Opinions? new VW Bus

[Stig / Major Tom]

Fortunately - they seem to have changed the front of the new electric VW Bus

 from this, shown at previous press releases....



To this....



A 1969 VW bus was the first car we owned (after 3 Honda bikes) wife bought it while I was in Vietnam.- drove one until @ 2010, I think it was. We had 3 Beetles and a Jetta and 2 Rabbits as well.....each German made. (well, one Vanagon - which was made in Austria!)
My being born in Munich had nothing to do with buying VW's.....after being exposed to the quality of air/cooled Honda motorcycles VWs were the only car I trusted for economy,  build quality and reliability.

Stig

[rjs987]

I think the orange/red one is the best (I'm a little color blind). But I know it's not electric.
I like the yellow one also. Not liking the change to the white one so much. Too common.

[Kansas kymco]

Stig ironically enough I'm looking at a mini-van.  Don't get me wrong I'm a pickup/ SUV  person through and through.  When/if I drive again getting in and out of my Excursion and F-350 requires me lifting my entire body weight with my  left leg.  Not to mention a ramp to load the Collies.

The two vans I'm looking at are the Chrysler Pacifica and the Honda Odyssey for their stow and go seating and rear A/C. The Collies can easily climb in and I can sit in the seat and swivel my legs in.

I never thought of myself as a van person but practicality dictates my purchase.

[Iahawk]

Nice to see a new van from VW!

Kansas Kymco - as a current van owner and driver of Chrysler mini vans since 1997 (had a new company car/mini van every 2 years or so for years) I can say that mini vans are one of the most practical, comfortable, useful platforms around. I know most people disparage them and roll their eyes at the thought of a mini van but they ride better than sport utilities and generally have more cargo room inside plus handle better with their low center of gravity.  I bought my last company van (2014 Caravan) in 2018 and still have it.  YOu can carry 4x8 plywood in the back..sleep in it..carry small scoots in it. Such a useful vehicle.

Now deciding between a Chrysler and Honda…the Honda will be the better long term in reliability and resale..the Chrysler is usually quite a bit cheaper to buy. While I love my van and I baby it…I have rust through in both rockers, rust bubbles on the aluminum hood edge (a known problem for years)..rust starting in the wheel arches, rear air is tenuous as freon lines are exposed to rear tire debris and it eventually knocks out the air, 3.6 Pentastar is a beast but the oil filter / coolers all leak (replaced mine for $800 last month) and many suffer from the ‘tick’ where the rockers fall apart and destroy camshafts.

So I would avoid the Chrysler (pains me to say that)…unless you really want to save some big $ up front.

[Kansas kymco]

Iahawk the Chrysler Pentastar 3.6 made Wards 10 best engines list. . I like the Pacifica styling.  I was looking at them before the stroke. My brain wasn't the only thing to hemorrhage lately. My wallet has a hemorrhage as well so cost is certainly a issue.

Have a good friend that has a Pacifica and he loves it, ironically he used it for his company vehicle until he retired last December.  He gets around 30 mpg.

I will wait until I can function a little better before I purchase.  Rear A/C is a priority.  Will not drive it in winter so salt corrosion shouldn't be a issue.

My dream car is still a Bentley Mulsanne speed with the twin turbo W12 engine. Two and a third tons of luxury capable of 200 mph, ( if your going to dream, dream big).

[Kansas kymco]

Stig  the last picture just doesn't look like a VW micro-bus. I know the other VW's micro-bus the crumple zone is your legs .

Stig are you going to purchase one?

[Stig / Major Tom]

Stig  the last picture just doesn't look like a VW micro-bus. I know the other VW's micro-bus the crumple zone is your legs .

Stig are you going to purchase one?

No, no more need for a VW  bus.....
Car prices are crazy right now.....so will just keep putting $ into our Scion and Chevy truck. Both have less than 60K on them. No rust.
Daughter may be gifted her late grandfather's low mileage Equinox....his wife never drove. It hasn't moved from their garage in a year. Granny is thinking about it...she gave daughter the title 3 mos. ago. (Per grandfather's last wish) Asked for it back 2 weeks ago.
I told daughter not to take it out of the envelope..yet....she might change her mind.. She did as I predicted. 94 yr olds are not too reliable....but for the 30 yrs I've known her she is consistently manipulative. No one in her family ever set limits on her.

Fav auto I've driven in past 15 yrs is the 1st generation Scion xB.
VW bus like use of space. Brilliant design.

Ohio might be getting a chip factory.
Kk, hang tough buddy!

Regards, Stig

[Kansas kymco]

Stig I hope Ohio gets a chip factory.  We need to bring manufacturing back to this country.

