Another EV ist gefallen.
VW just announced that “Following a careful assessment of current EV market conditions, we have made the strategic decision not to move forward with MY26 ID Buzz.” In other words, VW won’t be making more of these things to not-sell. Probably because VW has only sold about 4,934 of these things so far this year.
What did they think they were going to sell?
Has there ever been a greater mismatch between a brand and an offering? “VW” literally is German for people’s car but not many people can afford a $60,000-to-start vehicle. Never mind that it’s electric; that is almost beside the point. VW apparently forgot about the last time it tried to sell luxury-priced cars – which was back in the ’90s, when it attempted to sell the Phaeton sedan. It was an impressive – and impressively expensive – car and for just that latter reason out of place at VW stores, which are not Audi or Lexus or Mercedes-Benz stores. The Phaeton didn’t sell. Not because it was undesirable but because it was unaffordable, which isn’t what VW buyers are looking for.
And people who can afford an Audi or aLexus or Mercedes do not want to buy a VW.
Now compound that problem by making an unaffordable electric vehicle and you have an even worse fiasco – for VW – because VW sank a huge amount of money developing the ID Buzz while the Phaeton was a joint VW-Audi deal and at least VW could recover some of the losses by using some of the Phaeton’s hardware in other models. But this ID Buzz thing has no Audi-badged counterpart; it is VW’s albatross around the neck.
What were they thinking?
The original Microbus was a sales winner because it was inexpensive; the people could afford it. Sure, it was paralytically slow. But it (usually) got you and your band of smelly hippies where you were going and if it broke down by the side of the road, probably you or one of your hippie friends could get it running again. Worst case scenario, it could be pushed down the road to the next service station because it didn’t weigh much more than a group of six smelly hippies. The ID Buzz weighs three tons and once it bricks, it isn’t moving without a flatbed to haul it.
Maybe VW thought there were enough now-elderly hippies with 401ks to cash out to support the ID Buzz. Whatever they were smoking, it must have been really good stuff.
The whole thing has been both a money-sink and an embarrassment for VW, due to the obvious heaviness of this belly flop. If you have a VW dealer in your hometown, you have probably seen an ID Buzz or two languishing on the lot; they move them around every once in awhile. But they never move off the lot.
Now, the intriguing thing is, VW could fix this disaster – but probably won’t. VW could do what Dodge is doing (as quickly as it can be done) and put an engine in the ID Buzz. Remove two tons of deadweight battery pack and electric motors and put one of VW’s superb TDI diesels in there instead.
The result would be to transform the ID Buzz from a deadweight loser into a lightweight winner. It would more than double the current electric thing’s pathetic 234 mile best-case range and lop $20,000 (or more) off the thing’s price. There are probably lots of people who’d be interested in a reborn Microbus with 600 miles of driving range that didn’t break down all the time that cost on par with a current minivan.
Imagine if VW were to really go retro and offer a modern Microbus that not only looked like the original – as the ID Buzz does – but was also even more like the original was.
How about a modern Microbus with a base price under $30k? This is not something that can’t be done. It just can’t be done with all the luxury amenities that are now standard in every new vehicle. VW has the engineering talent to make a basic Microbus that would actually be like the original rather than just look like it. The market cries out for affordable, useful vehicles that bring a smile to people’s faces.
The old Microbus bus was and did that. A modern iteration could, too. But the first step down that road requires that VW remember what VW is supposed to be – and say bye-bye to the EV.
. . .
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I learned to drive my dad’s ’68, which wasn’t really as cool.aa his old one with the split windshield.
He was in no way a hippy but used his to run off road. Did Baja several times. Flat bottom, high traction, low weight, easily adjusted for crappy Mexican petrol. A winner all the way.
I remember one time he let me take it to a Deep Purple concert 100 miles away, me with 2 pseudo hippies and 4 girls. I left the lights on and killed the battery.
3 of us push started it in one attempt.
Man that van was cool and a half.
On highway trips he would slipstream the trucks and get like 80mpg not even touching the pedal.
You can’t just “stick an engine” in the ID Buzz. It was purpose built from the beginning to be an EV. It would cost a fortune if it was even possible. Instead, they could just bring the Transporter here again. It was sold as the Eurovan here not that long ago. Of course it would face the same problem as before. It would be expensive, too different and nobody would buy it. It’s better suited for the European market where it’s sold in many different variants. The latest Transporter isn’t even a VW but just a reskinned Ford. And it’s now made in Turkey. They closed the plant in Germany that made it for over 60 years. Probably to make batteries. They’ve sure screwed things up.
In related news, BMW has patented a screw that makes it more difficult for non-BMW mechanics to work on their vehicles….and they wonder why the German manufacturers are going bankrupt….again, the market will take care of these malinvestments eventually.,,,
We used to call those ‘f***ing Whitworth screws,’ a century ago when the UK made motorcycles (yes, really!) and had its own eccentric thread standards. Guess we’ll have to call those proprietary BMW screws DINdus (Deutsche Institut für Normung). Winning! /sarc
Morning, Giuseppe!
