Spy Shots: Volkswagen Taro pickup?
A couple of spy shots have been circulating the web today, purportedly confirming that Volkswagen is indeed developing a pickup truck. The Toyota Hilux shaped mule is sporting registration plates from Brunswig, Germany, where most of VW's test vehicles originate.Thankfully, Mr. Levine over at PickupTruck.com has parsed out all the possibilities for the new V-dub and has come away with two separate speculations. The first is that Volkswagen is going to sell a rebadged Hilux as its own, something that it's done in the past when it partnered with Toyota to produce the Hilux-based Taro from 1989 to 1994. The other possibility is that VW is using the Hilux body panels as camo, with an original platform underneath.
World Car Fans believes the latter and expects the truck to go on sale towards the end of 2009, initially in Europe and South American and powered by either a gasoline or diesel mill, with the possibility of VW introducing the pickup to buyers in the U.S. at a later date.
[Source: Pickuptruck.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Scallon 2:49PM (1/30/2008)
I thought they would be building a truck ever since the new Curious George movie came back a year or two ago. The Man in the Yellow hat drove a VW pickup.
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scooter 2:59PM (1/30/2008)
Whaaa? A VeeDub pick up? Someone needs to sell an actual "small" truck in the US so it would be welcomed in the market, I think.
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Farris 2:52PM (1/30/2008)
Why don't they build one based on the Golf...er.. Rabbit, like they used to?
Of course, they would have to make it RWD (unlike the old VW Pickup) for anyone to give it a second look, but that shouldn't be too difficult.
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F150XL 3:46PM (1/30/2008)
AWD TDI(I live in the frozen tundra of the midwest), they could put quattro 60f/40r split, great commuter truck with home depot stop on the way home & 50mpg. When can I buy one.
phoenexius 3:02PM (1/30/2008)
forget north america - make it small/medium and sell it in india and china
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snakesausage 3:13PM (1/30/2008)
I for one would love a 35-40mpg small truck. Make mine a 2.0L 4cyl Diesel - 6 speed DSG... for me it only needs to be able to carry two dirtbikes in the back and two people with gear in the front.
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phil 3:16PM (1/30/2008)
When they release the rutabaga, let me know.
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adam 3:20PM (1/30/2008)
Every time I get into my Passat, I'm fearful that it won't start. I'd never even think about buying a VW pick-up.
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Kevin 8:10PM (1/30/2008)
Well look at it this way; the check engine light can't come on if it won't start! :D
Mattias 5:17PM (1/30/2008)
The front suspension seems to resemble more that of a Volkswagen Crafter than that of a HiLux. Since the Crafter already is RWD they have some kind of robust platform to reuse.
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accord745 5:31PM (1/30/2008)
I had always thought that the quirky VW nomenclature was something fairly recent - starting with the Phaeton from 5 or 6 years ago, and more recently the Tiguan, Routan, and Touareg. Now I learn that 20 years ago they named a truck after a potato-like vegetable.
I think VW should show their cars more respect and start slapping alpha-numerics on the backs of their vehicles.
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YourNameHere 6:05PM (1/30/2008)
if VW could come out with a small diesel powered truck in the 15-20k range it will sell TONS. smaller then the Colorado/Dakota. like what small trucks USE to be. offer FWD and 4wd versions. goldmine.
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Dan 7:10PM (1/30/2008)
Be nice, but it'll never happen. A 1990 sized mini truck is not going to pass the modern crash tests.
Build a heavy crumple frame and thicker doors and so forth so it does and you have a Colorado. Same size interior, same size bed, 15" longer, another 600 pounds, and a G from the IIHS.
Playdrv4me 6:37PM (1/30/2008)
Don't hold out any hope for seeing this in the U.S. I don't know why anyone would even speculate it. A small pickup truck like that, like it as we may, would not fit in with VW's U.S. product plans and would most certainly be for the middle east, asia and central and south american markets.
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Ramiro BA 9:12PM (1/30/2008)
A VW pick-up is going to be builded in Argentina at the end of 2009. I heard it's a mid-size (Small for US standars) so maybe is this one. (The Hilux is also produced in Argentina)
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Guenther 10:24PM (1/30/2008)
I would strongly guess that it will be a Hilux based vehicle. Perhaps the interior will get worked over, although the Toyota interior is quite respectable. VW has nothing in the powertrain dept. that would make more sense to use than the Toyota motors.
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Mattias 1:40AM (1/31/2008)
So the Crafter's 174hp I5 Diesel -- currently pumpe-duese, but soon common rail -- is "nothing" for a light duty vehicle? Reusing Crafter parts would make tons of sense on a midsize pick up, so the Toyota theory does not seem that possible anymore.
Guenther 11:42AM (1/31/2008)
Compared to the Toyota 2.5 and 3L 4cyls, it doesn't bring anything new to the table. It would work fine, but would require separate integration. I still don't think making their own pickup makes about as much sense as using a Hilux body on your own mule.
Yggdrasilly 9:12AM (1/31/2008)
"Taro?"
By a strange coincidence, Honda will market the A-BAT in Germany as the "Kartoffel."
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