You're too stupid to... own a diesel small truck

[ungeheuer]

Even if that Amorak gets only 30+ mpg i would still want one.

+1

[zooom]

Six figures is very attainable as an automotive technician.

depends on the carline you work on and the market....VERY much depends....but they are by far the exceptions to the rule...most automotive technicians by enlarged across the nation are much more in the same pay rate of the rest of the middle class....somewhere between $35-65K a year range ( considering smaller and depressed markets for bringing down that average.

[Zaster]

Here is the reply I got from VW when I asked about availability in the US:

Thank you for contacting the Volkswagen Information Center. We are pleased to see your interest in the Amarok pickup truck currently available in select European and South American markets! Currently, there are no plans to produce the Amarok for the US market. Please be assured your comments have been documented and made available to the proper parties at Volkswagen of America. Feedback from our customers is a driving force in the design and production of future Volkswagen vehicles. We encourage you to keep checking back with the website, especially the Upcoming and Concept Cars Blog at http://blogs.vw.com/conceptcars/, as information on vehicle availability is subject to change without notice.  Feel free to phone us at 1-800-DRIVE-VW (1-800-374-8389) if you have any additional questions or concerns. Thank you again for visiting vw.com. We truly value your appreciation for the Volkswagen Brand! Matt

[lethe]

The trouble is that the price would be high enough that people would be cross shopping full sized 4x4s at that price and it unfortunately wouldn't sell well. Same reason we don't get the real VW minivan and instead get that rebadged Chrysler POS Routan. The VW minivan would cost too much compared to similarly equipped other brands.

[Zaster]

I was hoping that since it is manufactured south of us and they can actually market it there, we might see it at a reasonable cost.
I found out that the same German car costs an average of 25%+ less in the US than it does in Germany at current exchange rates which leads me
to believe that there is such a thing as market pricing.
The minivan prices in Germany are unreal...50k to 60K in Euros that is.

[ducatiz]

Here is the reply I got from VW when I asked about availability in the US:

Thank you for contacting the Volkswagen Information Center. We are pleased to see your interest in the Amarok pickup truck currently available in select European and South American markets! Currently, there are no plans to produce the Amarok for the US market. Please be assured your comments have been documented and made available to the proper parties at Volkswagen of America. Feedback from our customers is a driving force in the design and production of future Volkswagen vehicles. We encourage you to keep checking back with the website, especially the Upcoming and Concept Cars Blog at http://blogs.vw.com/conceptcars/, as information on vehicle availability is subject to change without notice.  Feel free to phone us at 1-800-DRIVE-VW (1-800-374-8389) if you have any additional questions or concerns. Thank you again for visiting vw.com. We truly value your appreciation for the Volkswagen Brand! Matt

I bet it's the Chicken Tax

[ungeheuer]

....which leads me to believe that there is such a thing as market pricing.

There sure is. Why else does my Ducati cost +/- twice as much as the same thing you can buy? 

The Amarok sells in Australia @ a premium compared to its Japanese (owned if not manufactured) competition.  Yet you'd think an Argentine ute could compete directly on price with a Thai build vehicle. 

But VW are pitching it "up market". 

Coz they can. 

[Zaster]

I bet it's the Chicken Tax

Makes sense, 25% on top of the already high cost would make it uncompetitive.

[zooom]

The trouble is that the price would be high enough that people would be cross shopping full sized 4x4s at that price and it unfortunately wouldn't sell well. Same reason we don't get the real VW minivan and instead get that rebadged Chrysler POS Routan. The VW minivan would cost too much compared to similarly equipped other brands.

the "Crouton" ( as I and my GF call it) is only here for 2 more years under contract and we will be getting an actual VW minivan....I do believe we are getting the Touran, but they are not saying anything specifically...only alluding to it by saying " we are getting a european model..."...

[ducatiz]

The trouble is that the price would be high enough that people would be cross shopping full sized 4x4s at that price and it unfortunately wouldn't sell well. Same reason we don't get the real VW minivan and instead get that rebadged Chrysler POS Routan. The VW minivan would cost too much compared to similarly equipped other brands.

More hilarious, the VW camper model is called the "California." 

But it ain't even sold in california!!

http://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/california-range/california-berghaus/overview/

and to add insult, it only comes in 2.0 TDI models.. one is standard induction and one is bi-turbo.. 140hp and 180hp.  I can't even imagine, the '71 VW Campmobile I had in college had a 50hp bug engine. 

[Zaster]

Here is the reply when I asked for the reasons:

Dear Karl,

Thank you for your follow-up email regarding the Amarok pickup truck.
 
There are a number of factors that go into the decision of releasing a Volkswagen vehicle in a particular market.  These include but are not limited to previous model-year sales/service data, current marketing objectives, customer feedback, and government regulations.  Volkswagen continues to research the possibility of producing additional vehicles to the US lineup, including importing as well as manufacturing at the Chattanooga, Tennessee facility.
We encourage you to keep checking the Upcoming and Concept Cars Blog (http://blogs.vw.com/conceptcars/) as well as the VW Online Newsroom Website (http://media.vw.com/) for updates on the future of Volkswagen of America vehicles and manufacturing.


Thank you again for visiting vw.com!

 

Matt

Volktalk

[FatguyRacer]

My wife and I were talking about this today. She said write to VW. Now that I see they read the letters I will.

[WarrenJ]

Found an interesting website with some ECU, Transmission and Turbo products for the Diesel Jeeps.  Might be spending some money with these guys.
http://www.greendieselengineering.com/goPage.do?method=home

[ducatiz]

Found an interesting website with some ECU, Transmission and Turbo products for the Diesel Jeeps.  Might be spending some money with these guys.
http://www.greendieselengineering.com/goPage.do?method=home

THat's very cool stuff.  I have heard the transmissions for those jeeps are iffy, but if you can get past that -- and the fact that the old liberty body is very feminine (lol) then you're golden.

I didn't see anything for the Cherokee models.  Those had a 3.0V6 CRD. 

[Zaster]

Another source.....