I thought Volkswagen was supposed to be the peoples car. The dealers seem to have forgotten that in the U.S. most people don’t see VW as a luxury maker along the lines of their own Audi (against whom they seem to want to compete), BMW and Benz. Witness the failed Phaeton and Passat W8, not that these weren’t nice people just won’t spend that kinda dough for a VW. They want a relatively reasonably priced german engineered car. If they can sell the Polo here I don’t see why they wouldn’t offer the Amarok pickup with its rugged and not luxurious materials and relatively low price point.

Pretty conservative design, but it comes out looking good.

Jimmyblaze, I was thinking the same thing, along with the fact that the U.S. is the worlds largest pick-up market by a LONG run…

jimmyblaze,
The Phaeton didn’t fail in Europe…people know better there. I don’t think it’s asking to much in price considering what kind of a car that is.

I like this car, but I can’t see it selling enough to cover it’s total production costs.
Just because the US is the biggest consumer of trucks, doesn’t mean any truck will be successful in sales.
They should leave this in places where truck sales aren’t considered part of the North American car sales.

Finally a truck I would consider buying and its not coming here. We need small diesel pickups in the U.S.! I guess ill just have to buy a Mahindra if they ever com out. Not that I really want to, but because it will be my only option.

Gota bring this car of to the US. I’m pretty sure it would sell. I think some folks are tired of looking at Tacoma’s and Frontiers.

Well, I guess we can thank the butthole VW dealers for not getting this one here in the U.S. Not surprising, considering most VW dealers are horrible to begin with. That’s the main thing keeping me from getting any VW.

I would bet dollars to donuts that this pick up is based on the 4 door Nissan Frontier.
Fuel filler is in the same place
The contour of the bottom of the box to the back of cab is the same.
Interior is very similar.
Tailgate is almost identical save the badging
Dimensions are almost identical

Conclusion if you want a Amarok buy a Frontier and it will be less expensive

I still don’t get why they aren’t bringing this to the US. I guess they figured us Americans like our pickups to be massive and guzzle gas like its going out of style. They must figure we don’t like fuel efficient work vehicles or something. So they say “Nope. Americans won’t like this fuel efficient pickup truck. We won’t sell it there. Instead lets ask Chrysler to borrow their Dakota and slap a VW badge on it.” Maybe some of us want a nice little fuel efficient pick up truck with style. I don’t see the Honda Ridgeline having trouble in this market.

@85ZingoGTR – We aren’t getting this for the same reason we don’t get a lot of the base and/or smaller models from BMW, Mercedes and Audi. Dealer resistance. They don’t want to sell the cheaper models in the U.S. because they want to maintain a premium image. Premium image means they get a wealthier customer coming through the door who also will bring the vehicle back for service. A guy with less money in his pocket is more likely to do his own oil changes, etc. Sucks, but that’s the truth. Thank the dealers.

Why VW seems to think they have a premium image baffles me. They have good products that are of high quality, but they don’t command a premium price, at least in my opinion.

@CajunRican – I agree. Well they aren’t exactly premium but I wouldn’t see them competing with the likes of Toyota, Hyundai, or Honda. Maybe a brand like Acura or SAAB where its not really a Luxury car per say but between entry level and luxury. That’s the thing with VW. Its hard to see who they really compete with. They don’t have a premium price tag but they still aren’t cheap thats for sure. If anything I see them as the affordable luxury brand. For those that can’t afford an Audi.

Now the dealers should keep their mouths shut because Benz is now selling the Sprinter here as a Benz instead of a Dodge and so VW dealers should stop being so paranoid and just sell the f#cking thing here.

the Chicken Tax

The Chicken Tax — actually a 25% tax on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks — was a 1963 response by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken.

Eventually, the tariffs on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy were lifted, but over the next 46 years the light truck tax ossified, remaining in place to protect U.S. domestic automakers from foreign light truck production (e.g., from Japan, Thailand).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

i guess you don’t get the Japanese diesel light trucks either.

well said Zack C! That’s the only I would ever buy a truck too. I don’t think people realize that this truck would haul more than small american trucks, be better off road, get much better mileage, while likely lasting longer with german engineering. Not to say that some American trucks can’t do some of those things, but you are right, we just don’t have anything in this category! No small diesel pickups…

And scratchy you are right on about that Chicken Tax. So this is only on “light duty trucks?” So trucks like the Frontier, Tacoma, etc. evidently aren’t in that category? Surely VW could figure out a way around this…

iggibiggi

If you noticed i was speaking about the U.S. market. I just find it odd that they (the dealers) try to position VW’s sold in the U.S. in a way such that they are seen as a competitor to Audi. I am well aware that the Phaeton sold and still sells in Europe. Doesn’t mean that Europeans know better either. They are simply able to see VW as a full line automaker and are willing to accept them offering premium priced cars. Whereas they don’t enjoy that kind of market positioning in the U.S.

Most people like me remember cars like the VW Van my dad drove as well as the Beetles, Rabbits and Golfs and don’t put them in a luxury catagory. This is why companies like Lexus, Infiniti and Acura were created for the U.S. and why VW should stop competing with Audi.

If like the article states that the dealers shot down the importation because of the low price point and NOT that they felt their was no market for it, then I think the dealers need to re-think their position in the U.S. market.