I just received a Paulchen rack system that I ordered from Owasco VW in
Ontario. They've changed the design a bit and Owasco is not importing the
old design anymore. As far as I know, they are the only importer in North
America of these German-made racks. The new rack lacks the two vertical and
two horizontal cross members giving better visibility out the rear window
(according to Owasco), but fewer places to support and tie down odd articles
placed on the rack (according to me). So now the basic rack is U-shaped. It
still has the fold-down shelf which is cool but no longer uses the
telescoping trombone things to carry bicycles. Instead there are V-shaped
aluminum channels like you see on Yakima and Thule racks. This seems like it
may be an improvement for bicycles but offers no versatility for other uses.
Another limitation is that the rack will carry only two bicycles--there is
no extension offered for an additional two bicycles. Four bicycles seems
like a lot of weight to hang off the rear hatch, but their literature showed
this with the old design.

The price of the new rack is a bit cheaper, but still very steep. Owasco
offers the basic rack with everything required to carry two bicycles for
$429 CDN. Right now I'm overwhelmed with trying to assemble this thing.
There are dozens of clamps, nuts and bolts, and funny-shaped pieces of metal
spread out on my living room floor. When I get it together and on the van,
maybe I'll post some photos.

-Mark McCulley