Are VW at the NEC Motorhome and Camping show next week?

leightonjthomas · Oct 17, 2018

Wongo said:
There yesterday, MB there with Marco Polo, had a good look at all the Crafter conversions, liked the IH Crafter and the Sven Hedin but salesman knew little about base specs. Will await the Grand Cali methinks.

Same here.

Harrythecat · Oct 17, 2018

We went to the NEC event once to look at Cali’s. VW were there in the form of two very tall ladies and a couple of Touaregs. Not a Cali. In sight

David Eccles · Oct 18, 2018

VW did show there once back in 2008ish (also did GMex as was then) I think when they had my Split and lots of Calis on show...
have asked them constantly why they don't go for it properly like VW do at Frankfurt and Dusseldorf...basically it seems not worth VWCV UKspending lots of money for a stand when the Cali sells itselfover here! Its that old chestnut of VW Commercials dealing with a leisure vehicle which is really only a small part of their sales
shame, a missed opportunity to me to just showcase the model...

Bellcrew · Oct 18, 2018

David Eccles said:
VW did show there once back in 2008ish (also did GMex as was then) I think when they had my Split and lots of Calis on show...
have asked them constantly why they don't go for it properly like VW do at Frankfurt and Dusseldorf...basically it seems not worth VWCV UKspending lots of money for a stand when the Cali sells itselfover here! Its that old chestnut of VW Commercials dealing with a leisure vehicle which is really only a small part of their sales
shame, a missed opportunity to me to just showcase the model...

VW sell tons of transporters at these shows for decent money, its commercial garages enjoy plenty of ongoing revenue servicing these vehicles. If the California turned up the conversions would be totally eclipsed and all these sales would be lost with Hanover unable to cope with the demand for the real thing, so they stay away.

awayinmevan · Oct 18, 2018

Had a look at this Marco Polo not close to a California and the transporter conversions keep prices for resale California’s high good news for owners

ArunAlec · Oct 18, 2018

Bellcrew said:
VW sell tons of transporters at these shows for decent money, its commercial garages enjoy plenty of ongoing revenue servicing these vehicles. If the California turned up the conversions would be totally eclipsed and all these sales would be lost with Hanover unable to cope with the demand for the real thing, so they stay away.

And VW are getting a cut of the conversion market when they sell the transporters to Bilbo etc, so they are winning all round!

Caroline C · Oct 18, 2018

Eber123 said:
Good evening,

We will visit the NEC on Friday (can't wait ). A friend of mine visited the NEC in spring and he loved it.

Now the flights and the NEC tickets are booked, but I am a bit disappointed that VW as a company won't be there. I am mainly interested in the VW campers in Mercedes Marco Polo - just to get an update and to compare.

Still, I believe there will be a lot to see and maybe small items to buy (I am glad that we are flying, so there is no fear to spend too much money). I believe I saw an advertisement for the "Bulli" signs. If I can find them I would love to put them on the van (has somebody done this? Do the signs stick well?).

View attachment 38938

Talking about the camper show, is there a club meeting point / stand on the show? If there is I don't want to miss it.

Maybe see you next Friday..

Regards,
Eberhard

Bulli signs were on the red Campervantast.. van which is tucked away in with some awnings. Easy to miss.

Legin · Oct 20, 2018

What is this Bulli badge all about ?

Victor · Oct 20, 2018

Legin said:
What is this Bulli badge all about ?

I suspect the people putting therm on their vans don't even know :headbang

CaliG · Oct 20, 2018

Check out the Cherry Red Ocean on the Campervantastic stand.
HALL 11 STAND 100a.
I'm going tomorrow. maybe see you there!

Skylark2.0 · Oct 20, 2018

Quentin SF said:
Bother - the forum has a habit of removing certain brand names from posts. Those asterisks replaced a word that started with 'Campervan' and ended with 'tastic'

That's where we saw our first ever Cali and after that the Toyota Granvia conversion was next quite the same!

Frank Mc · Oct 20, 2018

I went to the show in Düsseldorf this year and expected a huge VW stand given it is in their own back yard...
I was very disappointed as there was no genuine VW accessories for sale... not even so much as a t shirt!!!!
I stayed overnight there with the hundreds of other campers in my Cali which was cool to do and I saw the new Grand Cali...
I was hoping to buy so much but there was nothing to buy... couldn’t believe it

HAPPY_T6_CALI · Oct 20, 2018

The signs are great and stick very well. Be careful when positioning the badge, once it made contact with the metal, no way of getting it off again. Bit tricky, but the restult is nice.

