A Jetta wagon seems like it would work for most. Of course, with discounts, the big van is probably cheaper now, as I am sure you can negotiate a huge discount.
I've seen one on the road. It looks like a...... Chrysler minivan from some angles.
Chrysler struck a deal to build the van for them but didn't want to give up segment exclusives like Swivel and Stow N Go seating or else they might have lost a lot of market share, therefore the Routan doesn't have anything special inside othe rthan the third row folding into the floor.
The reason production halted is because they're on the same assembly line as the regular Caravans and Town&Countries, so if that's shut down to save $$ for now, I don't think they'd be running an assembly line exclusively just for VW.
I always thought that VW should have developed their own minivan in the 90s instead of blowing the dough on the Phaeton. While at Honda I sold a ton of Odysseys to young VW owners who were expanding their families but had to buy elsewhere as VW didn't have a minivan.
Look at how many people bought into the retro New Beetle, even though it was in every way less functional than the Golf it came from. Combine retro with functional, like that concept, and they could have done amazing things, IMHO....
Yeah, I like them too. My sister had one for years and it drove good. Maybe they've fixed the electrical gremlins by now. It's even more of a chick car than the other one on my wish list though:
Those Volgas - the one nearer the camera is I think one of the first models from the mid 50's - they then adopted a different grille for a couple of years, and then there was a second facelift in about 1960 which is the other one shown - and I think that grille - possibly with small variations - was made pretty well through to the 70's.
The little UTE is a Lada Niva.... I thought about buying one when I was in Pamana in the 90's. Simple as a brick, and about $9,000 at the time. I have no idea about the reliability, but the repairability was great in that there was no such things as a model year difference between parts, and the only electronic thing on the whole car was the battery. Would have never been able to get it into the states, of course....
The sedan is, indeed, a Volga 21. I was hoping to trick somebody into identifying it as a Ford Crestline (Crestliner?), after viewing the comparison between the two, here:
Looks like an early '50s Ford, but it's not. It's a Russian Volga as is the car next to it. Not sure of the year. Early '60s perhaps? The Russians always seemed to be at least a decade behind the West in styling.
The Lada Niva was sold in Canada in the late 80s to early 90s. As you say their simplicity made them easy to repair by anyone with some mechanic knoweldge.
They sold the Niva here, in Britain too - from 1983 to about 1998. I actually saw one parked in the street the other day - not that common now, but they are still around as they are pretty tough.
I used to see a kind of pukey green one every time I was in Langley...like the thing was following me. I'd be away from the place for months, come through town, and there it would be parked on a street or driving the opposite direction.
One you never see anymore is the Samara, and nobody is complaining about that.
IIRC the Lada distributor in the lower mainland was in New West. I remember seeing a Samara or a Signet on the roads now and then, but I think I saw a Skoda in the wilds of Vancouver only once. Of those three, the Samara has to be the worst. The Signet has Fiat roots, which are partially redeeming, and I think the Skodas were odd, but not terrible.
The Skodas had a rear mounted engine. I even remember some of their ads asking: what does a Skoda share with a Porsche 911? It answered: Rear mounted engine, and some other technical details.
If you wanted a sportier Skoda, you could have opted for the Rapide or whatever the term was:
Comments
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Volkswagen Orders Routan Production Halted
Shame VW axed the microbus concept.
I do wish they'd resurrect the microbus idea.
There are those of us that do need to haul around 6 people and a van is the best way to do that but putting VW on a Chrysler doesn't do it for me.
Most days a Jetta wagon would be just about perfect if I could find a reliable one.
Yes, kind of like when Saab quit making hatchbacks for a while. Some vehicles help define a brand. A Chrysler minivan with a facelift ain't it! :sick:
Chrysler struck a deal to build the van for them but didn't want to give up segment exclusives like Swivel and Stow N Go seating or else they might have lost a lot of market share, therefore the Routan doesn't have anything special inside othe rthan the third row folding into the floor.
The reason production halted is because they're on the same assembly line as the regular Caravans and Town&Countries, so if that's shut down to save $$ for now, I don't think they'd be running an assembly line exclusively just for VW.
I always thought that VW should have developed their own minivan in the 90s instead of blowing the dough on the Phaeton. While at Honda I sold a ton of Odysseys to young VW owners who were expanding their families but had to buy elsewhere as VW didn't have a minivan.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I suppose a VW van would be OK if it had enough power..... :shades:
I have a 1/43rd model of one of the latter...
The little UTE is a Lada Niva.... I thought about buying one when I was in Pamana in the 90's. Simple as a brick, and about $9,000 at the time. I have no idea about the reliability, but the repairability was great in that there was no such things as a model year difference between parts, and the only electronic thing on the whole car was the battery. Would have never been able to get it into the states, of course....
The sedan is, indeed, a Volga 21. I was hoping to trick somebody into identifying it as a Ford Crestline (Crestliner?), after viewing the comparison between the two, here:
http://russianfun.net/interesting-galleries/meet-the-parents-of-volga-21/
I rarely see one on the road anymore though.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
One you never see anymore is the Samara, and nobody is complaining about that.
Ladas, Nivas, Yugos, and even Skodas.
LADA SAMARA
LADA SIGNET
SKODA
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
what does a Skoda share with a Porsche 911? It answered: Rear mounted engine, and some other technical details.
If you wanted a sportier Skoda, you could have opted for the Rapide or whatever the term was:
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I remember a Canadian market print ad for the Signet that called it the "Little Red Square".
Lada's aren't made for drifting
If I wanted an old Czech, I think I'd find a Tatra (which are becoming very sought after, I have read)
Extra points for knowing what famous person owned it.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2015 Mazda 3 Skyactive 6spd. auto 2008 Mazda Tribute S 4spd auto.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Welcome back, andys120.