It seems Asghar Bhatti's note about VW's Customer Relations Department 
communication has sounded a GO signal to list members who might like to 
express their frustrations over VW's ELECTIVE limitations as to what US 
customers may select from their manufactured product line.  While I'm not 
typically a "joiner," allow me to contribute to this parade.
  First, let me say that I love efficiency, and since diesels convert a 
higher percentage of their heat into usable shaft horsepower, I'm 
attracted to diesels.  The ratio for diesels is typically around 31% 
compared to 26% for spark ignition motors, and that's before you even 
start to consider the fact that at nearly 7.2 pounds per gallon for 
diesel compared to 6.2 for gasoline, there's just more available 
potential heat per gallon in there.
  I look at corporate VW/Audi as one firm as surely as Buick and Chevy 
are parts of one GM.  The VW/Audi motors have had the same engineering 
background for years.  Look at an old Chiltons Imported Autos Manual and 
see the identical Audi/VW bore and stroke etc.  Makes no difference to me 
that ome may have five or four of these identical cylinders ganged to 
form a motor, they're the same to me.  As a matter of fact, if you look 
at the old SAE Journal articles submitted by the VW engineeering dept. 
back when the water cooled gas/diesel versions of their then new motor 
was just in production, you'll read that they are also two versions of 
the same motor.  So the whole water cooled series originates back with 
this single fine little design.  And modify they have.  Wow.  Many 
displacements, and both gas and diesel took their own paths.  To get some 
more power from the diesel types, several neat tricks have been applied 
at the production level.  What fun it would be to know what engineering 
actually tried along the way.  First they played displacement games, and 
the original 1.5 liter gave way to the 1.6.  Then they added a turbo, 
jumping the 1.6 48 horses to 68 that Shawn's Westie has and was popular 
in europe but never inported into the US market.  This failure to 
import decision may have been an early indication of partial brain death 
in VW's US marketing staff.  US buyers were more power hungary and had 
lower fuel prices than europeans, just as now.  But let's fast forward to 
1992, the first year that I know the Audi division offered for sale in 
England the current 2.5 liter DIRECT INJECTION TDI motor, then rated as 
115 horsepower @ 4000 rpm, which has now been increased to 140 at the 
same speed.  This FABULOUS diesel can accelerate a 3300 pound Audi A6 
manual trans car from 0 to 60 in about 10 seconds flat, average around 45 
mpg., and maintain a a top continuous duty speed over 125 mph!  Hell of a 
machine.  It IS NOT a 2.5 INDIRECT INJECTION 78 horsepower motor that's 
also less fuel efficient!  Diesel Car Magazine says this A6 towing a 
trailer (so the combined gross weight and wind drag is much more than a 
"transporter") still goes very well indeed.  Torque peaks down at a truck 
like 1900 rpm @ 214 lbs-ft, so if they could dump the heat it makes, it 
would be, to my mind, the IDEAL Westie type vehicle power plant.
  Now I understand VW is test marketing a 78 horse diesel version 
Transporter (as they call it) in California.  I say where's the 140 horse 
Direct Injection computer controled and ultra clean smokeless 2.5 TDI?  
It appears to be the same brain functioning that kept the 68 horse 1.6 
turbo from being made available in the US 13 years ago in my opinion.  
Hello VW, IS ANYBODY HOME?  You guys want to capture a greatly increased 
chunk of the US Van market?  Just bolt a few together and let all the US 
auto magazines test it and poll their readers as to whether or not they'd 
be interested.  This frugal VanaRocket would sell very well indeed.  Look 
how the big diesel US pickup competitive war is raging due to great 
demand in turn caused by their great real world performance.  What is 
wrong with this picture VW?  If you can't dump the heat with the stock 
water pump and inadequately sized coolant lines, fix it.  If you need 
to, go with an electric external secondary pump for periods when your 
previous Vans experienced a plague of heating problems because they 
couldn't even handle the much lower heat-making motors you fitted 
earlier.
  So that's my complaint against VW.  For a "dyed in the wool" diesel 
fan, they appear to be refusing to push the obviously right buttons, and 
if I held a big block of their stock, that complaint would be voiced at 
stock holders' meetings.  They are not serving themselves nor their 
customers well by this refusal.
  Finally, let me predict that in the year 2000, VW will offer a Fabulous 
New Millennium motor to US bus buyers, and that's their then 8 year old 
1992 2.5 liter direct injection TDI motor.  Just my opinions.

	John Wakefield