DOTS - Pop Quiz!

"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike) 11/04/2020 at 22:08 • Filed to: DOTS

1

22

North American Oppos....who can tell me why this commercial van is an important and rare spot on my trip home on the highway earlier today? :D

Also, this reminds me that I need to set my dashcam clock an hour back for Daylight Savings...

Boxer_4 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/04/2020 at 22:22

1

It appears to be a VW Crafter, which I don’t believe is sold in Canada.  I believe it is sold in Mexico though.  

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Boxer_4 11/04/2020 at 22:23

1

What does it craft? 

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Boxer_4 11/04/2020 at 22:36

2

Yuppers! It is a Crafter! Not sold in the US or Canada! This one is on Euro plates...no idea from where as I couldn’t read them, but was very cool to see! Looks like a #vanlyfe conversion as that side bubble window definitely isn’t factory...

Boxer_4 > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 11/04/2020 at 22:36

3

Being its a Volkswagen, large repair bills?

Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/04/2020 at 22:36

0

Someone isn’t a total chees e eating surrender monkey and escaped Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon?

0.o

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com 11/04/2020 at 22:53

3

I doubt it! We actually get a lot of Euro rides here in the summer...far more if COVID isn’t happening, so was surprised to see this one! A lot of folks will ship over their Euro RVs or truck campers or overlanders and travel around Canada for a few weeks or months and then ship them home! Especially from Switzerland, Germany and Austria as there is a lot of German heritage in this part of Nova Scotia (the South Shore).

You’re newer here on Oppo, if memory serves (though can’t remember if you were a lurker for a long time before that...my memory is terrible!), so here are a few temporary Euro imports I’ve spotted in the past! The Skoda Yeti with caravan was my favorite so far! :D

That Magirus-Deutz on Nova Scotia Camper license plates is actually a temporary Euro import resident, but the Austrians who shipped it over were actually staying in Nova Scotia for so long they were legally required to get NS plates for it while they were here! :)

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/04/2020 at 23:17

0

Woah, you really have quite the store of these. I don’t recall the Citroen Jumpy (?) but it’s funny how it was sold here as a Ram but you would never see a Citroen version. Huh, I kinda want to rebadge a Promaster as a Jumpy now. Only problem is I would have a Ram Promaster.

The only foreign registered vehicle I’ve ever seen was this Renault Captur spotted a week or two back.

VW Crafter is a weird one. Pretty good looking van but not a very reliable one. Is it related to those Iveco ones I see on Google Streetview?

Jb boin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 11/04/2020 at 23:45

2

The first gen Crafter (what is in the photo) was a Mercedes Sprinter and i even didn’t knew it looked like that (knew the name), probably never saw one or didn’t realize it.

The second gen (since 2016) is based on a MAN TGE and i don’t think i ever saw one of those.

ps: if i am not mistaken, the Iveco Daily is related to the Fiat Ducato/RAM Promaster/Citroën Jumper but not the same .

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jb boin 11/05/2020 at 00:29

0

How has only Iveco managed to make that platform not look like cheap crap?

The MAN TGE seems interesting. Why do so many corporate shenanigans go on with van reading and platform sharing? Only yesterday I was talking about some series Dodge/Renault/Commer vans in the UK with someone on here.

The old Mercedes/Dodge/Freightliner Sprinters really got around. Seems like they were sold in just about every corner of the globe. Didn't know about the VW there. 

Jb boin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 11/05/2020 at 00:41

0

Because the looks are not decisive on the choice so having rebadged models is not as much as an issue with passenger cars.

And a great part of the R&D can’t be shared with passenger cars (for example, the Ducato/Jumper current engines are not shared with any passenger cars) so doing alliances could be interesting rather than having every groups develop their own platforms and drivetrains ; especially now that EVs are coming into play, there will still be both EVs and ICE vans offering for at least quite some time as both have their use-cases.

ps: forgot to answer but the IVECO is not the same as the others but i thin k they are based on the same platform ; the IVECO being for heavier payloads and having a choice a bigger engines .

pip bip - choose Corrour > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/05/2020 at 03:03

0

VW Crafter?