Eber123 said:
Good evening,

We will visit the NEC on Friday (can't wait ). A friend of mine visited the NEC in spring and he loved it.

Now the flights and the NEC tickets are booked, but I am a bit disappointed that VW as a company won't be there. I am mainly interested in the VW campers in Mercedes Marco Polo - just to get an update and to compare.

Still, I believe there will be a lot to see and maybe small items to buy (I am glad that we are flying, so there is no fear to spend too much money). I believe I saw an advertisement for the "Bulli" signs. If I can find them I would love to put them on the van (has somebody done this? Do the signs stick well?).

View attachment 38938

Talking about the camper show, is there a club meeting point / stand on the show? If there is I don't want to miss it.

Maybe see you next Friday..

Regards,
Eberhard

Eber123 · Oct 20, 2018

Caroline C said:
Bulli signs were on the red Campervantast.. van which is tucked away in with some awnings. Easy to miss.

Good evening,

Yeap - missed it. There was so much to see, that of course I did not find the "Bulli" sign.

.

I saw your post to late.

Regards,
Eberhard

Eber123 · Oct 20, 2018

HAPPY_T6_CALI said:
View attachment 39065 View attachment 39066 The signs are great and stick very well. Be careful when positioning the badge, once it made contact with the metal, no way of getting it off again. Bit tricky, but the restult is nice.

Good evening,

Thank you for the information. I will get some of those signs for Christmas. The last time I saw them somewhere for EUR 100.00 (which I thought was a wee bit expensive).

Regards,
Eberhard

larrylamb · Oct 20, 2018

Saw the Marco Polo today at NEC, wow that boot with chairs and table

Legin · Oct 21, 2018

Incredible isnt it. Copied the Cali then failed to copy one of the best features. MP needs another evolution or two before its on a par. I looked before ordering the VW.

Eber123 · Oct 21, 2018

Good morning,

On Friday I saw the Marco Polo for the first time in real live.

It is a fine vehicle, seats are great, kitchen unit seems a wee bit better than from California (in my opinion). Obviously the entire layout is very similar. But looking at the van confirmed the following drawbacks:

Obviously the place to store the chairs and t he table is not optimal
I don't like the electric folding back seats. There is no need for that, it is a bit "over-engineered"
The upstairs bed won't stay up on its own, it needs to be secured
The MP is a bit lower then the California
I don't like the dashboard (well, everybody has a different taste)

Westfalia worked with VW on the California, then VW took over and continuously improved the design of it. Westfalia is now working with Mercedes, created a similar layout and design, but yet different in the details - but not in the positive way.
I believe that at the end not everything was possible to implement in the MP. For instance the chairs in the back door. I don't believe this can be arrange easily in the MP. The back door seems a bit smaller and the windows design is different. There might be simply no room for the chairs. To be honest I can't remember the sliding door, but that might be similar.

Regards,
Eberhard

Waggonner · Oct 21, 2018

We went to the show on Saturday.
It was great to see the Marco Polo - I was impressed, although it does look like a cali-copy.
We bought our Cali last November off the back of visiting the show last year. I fell in love with the Jerba conversion at the show that year (in gorgeous grape yellow), but after looking around the VW van garages, nothing could beat the 2 tone Cali we found in Bristol and eventually bought.
I asked the dealer there why they didn't go to the NEC show and he said it was all about franchises. VW don't go as a company, and it's up to the individual franchises to decide if they want to do any shows. The franchises presumably don't think it's worth it.
Still, plenty of vans to see and an enjoyable day.

Are VW at the NEC Motorhome and Camping show next week?

leightonjthomas

Harrythecat

David Eccles

Bellcrew

awayinmevan

ArunAlec

Caroline C

Caroline Cunningham

Legin

Guest User

Victor

CaliG

Skylark2.0

The adventure with Starlight Expess begins

Frank Mc

HAPPY_T6_CALI

Erwin & Marlene

Eber123

Eber123

larrylamb

Cali owner.

Legin

Guest User

Eber123

Waggonner

Similar threads

Useful links

VW California Club

About us

Our Partners

Our Partners