this makes a lot of sense :
"there was a political consideration as well: by inventing the WBX they
could keep employed a lot of the workers who used to build the air-cooled
version of the engine.  This kept the unions from getting grumpy about
layoffs."

I betcha that was a significant factor.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Allan Streib" <streib@CS.INDIANA.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 2:09 PM
Subject: Re: The real story about the invention of the WBX?

> On Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:02:09 -0800, "Zeitgeist" <gruengeist@GMAIL.COM>
> said:
>
>> I think the point being that VW should've used the introduction of the T3
>> to
>> turn over a new leaf and leave the flat engine configuration behind for
>> good.  They had a host of robust 4 and 5 cyl engines in '79, so it just
>> seems silly that they bothered to start with the carry-over 2.0L AC from
>> the
>> '79 Bay window bus.  Despite all the bashing it gets on this list, the
>> WBX
>> is a good engine, that can typically provide a long service life...but,
>> it
>> was old-tech engineering that was outdated even when it was introduced.
>> The
>> Audi 2.3L gasser and 2.0L turbodiesel fivers were a perfect match, though
>> they should've opted for a distributor-less design in the former to avoid
>> engine lid issues.
>>
>> Oh, if only I ran the world...
>
> As I recall from prior discussions of this topic, there was a political
> consideration as well: by inventing the WBX they could keep employed a lot
> of the workers who used to build the air-cooled version of the engine.
> This kept the unions from getting grumpy about layoffs.
>
> Allan
> --
> 1991 Vanagon GL