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The Alternative California

 
Any competition to VW is good, as might encourage VW to come up with some new ideas rather than just tweaking the exterior & charging people for extras that used to come as standard.
 
Nope they started life as a camper van built by Westfalia california then vw took over as the vw California ..

vw shipped them to Westfalia as an empty window van these are probably panel vans sold to the converter who the glazes them
 
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Is that a different van...?
Vivarro?

That's the old shape Vivaro (that was shared on the platform with Renault Trafic and Nissan NV300)

The new shape Vivaro is now on a share platform with the Peugeot Expert, Citroen Dispatch and Toyota Proace
 
The sliding door is also on the wrong side.
 
That's the old shape Vivaro (that was shared on the platform with Renault Trafic and Nissan NV300)

The new shape Vivaro is now on a share platform with the Peugeot Expert, Citroen Dispatch and Toyota Proace
VW should also do some badge engineering... Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti or Ducati anyone?
 
Any competition to VW is good, as might encourage VW to come up with some new ideas rather than just tweaking the exterior & charging people for extras that used to come as standard.

Good morning,

I agree, woudn't it be nice if there would be more competiton for Volkswagen. Yes, there are a lot of companies on the market building campervans based on the T6, but beside the Mercedes there is no big manufacturer that is willing to get involved in this segment of the car market.

As a result the cost, innovation and customer service from Volkswagen relys on the culture of the California, which we all have to pay the price for it. I am not saying the California is a bad product, because it is not, but I feel that over the years the quality around the California compare to the price has declined.

A camper van based on the Toyota van would be interesting, for example (well I like Toyota brand), but are the Fiat's, Citroen or Ford so much worse?

Regards,
Eberhard
 
The sliding door is also on the wrong side.

Actually on the correct side for the UK; If you are parked with the flow of traffic, your rear passengers can exit safely onto the pavement.
 
Actually on the correct side for the UK; If you are parked with the flow of traffic, your rear passengers can exit safely onto the pavement.
Nope. Should be on the same side as the drivers door.
 
VW should also do some badge engineering... Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti or Ducati anyone?

There was rumour a few years ago that Skoda were going to bring out a Transporter based van (based on the previous generation). It's a shame it didn't happen.
 
Any competition to VW is good, as might encourage VW to come up with some new ideas rather than just tweaking the exterior & charging people for extras that used to come as standard.
The reality hits home when you drive almost all of the California's rivals, with the exception of the Marco Polo they all just like vans, rough as the proverbial.............
 
No manufacturer, not even Mercedes Benz can ever compete with the heritage and long establish cult status of the factory built VW Campervan. So when an offering like this pops up, regardless of how good it is, it will always start off playing second fiddle. Many savvy buyers will naturally think about depreciation and discount it straight away on that basis alone. But along with that these alternatives are often not that much cheaper either.
Then there's the build quality. With the exception of the Marco Polo, nothing that I have ever seen has come even remotely close to that of the California. Last summer, whilst mooching around a large steam fair in Suffolk, I saw a brand new Ford Transit based Wellhouse conversion on a trade stand. The design, layout and overall look was reasonable but the fit and finnish was not even in the same league. There was stick on carpet, huge gaps, some rough edges and it lacked the all important feeling of engineered precision. From memory they wanted around £50k for it so it was cheaper but not by much.

It remains to be seen what this van will be like in the flesh, but I can't see current California owners being wooed away or great future sales figures either.
 
There was rumour a few years ago that Skoda were going to bring out a Transporter based van (based on the previous generation). It's a shame it didn't happen.

That's the problem with rumours
 

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