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VW claims its working on a new MicroBus, but there’s only one sliding-door VW that currently inspires real lust. With a Haldex 4Motion system, 30 mm of extra ground clearance, beefy rims, all-terrain tires, skid plates and an interior that puts the spar in spartan, the Transporter Rockton may have a silly name, but it’s ready to road trip to the most exotic and poorly-paved sections of the world. And with 180 and 140 HP versions of a two-liter diesel available, you’ll make efficient if somewhat slow progress. The only problem: prices start at €34,545 ($45,600+). Good thing you didn’t have time for that third-world road trip anyway…
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Again with the direct currency conversion. Sigh.
What do you want? You want just the price in Euros? You want no price at all? You want to know that this is 500 Euros more expensive than a 265-hp Scirocco R? Or do you just want to complain?
Sigh.
As of late, VW has been pricing at a ratio which seems to be about Euro-to-USD equal.
So it’s competing with other $35,000 minivans… hmm. Would you rather have this or a Swagger Wagon?
He probably wants prices converted into dollars (and other major currencies) in real time as the rate changes. Then adjusted for purchasing power, and converted into Big Macs. Due to popular demand, we are working on that feature. It will be implemented in TTAC 3.0 Ultimate. Now there is still that discussion with the Federation of German Car Exporters that for some crazy reason insists on being paid in Euros and not in Big Macs. But we are making progress here also. If not, it will go into TTAC 4.0
“So it’s competing with other $35,000 minivans… hmm. Would you rather have this or a Swagger Wagon?”
Jack, is that a trick question? ‘Cause it’s too easy.
Calm down folks! Jeez, and I thought it was just me who was full of rage today. Incidentally price in Big Macs would be cool. Normal Big macs that is, not double. So, it would be €34,545, $45,600, or 15,250 Big Macs.
@Edward Niedermeyer
“What do you want?”
Since you asked, what I want is for VW of America to stop doing sensible things like creating business cases to determine if bringing a vehicle to the U.S. could be profitable. Good management, profits and all that are fine with me until they get in the way of me enjoying cool vehicles like the Scirocco, the Amarok and now this van of awesomeness.
Direct currency conversion or not, I still can’t get one of these vans, so you may as well do a conversion to Big Macs – at least I can get one of those.
I’d rather have a Swagger Wagon. As a daily driver, this thing is a penalty box. I’d nomore want it than I’d want a stripped out Transit Connect.
Now if I had a NEED for a stripped down all terrain utility van, I’d be all over it.
A good, tough, basic vehicle is great. Getting a new Suzuki Jimny, talk about basic! But it is a riot off-road in the mud and trails. Granted we still have the Mits Adventure, and that will be going for a Isuzu Alterra soon. Then back here when you see overdone vehicles it really shows the power of marketing…..here I have an XC70….
[email protected] the Big Mac PPP! That is great!
I’d like no conversion at all, personally ;)
Jack is right on the money–purchasing power on the Euro and Dollar are roughly equal, which is why VW (and others) usually price them pretty closely.
No reason for a sh*tstorm of spot price arguing because the dollar is still weak. I miss the days of the 85-cent Euro…
Without resorting to live currency exchange rates, it would be easy enough to say, for example, that it’s priced 30% higher than a Golf GTI. That will give the reader some sense of where it fits in the VW pricing scheme in Europe.
I thought he was asking for a conversion that resembles what economists call “purchase power parity”.
When I visited the UK (for a vacation briefly, in 2007), it cost about 6 Pounds to get a low-end fast-food lunch. It costs about $6 for the same quantity/quality of food in the US. The lunch cost *ME* about $12, because the exchange-rate was close to $2 for every 1 Pound at the time — but, I gathered that the lunch was about the same percentage of a typical UK native’s income as a $6 lunch was for me in the US. So, as far as purchase-power-parity is concerned, lunch costs about the same for an American in the US as it does for a Brit in the UK. If you’re an American vacationing in the UK, purchase-power-parity isn’t particularly relevant, but if you were an American who was moving to the UK for a job, then it would provide some indication of kind of lifestyle you could afford.
