>Date:    Thu, 13 Jun 2002 18:11:03 -0400
>From:    The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
>Subject: Re: The new "microbus" sucks ... a misunderstanding
>
> > The new Microbus will replace the current VW Sharan/SEAT > Alhambra/Ford
>Galaxy seven-seater "people carriers" that are built
> > in VAG's factory in Portugal.  As far as I know, they have never
> > been sold in the USA.  The new Microbus will NOT replace the
> > Eurovan, known here as the T4.
>
>
>
>Is that the case?  The following article seems to imply otherwise.

<snip>

Hi Ron,

Thanks for your reply and for the link to that article.

The article is riddled with inaccuracies.  The one that sticks out like a
sore thumb is the statement attributed to a VAG spokesperson that the
Portugal plant has a reputation for its quality.  The only reputation that I
know of is for low quality; the UK J D Power surveys would suggest that the
output from that plant is not at all highly regarded by customers.

It is true to say that sales of the T4 are below expectations.  The T4 is
expensive even by European standards.  In the camper van market, T4
conversions have been largely supplanted by inexpensive coachbuilt bodies on
cheaper Peugeot and FIAT chassis cabs.  You can now buy a coachbuilt van for
the price of a converted T4, and get more space and an excellent shower room
and toilet included.

I suppose that there would be some logic in a larger T5-based Microbus for
the US market while the European model could be smaller, but only if volumes
were sufficiently high.  I don't think they will be, but that's just my
personal opinion.

It's always interesting to hear alternative views, but the article you
quoted does seem to vary significantly from the reports in the European
press that were my source.   That is despite the article being claimed to
have been written by a European correspondent ...

Best regards,

Tony

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