Sadly the "perception" of cab over wheels risk persists.....but witness the vanagon vs. volvo crash test on www.busman.be.  The vanagon wins!  Also, I think the TDI diesel drivers are getting 25 mpg or better, which beats the gas Eurovan and a whole lot of US SUVs.
Could a revived vanagon be both safety legal and fuel efficient?  Maybe.
Is the new microbus concept car cab over wheels?
Anthony

John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM> wrote: >   Since it's Fryday I thought I'd open a thread I've wanted to open for a
> long time.  What does everyone think about VW re-opening the vanagon
> assembly line?  Is there any impediment to building new vanagons?  It
> shouldn't be a chore for VW to open an assembly line somewhere in the
> world.  The only major weakness in the original was the power plant and I'm
> certain that VW could quickly engineer in a new TDI diesel or inline gas
> engine.  All the rest could be the same�

Well, the real problem is that they'd have to change a few things. The flat
nose is murder on fuel economy. With gas crawling up toward the $3.50 mark
here in the states, fuel economy is a big sticking point. There's also the
issue of front-end impact safety. No car maker can afford to make any
passenger vehicle where the occupants aren't placed cowering behind a couple
feet of collapsible steel. Once that nose is there, providing "necessary"
safety and aerodynamics, they might as well stick the front whells under it,
and the engine/tranny in it, and make it a front wheel drive ass dragger.
With the wheelbase that much longer and the front wheel wells out of the
passenger compartment, no point in having any economy-robbing ground
clearance-- knock it down a couple inches. Do all that and what do we have?
A dang Eurovan. As much as I'd love to see the T3 come back, I'm fairly
certain the "cab-over-front-wheels" design is forever gone for
non-commercial vehicles.

--
John Bange
'90 Vanagon - "Geldsauger"

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