<I do like the labor unions theory ..............keeping all the air-cooled 
familiar workers working........ 
and just the general desire to keep with the original concept.........rear 
engine oppossed aluminum four. 
Perhaps it's the power of labor unions that we can blame for these goofy 
waterboxer engines.> 

Awww, geez, here we go with the Union bashing again! But, wait a minute...isn't the Subaru also a water cooled flat 4 (or 6) engine? Perhaps the same Unions forced this design on the Japanese? Maybe the same Unions also forced them to engineer it better? Damn Unions! BTW, did you happen to know that in most (if not all) states unless you are a Union member, your employment is "at will", meaning you can be fired at ANY time for ANY reason? So, if your boss thinks you're a commie pinko fag because you drive a VW, he can fire you, and you can't do a damn thing about it. Think this sounds far fetched? You need to meet MY boss!  Oh, sure, you could sue and make another lawyer rich. Hell, come to think of it, I'll bet it was those damn Unions that forced folks to buy coolant with phosphates in it which caused the heads to leak!!