Would you pay $55,000 for a new one? That's probably what it would
cost for VW to re-introduce the Vanagon to the US market.

The Kombi made in Brazil is not a Vanagon. Its a loaf. Even so, it
would probably have to sell for $30,000 new in the US.  Maybe more.

Brazilian vehicles run on Alcohol, not gasoline. That means they are
tuned differently, they have different fuel injection parts (to
handle the alcohol, which tends to deteriorate traditional fuel
lines.) The Kombi as sold in Brazil is water cooled. The Loaf sold in
the US never was. The Kombi doesn't meet current safety requirements
of US new cars. This would include, airbags and other impact
requirements. I'd be surprised if the Kombi was an OBD II vehicle.
All cars sold new in the US have to be OBD II.

Many of the same arguments go against the Vanagon.

I'm not being a nay sayer, I'm being a realist. The Loaf and Vanagon
were good for their era. The fact that they can continue to be
reliable 20-30 years later, says a lot about their initial design.

But the market and vehicle requirements have changed. Maybe for the
worse, but those are requirements that have been imposed upon us by
politicians. Those politicians responded to constituent demands and
lobbying efforts.

You get what you pay for.

On Apr 8, 2007, at 4:07 PM, Rob wrote:

> Dear Volkswagen,
>         It has recently come to my attention that you are still
> making VW Vans in Brazil.
>         As strange as it may seem I believe there is still a market
> for the VW 'bus' in the US/Canada, both the standard passenger model
> & a camper model such as the Westfalia.
>         Just how difficult would it really be to make an export
> model in Brazil that meets the North American legalities? VW has to
> already be making enough off the shelf parts to outfit a van for the
> north American market and has a variety of engines that would work
> well. It's just a matter of putting the Brazilian plant and the off
> the shelf parts together.
>         I'd like to urge you to give this idea some thought.
>
>
>
> Rob