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Subject:Re: A different camper van... MB Marco Polo
From:Aristotle Sagan
Date:Wed, 6 Nov 2002 15:42:52 -0800

Or D/C could buy Winnybagoe and make crappy Winnybagettes right here without
the expense of moving Westfaliawerks.

The options are endless.

tim in san jose

 >What a steal. $54k. The Westfalia Vanagon was about $21k (US) more than
>a decade ago, and (no offense, I love my Westy) it was nowhere near as
>nice as the Vito Marco Polo.
>
>Can anyone verify the foggy recollection I have: -- the reason we don't
>see these nicer European RV's here is that Win-a-bag-o'poo, and the
>other US RV manufacturers lobbied congress in 1990 and got stiff (>25%)
>tariffs against imported complete RV's? Again to my understanding, VW
>couldn't sell against the tariff, and consequently we lost the Vanagon
>Westfalia, got the (crappy, IMHO) USA-built 'Rialta', and the
>watered-down Westfalia "weekender" Eurovan. Can anyone shore this
>recollection up with facts?
>
>What I am getting at: if all of the above is true, then there *could* be
>a way to get the Marco Polo here. Follow me.
>
>1.      Daimler/Chrysler now use the same toothbrush.
>2.      Westfaliawerke was a subsidiary of Daimler-Benz, assumedly a
>subsidiary of D/C now.
>3.      D/C opens a very small (30-50-person) Westfaliawerke Fabrik here
>in the USA, near a port of entry.
>4.      D/C import the RV components for the Vito converted EuroVans,
>and supply ther dealer network with spares
>5.      D/C imports partial EuroVans (which they are already buying from
>VW)
>6.      D/C's Westfaliawerke Fabrik ASSEMBLES same here in USA
>
>Bringing ideas to life,
>G. Matthew Bulley
>Bulley-Hewlett
>Business: www.bulley-hewlett.com <http://bulley-hewlett.com/>
>AIM = IExplain4u
>Phone: +1.919.658.1278
>"Fax mentis incendium gloria culpum"

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