Chrysler May Supply VW With American Built Minivan

[Perian]

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German car maker Volkswagen is in advanced talks with rival DaimlerChrysler about creating an alliance in the United States to build minivans, Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported.

Chrysler head Dieter Zetsche and VW brand chief Wolfgang Bernhard could sign an agreement at the Frankfurt auto fair in September, the paper said in a preview of its Tuesday edition.

Volkswagen plans to build a van based on the Chrysler Town & Country, the paper said.

Volkswagen declined to comment on the report on Monday and a spokesman for Zetsche, at Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, did not immediately return a call from Reuters.

The vehicle would only be sold on the U.S. market.

Article Source: http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/22/Autos/vw_chysler.reut/

[CarShark]

I think that this is a smart move for Volkswagen. They should have been building these instead of those $100,000+ Phaetons that no one buys. I'm not sure how good it would be for Chrysler, however.

[member12]

I thought VW was going to do something off of that minibus concept from like 5 or 6 years ago. I wonder why they won't do it now. The Eurovan was a big seller around Baton Rouge (but apparently no where else).

here is a pic of the microbus concept:

http://www.edmunds.com/media/news/co...crobus.500.jpg

[VivienM]

While the Chrysler minivan doesn't have the best reliability history, it's certainly better than that of most VW products...

Hopefully this thing will keep the pushrod engine, too I'd love to see the German car lovers swallowing up a VW-branded Saab 9-7X-type deal.

[griswold44]

Originally Posted by member12

I thought VW was going to do something off of that minibus concept from like 5 or 6 years ago. I wonder why they won't do it now. The Eurovan was a big seller around Baton Rouge (but apparently no where else).

here is a pic of the microbus concept:

http://www.edmunds.com/media/news/co...crobus.500.jpg

I think they were going to do some RWD van, but I think they cancelled it, because of potential lackluster sales.

[tgagneguam]

Clearly VW benefits from this deal.

So what does DCX really get out of this? It would appear that Chrysler Group does fine on its own in terms of minivans; it really needs no one's help, particularly VW when it comes to this market.

I find this a curious move on Chrysler's part.

[FearTheDodo]

Originally Posted by VivienM

While the Chrysler minivan doesn't have the best reliability history, it's certainly better than that of most VW products...

Hopefully this thing will keep the pushrod engine, too I'd love to see the German car lovers swallowing up a VW-branded Saab 9-7X-type deal.

I believe that VW's have a much higher reliability standard in the past 10 years than Chrysler... but i could be wrong?

[VivienM]

Originally Posted by FearTheDodo

I believe that VW's have a much higher reliability standard in the past 10 years than Chrysler... but i could be wrong?

Check the JD Power ratings. VW is so close to the bottom that there isn't much room for Chrysler to be below...

[Wumpscut]

Chrysler get's VW diesels for next to nothing in the new small cars.

And you guys need to look again at JD powers initial quality rankings for Chrysler vehicles.

[VivienM]

Originally Posted by tgagneguam

So what does DCX really get out of this? It would appear that Chrysler Group does fine on its own in terms of minivans; it really needs no one's help, particularly VW when it comes to this market.

Economies of scale? Given that DCX has been able to maintain their minivan position in the face of Toyohondassan largely due to aggressive pricing, they can presumably save money by spreading out their fixed R&D costs over more vehicles thanks to this.

[Buick61]

So....A German Corporation will make a deal with an American/German Corporation to build a German branded minivan based on an American brand vehicle that's assembled in Canada? That's great.

I don't see why Chrysler would want to help a competitor in this highly competitive segment.

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by Wumpscut

Chrysler get's VW diesels for next to nothing in the new small cars.

And you guys need to look again at JD powers initial quality rankings for Chrysler vehicles.

Nobody should argue that VW's quality is better than Chrysler's.

In terms of Long Term Dependability, Chrysler was 2 problems per vehicle (ppv) better than average, while VW was 98 ppv WORSE than average, or 100 ppv behind Chrysler. Ouch.

In terms of Initial Quality, Chrysler was again ahead of VW. This time by 26 ppv.

[VivienM]

Originally Posted by Buick61

So....A German Corporation will make a deal with an American/German Corporation to build a German branded minivan based on an American brand vehicle that's assembled in Canada? That's great.

Great? I believe the word is globalization.

Originally Posted by Buick61

I don't see why Chrysler would want to help a competitor in this highly competitive segment.

Because they're not a competitor? People who buy VWs are import snobs who buy overpriced, unreliable VWs precisely because they're not a domestic brand. VW import snobs would want a German minivan... and given there aren't any currently on the US market (and aside from the new MB R class, I don't think there are any 7 passenger German SUVs, are there? Could be wrong on that, though... can one fit 7 in a Touareg?), well, if you can't get German, you get Japanese. And Toyohondassan DO sell a minivan each... so they'll never get to the point where they realize "oh s**t! I have to buy a vehicle from those f***ing immoral greedy polluting guzzling lying sleazy unreliable capitalistic Detroit ****************************s" and swallow their pride and buy a Dodge (or F*rd, or a CSV). If anything, this steals sales from Toyohondassan for DCX, indirectly. (Sure, they're selling the minivans to VW at wholesale rather than retail price... but that's probably reasonably profitable)

Same argument as for the Saab 9-7X, really, except that Saab is a part of GM and VW isn't a part of DCX.

If people buy the 9-7X, despite the fact that it's about as Swedish as me surrounded by two pieces of IKEA furniture, then similar types of people will probably buy the VW-badged DCX minivan.

[Perian]

Originally Posted by Wumpscut

Chrysler get's VW diesels for next to nothing in the new small cars.

And you guys need to look again at JD powers initial quality rankings for Chrysler vehicles.

You are correct. There was a thread here last week that indicated the Dodge Caliber will offer (in Europe only) the VW 2.0T diesel engine.

Wouldn't it be interesting if the DCX/VW minivan also had an available diesel engine... Don't laugh...$3 a gallon gas can erase a lot of bad things about diesel engines in the consumers mind.

[VivienM]

Originally Posted by Perian

Wouldn't it be interesting if the DCX/VW minivan also had an available diesel engine... Don't laugh...$3 a gallon gas can erase a lot of bad things about diesel engines in the consumers mind.

The DCX (read: Chrysler) minivan was offered, in quasi-identical form as the North American one (except, presumably, for the various regulatory requirements), in Europe with IIRC a diesel engine a few years ago... They had a minivan plant in Austria building the thing.

I wonder what happened to that after the DCX merger; at the time, the Chrysler vans seemed particularly popular (based on plates) in countries without a domestic car industry, like the Netherlands...

If they've kept all that, then all they need to do is certify the diesel for emissions, put the engines on a boat, and turn it over to the marketing department.