[Vwdiesel] VW Lupo

[William J Toensing]

I would be very much in the market for a VW Lupo TDI if VW has enough brains to import it to the USA. However, I fear it may not come here for reasons 1& 3. If they decide to bring it in, they will have a situation worse than they had in the later 1950s when you had to wait over a year to get a new VW. My first new car was a 1957 VW Bug. The price was $1575 plus $25 for WSW tires. For $100 extra you could get one with a cloth sun roof, as I recall. I bought the non-sunroof model for $1,600 & had to wait 6 months for delivery. I was on active duty in the Navy & stationed at NAS Norfolk, VA & the VW dealer was on Granby St in Norfolk. I have only seen pictures of the Polo & it appears to be about the size of a Geo (Suzuki) Metro 3 cylinder hatchback. Please correct me if I am wrong.
I fear there may be another reason. U.S. government retaliation for bringing in a high MPG diesel that is too popular. Big Oil will fight it tooth & nails, & we have the best government money can buy. I saw on TV recently, Daimler Chrysler finally plans to bring the Smart car in but only in the gas version that can only get up around 40 MPG. I don't think it will sell well unless they bring in the 70 MPG diesel version. We were supposed to get by EPA mandate nationwide, low sulfur close to Euro spec diesel so European diesels could be sold here & meet our smog regulations. Then I heard not till Sept.2006. Whether Big Oil will again get our government to renege on this mandate remains to be seen.