[Iahawk]

Iahawk the Chrysler Pentastar 3.6 made Wards 10 best engines list. . I like the Pacifica styling.  I was looking at them before the stroke. My brain wasn't the only thing to hemorrhage lately. My wallet has a hemorrhage as well so cost is certainly a issue.

Have a good friend that has a Pacifica and he loves it, ironically he used it for his company vehicle until he retired last December.  He gets around 30 mpg.

I will wait until I can function a little better before I purchase.  Rear A/C is a priority.  Will not drive it in winter so salt corrosion shouldn't be a issue.

My dream car is still a Bentley Mulsanne speed with the twin turbo W12 engine. Two and a third tons of luxury capable of 200 mph, ( if your going to dream, dream big).

KK, I agree, the Pentastar is a great motor, plenty of power and good mileage on the highway. There are a few weak spots on it that can and probably will show up in its later years. The oil filter/cooler isn't a deal breaker, but it is a pain to replace. The upper and lower intakes need to come off...I've taken off my upper intake when I replaced plugs and I also did my pcv and cleaned throttle body...but removing the lower intake, fuel rail and draining coolant...not something I wanted to do myself.

If you're not driving in salt then the rust issues shouldn't be a problem. I keep my van clean, polished and ceramic coated and it lives in the garage but we apparently drove it in the snow and salt enough to start having some serious corrosion at the 8+ year point...that's disappointing.

I rented a new body style Chrysler van for my wife to drive out East last summer in. She loved it. Thought it was head and shoulders better than our 2014 Caravan.

[Kansas kymco]

KK, I agree, the Pentastar is a great motor, plenty of power and good mileage on the highway. There are a few weak spots on it that can and probably will show up in its later years. The oil filter/cooler isn't a deal breaker, but it is a pain to replace. The upper and lower intakes need to come off...I've taken off my upper intake when I replaced plugs and I also did my pcv and cleaned throttle body...but removing the lower intake, fuel rail and draining coolant...not something I wanted to do myself.

If you're not driving in salt then the rust issues shouldn't be a problem. I keep my van clean, polished and ceramic coated and it lives in the garage but we apparently drove it in the snow and salt enough to start having some serious corrosion at the 8+ year point...that's disappointing.

I rented a new body style Chrysler van for my wife to drive out East last summer in. She loved it. Thought it was head and shoulders better than our 2014 Caravan.

I quit working on my truck and Excursion years ago,other then changing oil and filters.  I have a trusted mechanic I use. I don't know that I could even get up from the ground to change oil.

I will never get rid of the Excursion and truck if I can get into them later on. I still have my place in Ely so could use the van to take the Collies up during the summer hopefully. I need something to look forward to at this point .

[john grinsel]

Depends on price/handling/maint. costs.  VW paint/finish always nice.   have had one new VW Van as camper---owned or experience with '53/'57/'59/'62 Beetle--Golf Diesel---wife has new leased Audi Q-5 (VW with no dipstick and hi test gas--way over priced maint. $225 oil change in Chattanootga)  rides like lumberwagon/lease done in July!  I think made in Japan/Asia better.   Think in my early case Ford Falcon would have been better....and heater worked.

[randyo]

no way,  the # thing I like about the old transporters & vanagons, is the ergonomics of the steering wheel, big and flat, and I kinda like the vagueness of the shifter too

[Kansas kymco]

Just read a interesting article about Daniel Norris despite being a major league pitcher and having millions of dollars he lives in a old Volkswagen camper. Says it keeps him grounded.

[Stig / Major Tom]

People always complain about the lack of heat in a beetle. But if you kept the rocker panels from rusting out I could cook my sneakers in my beetle!
And once they added a fan you could even clear the windshield!
My baywindow would bring some heat up front about halfway between my apt in Amherst and my job in Springfield.
Mean time my coffee cup kept my hands warm!
It's a lifestyle...air-cooled ownership.....
Like scooter riding in frozen dawns!
Stig

[randyo]

People always complain about the lack of heat in a beetle. But if you kept the rocker panels from rusting out I could cook my sneakers in my beetle!
And once they added a fan you could even clear the windshield!
My baywindow would bring some heat up front about halfway between my apt in Amherst and my job in Springfield.
Mean time my coffee cup kept my hands warm!
It's a lifestyle...air-cooled ownership.....
Like scooter riding in frozen dawns!
Stig

my '81 Vanagon had a gas heater. toasty warm, even at -30f at the expense of only getting 8mpg

I could keep the windshield clear on my '68 Beetle, cause I could reach where I needed with a scraper out the window, I had ok heat, just had to shut it off in the summer by taking the heater tubes out

I would like to find an old double cab pickup that I don't have to sell a kidney, to afford