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/05/2020 at 04:55

0

It’s not important... it’s just a VW Crafter. Admittedly a nice new Crafter...not  one of those M-B & VW co- developed things that North America gets as a Dodge.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 11/05/2020 at 06:41

0

Not, not important to you guys and no different than a Promaster/Ducato or Sprinter that we do get over here, but still....it’s forbidden fruit that we don’t get on our shores, so it’s cool to see! :)

I quite like the styling on it!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > pip bip - choose Corrour 11/05/2020 at 06:47

0

It is, yup! We never got them here! It’s on Euro plates, but it whizzed right by as I was on the highway and was two lanes over, so couldn’t catch what country it was from...

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 11/05/2020 at 06:51

0

It’s not like I see many, but most non-COVID summers I usually see at least 4-6 of them, but don’t always get them caught on ‘film’ :)

I really liked the light blue that Citroen was in....it was a proper RV van, not just a commercial van somebody had bought and converted. Same platform as the Ducato/Promaster we get here, to an extent. With the PSA/FCA Merger, it’s possible they might kill the Ducato or Peugeot’s Boxer to save on costs and only sell one or the other, so we might end up with a Peugeot-based version.

I know FIAT is making an electric version of the Ducato (on which the Promaster is based), so we could see an electric Ducato over here soon too:

https://www.fiatprofessional.com/e-ducato-electric

360km isn’t bad for a honking great van with huge cargo capacity...

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jb boin 11/05/2020 at 08:33

0

True. You don’t pass on a commercial van because it is ugly (see:Ram Promaster/Fiat Ducati). I mean an attempt doesn’t hurt but it’s not very important.

In the US, traditionally the big 3 always made their own vans. There really wasn’t much platform sharing to speak of. I guess the fact that many are pick up truck based helps with the R&D costs as they are usually just modified chassis with mostly the same engines and a boxed in rear.

Sounds kind of like what the Mercedes Sprinter is used for. It is basically just luxury van conversions, the occasional ambulance, and some roles that might otherwise be performed by a standard box truck. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/05/2020 at 08:38

1

That’s still 4-6 more than I see. Canada must have some specific accommodating laws for that sort of thing.

That would be funny if Peugeot came full circle and sold the same platform of van here, though I doubt they could get the volume to make any money off them. Especially without a big dealer network compared to Ram. Besides, that would be self competition for Ste llantis.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 11/05/2020 at 13:34

0

I can’t see them selling both here, my guess would be they’d drop one of them globally and only sell one or the other... If Stellantis owns Peugeot and Fiat I don’t see the point and then selling two vans that are exactly the same with different badges.

As for E uro- plated vehicles like RVs and such, you’re allowed to import here if they are newer than 15 years if they're only going to be visiting temporarily. if I remember right there's a bunch of paperwork involved, signing forms and such that say that you agree not to sell the vehicle in canada, etc etc, and will only be here for a set amount of time with it.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/05/2020 at 15:44

0

You'll quite likely see the next generation version of the Crafter but it will probably have a Ford badge on it.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 11/05/2020 at 18:33

0

....wait...what?

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/05/2020 at 20:09

0

Ford and VW have a worldwide agreement to co- develop their next generation of commercial vehicles... especially the electric platforms. The imminent launch of the eTransit is a taster perhaps. However, the main game is with the small, medium and heavy vans and the pickup. First cab off the rank may well be the Ranger/Amarok utilities (2022) , followed by the Transporter/Transit Connect and the Crafter/Transit....and somewhere in that mix, the e- Bulli and whatever Ford wants to make of it.

Of course, North America actually getting these vehicles rather than the cheaper/legacy models really depends on the state of the US market  and manufacturing capacity in a few years time. Canada though might be OK if your government is open to supporting imports and Canadians are prepared to pay European price tags for them.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 11/05/2020 at 21:14

0

Huh, I did not know this! Seems such a weird pair-up...Ford and VW...