Mike Rutherford's column

By Mike Rutherford

18th October 2007

	Volkswagen is about to pull a major surprise by relaunching a famous model that dates all the way back to the Forties

I’ve been hanging out with the Germans lately, sleeping through their press conferences, driving their cars and helping them prop up the bar at the numerous concerts they’ve been co-promoting. First, Audi threw a karaoke session starring Bryan Ferry, then BMW made the Rolling Stones sing for their supper. And not to be outdone, Volkswagen persuaded The Who to play in Hanover.

BMW will raise the stakes even higher in November by part-funding Led Zeppelin’s comeback gig. The only way Mercedes can top that is to stage a Beatles reunion featuring Paul McCartney (a Merc owner!), Ringo Starr and the musician sons of John Lennon and George Harrison. Rumour has it that £500million needs to be paid before a new-look Beatles will agree to perform. And that’s peanuts for the Stuttgart firm. Remember, this is an organisation that spent tens of billions marrying, then divorcing, Chrysler.

Aside from doing rock’n’roll better than any other car makers on the planet, the Germans possess a sense of humour, too. BMW proved that the other day when it tried to win me over with its quirky, fresh from the factory Mini Clubman, which is officially capable of around 70mpg in typical conditions.

The example sent from company HQ to woo me was dirty inside and out, and featured only one rear suicide door – which was fitted on the wrong side and kept getting stuck. The car could barely manage 50mpg, and its fuel saving engine cut-out gizmo decided to kill the power as I tried to feed into a busy roundabout. But apart from all that, I liked the Clubman from Cowley.

And I liked Audi’s just-launched A4 even more. Not because it’s particularly exhilarating to drive or look at, or because it stirs the emotions, but because it’s a car that makes such a strong case for itself. In my opinion, it beats rival models from Mercedes and BMW, and wipes the floor with Lexus and Jaguar offerings. Quite simply, it’s best in class in nearly every department.

And the icing on the cake is that used price bibles Glass’s Guide and CAP
are already forecasting that the A4 will hold its value even better than the
3-Series and C-Class. What we’re witnessing is Audi taking over at the top from BMW and Mercedes, which don’t have sufficiently strong answers
to questions raised by the arrival of the new TT, R8 and, now, A4. There’s
no doubt about it, Audi is the brand of the year.

I also have no doubt that sister company Volkswagen is about to pull a major surprise by taking steps to relaunch a famous VW-badged model that dates back to the Forties. The Who concert I mentioned was staged as a thank you to the 5,000 drivers of VW campers, buses and vans who drove to Hanover for the 60th anniversary of the much loved vehicle (known as the Bulli in Germany) in early October. So overwhelmed was the company by the love and enthusiasm these drivers and thousands of appreciative onlookers have for such timeless lifestyle vehicles, that it is looking again at putting what we affectionately know as the VW Camper back into production.

A modified but unmistakably rounded body is needed, and other internal and external changes are also required to meet the latest safety and environmental legislation. Only 100,000 would need to be sold for the venture to be financially viable. You may wonder how I know this. Well, I’ve got some reliable industry contacts who just love to talk – off the record, of course!