Anyone for a Peugeot Van?

RobertRyan wrote:

colliehauler wrote:
I would have to disagree as well. There are lots of ford and Chevy vans with lots of miles of good service. The worst vechicle for fit and finish I have seen was the Holden they imported for a GTO.

Stick a Chevrolet badge on it and none would know the difference.

Colliehauler wrote:
The worst vechicle for fit and finish I have seen was the Holden they imported for a GTO.

Well the worst by far are NA built vehicles here. You have to wonder why Ford/GM and Chrysler are replacing their US built vehicles with either European sourced or designed vehicles?? Why no US designed replacements and why was the Econoline not used as a replacement for the Transit for heavier use vehicles and exported?

They are being replaced because they are outdated, not because of reliability. The new transit uses less fuel and updated styling. You can't live in the past forever. It has never made a lot of sence to me to build different vechicles for different markets cost wise.

MM49 wrote:
To try and recoup some of the lost investment in developing markets.
MM49

Both GM and Ford are bleeding red ink in copious amounts outside NA.

RobertRyan wrote:

colliehauler wrote:
I would have to disagree as well. There are lots of ford and Chevy vans with lots of miles of good service. The worst vechicle for fit and finish I have seen was the Holden they imported for a GTO.

Stick a Chevrolet badge on it and none would know the difference.

Colliehauler wrote:
The worst vechicle for fit and finish I have seen was the Holden they imported for a GTO.

Well the worst by far are NA built vehicles here. You have to wonder why Ford/GM and Chrysler are replacing their US built vehicles with either European sourced or designed vehicles?? Why no US designed replacements and why was the Econoline not used as a replacement for the Transit for heavier use vehicles and exported?

To try and recoup some of the lost investment in developing markets.
MM49

hone eagle wrote:
Europe is so congested there is no need for speed.
Honestly , delivery vehicles are not good candidates for connversion , always underpowered because they dont need to get anywhere ,the driver just putters along the route and goes home.(whats the average speed in London?)
In NA the same van will spend 1/2 its day on high speed freeways and never leave the city.

On the Motorways it is now 85mph, but they are SUPPOSED to do 60mph.Followed a Ducato Motorhome doing 70+ for several miles on a A Class Road. Not uncommon. I alsop saw people towing caravans with cars doing 70+ So it seems to be an aspect of British culture when the Cameras are not around put your foot down.

n NA the same van will spend 1/2 its day on high speed freeways and never leave the city.

In Europe you will sit on roughly 60mph all day with a Van, NA is not unique in that respect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CbqR7oaHtM

colliehauler wrote:
I would have to disagree as well. There are lots of ford and Chevy vans with lots of miles of good service. The worst vechicle for fit and finish I have seen was the Holden they imported for a GTO.

Stick a Chevrolet badge on it and none would know the difference.

Colliehauler wrote:
The worst vechicle for fit and finish I have seen was the Holden they imported for a GTO.

Well the worst by far are NA built vehicles here. You have to wonder why Ford/GM and Chrysler are replacing their US built vehicles with either European sourced or designed vehicles?? Why no US designed replacements and why was the Econoline not used as a replacement for the Transit for heavier use vehicles and exported?

RobertRyan wrote:

Lessmore wrote:
They did the job they were designed for...extremely well...cargo moving on all sorts of roads...all sorts of temperatures/climates.

I would say you seem harsh on your judgement of these vehicles. I've driven a large number of them since '65 and their service, build quality , durability and reliability has generally been excellent.

I am not Ford Australia or GM Holden or the RV builders they did not want them.
Australian Winnebago had a model built on the Econoline, it went nowhere. . Coachman Australia (has since disappeared)had the Concorde. It did not sell.I think the RV builder could be at fault as well
Australian Coachman Concord

I would have to disagree as well. There are lots of ford and Chevy vans with lots of miles of good service. The worst vechicle for fit and finish I have seen was the Holden they imported for a GTO.

This Concorde has been around for the last 7 months.
On the latest advertisement it says "Price Reduced !!" although it is a VERY CHEAP Motorhome by our standards.

Lessmore wrote:
They did the job they were designed for...extremely well...cargo moving on all sorts of roads...all sorts of temperatures/climates.

I would say you seem harsh on your judgement of these vehicles. I've driven a large number of them since '65 and their service, build quality , durability and reliability has generally been excellent.

I am not Ford Australia or GM Holden or the RV builders they did not want them.
Australian Winnebago had a model built on the Econoline, it went nowhere. . Coachman Australia (has since disappeared)had the Concorde. It did not sell.I think the RV builder could be at fault as well
Australian Coachman Concord

RobertRyan wrote:

hone eagle wrote:
Given enough time anything can get to 80 ,why would you want to ?
Understand driving in NA - top speed is not the issue - maintaining speed is

Cruising speed in Australia is normally 70mph. North America is not "crowded" compared to Europe which is horrendous.A lot of US roads are as "crowded' as ours.

Europe is so congested there is no need for speed.
Honestly , delivery vehicles are not good candidates for connversion , always underpowered because they dont need to get anywhere ,the driver just putters along the route and goes home.(whats the average speed in London?)
In NA the same van will spend 1/2 its day on high speed freeways and never leave the city.

RobertRyan wrote:

Lessmore wrote:
We rented a Peugeot 205 in Europe back in '85. It had the 4 speed, 1.1 liter 4 cylinder.

I found the defrosting system inadequate, construction and design flimsy and the engine underpowered.

Had a Peugeot in Europe in 2010. Nicely finished, went very well. Overall reliability who knows?

Lessmore wrote:
The GM Express and the Ford Econoline have been fine, reliable, durable, service oriented commercial vehicles for many years.

Never used here by Ford or GM Holden although very cheap, poor payloads vehicle dynamics, questionable reliability.Also not used by RV builders although very cheap to purchase.

Sorry Robert but I have to disagree.

I drove Econolines and Chevy vans for many 1000's of miles. Very reliable, durable and in a climate where winters are 5 1/2 months long with temps that can go down to 30 to 40 below.


They did the job they were designed for...extremely well...cargo moving on all sorts of roads...all sorts of temperatures/climates.

I would say you seem harsh on your judgement of these vehicles. I've driven a large number of them since '65 and their service, build quality , durability and reliability has generally been excellent.

I've also driven and owned vehicles made in Europe and Japan.