#NYIAS: Volkswagen Sees Chum In The Water With A Mid-20K Pickup - Are They Right?

If (and that's a big IF) they can hold that price point, it would probably sell well. But that's a huge if.

Yes, at mid 20s it would sell great.

Mid-twenties FWD nicely equipped would make it a sales success.

What can you buy at a VW store for mid-$20's? Maybe a stripper Jetta.

This will go out the door at $40K (and thus none will go out the door).

Actually, you can get a rather nice Jetta for $25K you can also get a very nice Passat for $25K out the door.

Is it butch enough though?

It is.

Honda had the right idea but got the execution wrong TWICE with the Ridgeline. Honda wants you to believe the Ridgeline is an equivalent to a traditional pickup, but even if that were true--and it isn't empirically--no one would believe it. Just as crossovers softened "trucky" SUVs into cars people wanted, the same will be true of pickups. Ford in heading there quickly. An Escape with a pickup bed cannot come soon enough.

The key to this kind of "soft" pickup truck - is something aggressive-looking but not too rugged. The interior should be as similar to an equivalent sedan as possible. It should be comfortable enough for men to drive to the office, but also trendy enough to attract women.

Yes, it’s called the Rabbit pickup from the early 80s. I see young and old with recreational purposes, small businesses... I will even say a 2 door might be better off because it is a small car. A 2dr with 5-6’ bed is more useful than a 4dr with 3-4’ bed.

Would you like a VR6 Rabbit pickup?

Plenty of room in the market for more pickups. If the price is not crazy it will sell.

It would NOT surprise me if the VW Tarok comes to market as a reskinned Ford Ranchero (i.e. the Escape pickup coming quickly to market).

VW and the North AMerican Management promise allot of things, rarely do they actually happen as promised. There is no way they will produce a truck that looks like the one pictured for "$ Mid-20's". Scott Keogh is a flashy speaker, light on follow through, look at the mess he left behind at Audi in the wake of his promotion. falling sales, furious dealers and unrealistic product statements (Audi etron sales at 40K pre-sold, ahh not even close, with worse range in the market) and phony sales projections that require more than a healthy dose of creative accounting to get close to. So the VW Truck idea is cute to create conversation, but unlikely to ever be a reality. Kind of like setting a smoke signal up on the horizon to distract attention from the bonfire burning at home. That fire is the dealers opinion of his management style, spin and BS, met with plummeting NADA results. Big Promises, no results.

Back when we had a VW dealer in the group, I was astonished by the sheer level of contempt that VW openly showed dealers. They don't listen to what dealers are saying. By contrast, Ford does. Dealers wanted the Ranger. Dealers got the Ranger. GM doesn't listen well. What dealers say they want Cadillac to offer is routinely ignored.