Is this the T8 in Ford (dis)guise ??

Skyliner33 said:
The crafter is just a rebadged MAN now.
As regarding the Caddy, when the man in a silver VW breakdown van came to sort out the "oil too high warning" in my van recently he said the Caddy is all Ford underneath. Make of that what you will.
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The MAN TGE is a rebadged Crafter, as MAN are part of Volkswagen it's not quite the same as a rebadged Ford, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see it as one of these partnerships in the future (the last generation was a Sprinter!) - I only read earlier on that VW are looking at a partner for the new EV to replace the Up! - Renault being the front runner! The auto brands just don't have the R&D and production budgets (or desire!) to produce them solely for themselves anymore - which seems nuts when the new Up! will also likely be a Seat, Skoda and Cupra spin off - not to mention a Renault, Nissan, Dacia etc etc. - making it even more difficult for brand differentiation

It seems, particularly with the Transporter that VW has forgotten the premium applied to something that has been an such iconic vehicle for decades - the fact it's just a rebadged Ford now, takes that value away, Are people going to pay the extra £2k for the badge when it's the same engine, running gear etc.....? Probably a good proportion will (despite the protestations!), but is it going sell as well and be the Transporter everyone talks about in the future? Probably not. It's a shareholder value/financial decision by VW to partner on the T8... not one driven by the desire to build on the value of the iconic Transporter. IMO the Buzz will eventually end up becoming the natural successor to the T6.1 as the new future icon for the VW brand.
 
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racT6bus said:
The MAN TGE is a rebadged Crafter, as MAN are part of Volkswagen it's not quite the same as a rebadged Ford, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see it as one of these partnerships in the future (the last generation was a Sprinter!) - I only read earlier on that VW are looking at a partner for the new EV to replace the Up! - Renault being the front runner! The auto brands just don't have the R&D and production budgets (or desire!) to produce them solely for themselves anymore - which seems nuts when the new Up! will also likely be a Seat, Skoda and Cupra spin off - not to mention a Renault, Nissan, Dacia etc etc. - making it even more difficult for brand differentiation

It seems, particularly with the Transporter that VW has forgotten the premium applied to something that has been an such iconic vehicle for decades - the fact it's just a rebadged Ford now, takes that value away, Are people going to pay the extra £2k for the badge when it's the same engine, running gear etc.....? Probably a good proportion will (despite the protestations!), but is it going sell as well and be the Transporter everyone talks about in the future? Probably not. It's a shareholder value/financial decision by VW to partner on the T8... not one driven by the desire to build on the value of the iconic Transporter. IMO the Buzz will eventually end up becoming the natural successor to the T6.1 as the new future icon for the VW brand.
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Yes, I suppose I got it the wrong way round, but ends up the same, MAN TGE and Crafter basically same van. Platform sharing has been going on a long time now by many different manufacturers.
 
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t6blo said:
First shot I have seen of the interior...

View attachment 222504


I wonder if the Transporter will get the funny steering wheel and the bread rolls from the Transit?

View attachment 222505
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Looks almost identical, other than the shape of the wheel and the content on the infotainment system - which has to be better than the Ford system! They should chuck in a leather stitched funny folding wheel, artisan bread rolls and a bean to cup coffee machine to make it worth paying the extra couple of grand for! :laugh:
 
CAB said:
Check the mirror, that's a big chunk taken for the blind-spot 2nd mirror.
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That mirror and lack of visibility was an instant turn off for me when I was considering the custom before purchasing my transporter.
 
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racT6bus said:
IMO the Buzz will eventually end up becoming the natural successor to the T6.1 as the new future icon for the VW brand.
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I've seen a few in the road and had a good look around one when I had the Caravelle serviced the other week.

They're nice bits of kit and I'd very much agree that this is where VW see the design language and heritage of the VW Bus going.
 
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I do not agree it’s a lovely looking van. The design looks tormented, forced into something that will never be. Rear wheel arches, as already noticed by others, doesn’t look right. The plane front end looks dated already.
Doesn’t bode well for the T7.
 
I can't wait for it. Transit is great looking, better than the camo T7 thats been teased but I'll be bodykitting either out. Come on ABT and MS-RT sort it out.

I'm going for the 217bhp e Transit custom sport but waiting to see what the 282bhp Transporter is like and depends on wait times.
I hate my current T6. Want rid of it as soon as possible.
 
Jamie2.0 said:
OMG he sounds like he wants be Quentin Wilson… a little too excite at 13”s

Bold move by VW to “partner” with Ford. I think there‘ll be a lot of loyal transporter owners arriving at show rooms when this launches going “wtf?”. Question is will it hurt their sales figure…. Probably not, ppl will still buy them because it’s badged VW and because there’s few alternatives.

Those looking for a recreational vehicle or more refined MPV will be directed to the T7 or Buzz.
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Why when VW had Grand National DNA and choose to mix Donkey DNA to destroy van market
 
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