted by *B4A3WhatNext* »_What's false? Do you quibble with the Wikipedia references, or have you simply progressed from NO! to FALSE! in an effort not to sound so much like a three-year-old?
. 

Your fixation with branding me this gs is simply amusing and comical truly scraping the bottom of the barrel.. if the message is correct it matters not about the messanger...my ego is clearly not an impediment to clear rational discourse and thought.


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## B4A3WhatNext (Apr 14, 1999)

*Re: (bugglesride)*

Your continued denial that bugglesride is the same person formerly banned as golfstrom. racercx, and likely others is what's comical and amusing. I'll just call you GS, since I first took note of your posting style when you were golfstrom. If you really want to get busted publicly, I can dig through the archives for citations that will leave no doubt, but I think that would be better suited for a post in the main Car Lounge forum, where others who know you better than me can add to the "debate". Your "fact is" construct (generally for your wildest opinions or wishes), labeling argument opponents as manufacturer shills, and pleading with VW for a job so that you can "fix" everything follow you like a fingerprint. Or a little black raincloud.
As for clear thought and rational discourse (and back to the topic at hand), what exactly did you mean by "FALSE!" in response to Phaeton's post?


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