That sort of thing is just malicious; a deliberate attempt to make a product user-unfriendly. I shun the manufacturers of such things and I think that’s a good way to end such things. We get what more of what we put up with.
The Chinese will have a tool to fit those fasteners in about 20 minutes after BMW puts the first fastener into production.
And yes I have a set of Whitworth tools too. 🙂
No different than Torx, Robertson, triple square or any number of other specialty tools for specialty fasteners.
Do I think it’s smart – No. Do I think those fastener heads are needed – No. Is it going to stop anyone from being able to work on BMWs – No.
They will have a whole set of them available on Tik Toc for $19.95 before the first BMW rolls off the ship.
Way off-topic, but important, for those tracking the death toll from the COVID jab. Actor Gil Gerard has died, apparently of turbocancer. He died days after realizing something was wrong:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/gil-gerard-dead-buck-rogers-star-leaves-heartfelt-posthumous-message/ar-AA1SvNnA
In my locale, a county commissioner died recently, also of turbocancer. He was only 58.
Hi SLH,
Sad about Gil Gerard; I love watching Buck Rogers as a kid. The sci-fi cheese was first rate! Remember Bededebedee?
Aside from being over priced for what you get; it looks like a slightly melted mini van.
As for building an actual equivalent to the original? Based on current GovCo regulations regarding air bags, roll over standards and what have you explains why it will never happen.
Germany’s $500 Billion Mistake (The Green Energy Trap )
“Germany spent over $500 billion, half a trillion dollars, trying to engineer this green miracle. And what did they get for that mountain of cash? They got the highest electricity prices in the developed world, a de-industrializing economy, and here is the darkest irony of all. They are currently tearing down wind farms to expand coal mines.”
Remember when Germany was split down the middle? Remember the stark and clear divide between the centrally planned (communist) country and the more open (wouldn’t call it free, this was still late 20th century Europe after all), economy of the west? Where would you rather live?
Well, turns out the German politicians would rather rule in hell than serve in paradise. East Germany won the war and killed the golden goose under the ruse of climate change. Micromanage the energy markets and convince people to cut off their own limbs to “save the planet” that doesn’t need saving. Good job. And here we all thought the Germans were smarter than that. Turns out they want to be led down the path to hell.
And Merz is the perfect leader to shepherd them on that long march down the path to hell, which leads to WW III with Russia.
This is why the US should withdraw from NATO, as Thomas Massie’s bill calls for. We have nothing in common with warmongering socialists who rigorously suppress free speech. Nothing will civilize these Frankish barbarians, short of an apocalyptic ass-whupping at the hands of Bad Vlad. The best thing we can do is LEAVE.
We were told NATO was to protect western Europe from encroachment by the CCCP. When the CCCP went out of existence, why didn’t NATO? Mission creep certainly, but also because the real reason for NATO was to keep western Europe from fighting every 50 years. They all signed on because they knew next time it would be France vs Britain, or Portugal would start something that would trigger alliances with a few other countries and escalate out of control again. The Americans looked at the history of European treaties and decided the best way to keep them from fighting would be to get all the nations under one master treaty for the whole continent. That’s why it was so tempting after the collapse to bring eastern Europe into NATO.
The Americans forgot that everyone on the continent hates each other. And they all hate Russia, because they’re all dependent on Russia’s willingness to exploit their natural resources. There’s lots of natural gas under France and Germany, but they won’t tap into it because the public won’t stand for it. They won’t even cut down trees because the Black Forest is a tourist destination.
I’m thinking now that more likely the Warsaw Pact was to protect the.CCCP from invasion and takeover.
As usual history has it backwards.
And imported the third world to undermine its identity.
The AfD is most popular in the former East Germany.
But the AfD are the Nazis. We can tell because they are the only party in Germany that doesn’t want to invade Poland, doesn’t want to redo Operation Barbarossa, and doesn’t want to put people in camps.
Exactly Horst,
The AfD is the only party that has common sense, and all their polling shows they would get a majority in the next election. So of course the present government is doing everything it can to keep them off the ballot; can’t allow any election you might lose.
The AfD is Germany’s only salvation. It is labeled Far Right only because the other Political Parties are such warmongering far left socialists/communists sucking on the tits of the EU. The AfD is a Middle-of-The-Road, Libertarian Leaning Party.
Translation: ‘The EeeVee van situation has developed not necessarily to our advantage.’
No one could possibly have seen this coming! Well, except Eric, that is. He done tole you, and tole you, and tole you. But you thick-headed krauts just wouldn’t listen.
Pssssttt — here’s something else he done tole you: the Scout Motors EeeVee is doomed. Wake up and smell the Kaffee, goofballs!
Will VW ever pay the penance for offending the acolytes of Earth Mother Gaia? Or, better stated, will the misanthropic tyrants running the Enviro grift ever be thrown into the ashbin of history?
An even larger question is when will we begin to reject the Progressive Era mentality of deference to “experts” that couldn’t sell dimes to a beggar or build anything of actual value?