Well, I am about to become unpopular... unfortunately not a new experience.

Here in the good ol' USA, we are capitalists.  I have run retail businesses most of my life.
The object is to buy it as cheaply as you can and then sell it for as much as you can get.
That's what VW does.  If they can get outrageous prices for their parts, more power to them.
If you don't like it, buy elsewhere.  If they have a corner on the particular part you need,
well, good for them.  Now they can really hammer you.  It isn't evil or even immoral.

If I have some Vanagon part to sell, and I put it up on Ebay, I never complain if the bidding
goes higher than expected.  I have never heard anyone else complaining that THEIR stuff was
worth too much, either.  Nope, the complaints are all about the other guy's stuff selling for
too much.  Well, sometimes I'm the seller, and then I'm happy when the bidding goes up.  On the
other hand, when I am the buyer, I hope the price stays down.  Remember, buy it as cheaply as
you can and sell it for as much as you can get.

I am involved with our local movie theater, which is run as a non-profit company attached to a
local museum.  Know what the markup on popcorn is?  3000% !!!!  Good for us.  I wish it sold
for more.

Bill

----- Original Message -----
> The current astronomical VW parts pricing includes the obscene cost of
> paying the "Royal" VW elite executives starting with their "Pope" or CEO. As
> their consumption crazy saleries and stock options swirl higher and higher,
> the parts prices of VW cars manufactured well before they were hired are
> forced to bear this economic load. However the greedy, self-serving VW
> "Royal executives" simply thumb their noses at the working proletariat using
> thier products and demand higher parts prices to maintain their extravagant,
> executive life style. The Executive leadership of VW GMBH is hardly
> different from the criminals at ENRON !!!!!!!!!!!!! OFF with their heads!!!