Purchase-power-parity might make a lot sense for car-purchases, because normal people are effectively banned from traveling to Europe, buying a car, and having it shipped home by a series of taxes and laws. So, I took the original poster’s question as asking “could I afford this vehicle if it were sold in the US?” Jake’s answer is right-on-the-money and sounds about right to me: “you could probably afford this vehicle if you were in the market for a $35k minivan.”
That’s a sharp looking van. It’s like the antithesis of the swagger wagon. On a separate note, is it wrong to like steel wheels? I kinda miss a nice set of stamped steelies. I suppose they generally don’t go with more modern styling. I saw a set on a new Camaro recently though and they looked nice in that application.
“On a separate note, is it wrong to like steel wheels?”
No. They are awesome, especially when shod with winter tires. You’ve got to resist the urge to cover steel wheels with plastic wheel covers so you can enjoy the brutal beauty of stamped, punched and welded steel.
“…shod… urge …steel… brutal beauty… stamped, punched and welded steel.”
What are you wearing?
“What are you wearing?”
Khakis and a t-shirt.
if you’re going to make the trip why not go in style…..
http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=KC1210-100651&entryRow=114
The bid goes on from $22.0 and you don’t have to worry about those complicated currency conversions.
I like that Vee Dub a lot but damn, the inside of it looks like you’re heading to jail.
Although I have been driving an ’08 base Grand Marquis recently so I’m used to that type of interior.
Renault had a butched version of their van…I think it was called “Sceanic” in New Zealand. I really liked the idea, but it was more show than go. This one would sell.
Lux that thing up a bit and you’d have a winner. Do you suppose it comes with dual zone climate control, genuine ivory switchgear, and fine, Bambi-hide leather?
[email protected] PS….don’t forget the soft touch points and power rear seat backs!
that quoted price in euros includes VAT (around 20% or so), US car prices don’t include sales tax. so saying this would cost $45k in USD isn’t exactly correct.
Do you get a refund of the VAT if you export the vehicle? If not, the direct conversion is exactly correct. It’s not “what it would cost if sold in the US”. It’s “how many dollars you would need to buy one”.
Yes. To the question of refund of VAT if vehicle or any other capital good is exported within prescribed time limits.
The US and Canada are set up to rip off the car consumer by applying taxes to the price, because the value of the vehicle a couple years down the road never reflects the taxes paid on top of the purchase price. In Europe and the UK, the price you pay includes tax and becomes part of the value of the vehicle when it comes to secondhand pricing.
Shyte people! I am a land surveyor and I live in Montana. If I could get a rig like that for $35k US I would be all over it. I could work out of it during the week and camp out of it on the weekends. Does it come with a manual tranny too? Oh, the joy! There are so many cool vehicles we can’t buy here it makes me sick.
I agree. This would make a great hunting wagon. Put the Labs in that cage in the back so they don’t slobber all over the upholstery! (By the way, dignitov, I live in Montana too. Conrad, in Pondera County).
That looks like a Ford Econoline. I’ll take the Econoline.
BTW, this can’t possibly figure into VW’s plans for world domination.
A nice van for my needs, but it ain’t going happen stateside. Can you say “Chicken Tax”?
It’s nice, but I’d go for a really nice Pinzgaur for half that price:
http://www.swissarmyvehicles.com/
Well sure. Because it’s perfectly valid to compare the price of a brand-new vehicle against that of a 30 year old used one.
I wasn’t trying to make a perfectly valid comparison.
I was just saying that for something that fits the description of a third world road trip vehicle, the Pinzgaur deserves some love. I would actually vote for a Pinzgaur over the VW for that purpose even at the same price point. It’s a better vehicle for the job.
Someone else might say, “yeah, well I’d prefer to get a lifted CJ for $8k”. Power to them. It’s a comment section, not a automotive magazine comparison.
I get seriously aggro when I see the crap that VWoA shoves down our throat. Routan? Right. Bert should sue, really. This is a proper VW.
I’m lovin’ it. Sign me up for a diesel. They should use this thing in the next James Bond film. It’s the perfect counterpart to my Caddilac pleasure craft.
For those of us state side you can get one – albeit a pre 2002 model!