>Hmmm... The whole 2 years I spent in Europe I don't ever remember seeing
>a Renault, Citroen, Fiat, or Peugot van that was not a delivery van.  I also

The Fiat, Peugot and Citroen MPV's (multi-purpose passenger vehicles, that's 
the moniker the auto industy's cooked up for European minivans) are all 
barnd new models, if fact I think the Citroen is not even available in the 
UK yet. But the Espace as been around for 10 years or so. All the big 
manufacturers (including VW) are jumping on the bandwagon created by the 
Japanese minivans. They are only just beginning to get accepted, because up 
to now passenger carriers were based on vans and the car-buying public saw 
them as commercial vehicles and not as big cars. Now they are getting more 
car-like (smaller, lower, more pointless gadgets) and going upmarket and 
people are discovering the benefits that we bus drivers have had for years.

Andy E.