Cars of the Tour
07-04-06, 01:47 PM
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Cars of the Tour
I've seen some VW Passat station wagons. What are some of the other kinds of cars the teams use in the Tour?
I notice that there are little to zero SUV's owned by the fans on the roadside....
I notice that there are little to zero SUV's owned by the fans on the roadside....
07-04-06, 03:06 PM
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I thought they all drove Saubs??? I mean, afterall, they are designed by aircraft engineers!
07-04-06, 04:34 PM
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I think Skoda is the official tour car now.
Saw a bunch of them in Denmark back in October.
Saw a bunch of them in Denmark back in October.
07-04-06, 04:53 PM
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Doesn't Disco use Subarus? "Everyday is a winding road...."
07-04-06, 05:44 PM
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They all seem to use some kind of wagon with a low roof for easy acces to bikes.
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07-04-06, 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Jacobi
I thought they all drove Saubs??? I mean, afterall, they are designed by aircraft engineers!
07-04-06, 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by SDRider
What the hell is a Saub?
07-04-06, 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Bontrager
I've seen some VW Passat station wagons. What are some of the other kinds of cars the teams use in the Tour?
I notice that there are little to zero SUV's owned by the fans on the roadside....
I notice that there are little to zero SUV's owned by the fans on the roadside....
Europeans are a little too enlightened to drive SUVs.
07-04-06, 07:59 PM
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Skoda is the official vehicle sponsor....they supply the team cars you see following the race with the directeurs, mechanics, spare bikes etc. Also all the SDTDF and commisaires cars, of course.
Teams are also allowed a certain number of their own cars (can't remember how many) that they use to trasnport personel, equipment, do the shopping, get to the hotels early, drive to the feed zones etc etc. These are supplied by the team sponsor....eg. Discovery-Subaru, T-Mobile-Audi. For obvious sposnorship reasons, these vehicles are not allowed in the caravan behind the peloton.
Then there are the 500 000 Euro luxury team coaches.....
Teams are also allowed a certain number of their own cars (can't remember how many) that they use to trasnport personel, equipment, do the shopping, get to the hotels early, drive to the feed zones etc etc. These are supplied by the team sponsor....eg. Discovery-Subaru, T-Mobile-Audi. For obvious sposnorship reasons, these vehicles are not allowed in the caravan behind the peloton.
Then there are the 500 000 Euro luxury team coaches.....
07-04-06, 08:04 PM
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They use a lot of Fiat and Volkswagen vans for transport not involving the caravan following the riders. Ford Transits too.
You will also see a lot of these vans, and some pretty cool cars along the sides of the road.
They used to import the VW vans into the US up until 2003. Apparently, Amerikans weren't interested in 200+ cubic feet of interior space, 5000lb towing capacity, and 34mpg. Image is far more important than utility.
From what I understand, next year VW will be using rebadged Dodge Caravans for US sales. The rest of the world gets much more utility, turbo diesels, and far better fuel mileage.
Az
You will also see a lot of these vans, and some pretty cool cars along the sides of the road.
They used to import the VW vans into the US up until 2003. Apparently, Amerikans weren't interested in 200+ cubic feet of interior space, 5000lb towing capacity, and 34mpg. Image is far more important than utility.
From what I understand, next year VW will be using rebadged Dodge Caravans for US sales. The rest of the world gets much more utility, turbo diesels, and far better fuel mileage.
Az
07-04-06, 08:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Az B
They used to import the VW vans into the US up until 2003. Apparently, Amerikans weren't interested in 200+ cubic feet of interior space, 5000lb towing capacity, and 34mpg. Image is far more important than utility.
Why would VW import a Dodge Caravan? that's Mercedes-Chrysler, and known to be the worst vehicle on the road.
Us dealer surveys show that mileage is far below cupholders in concerns.
TDs are coming, when US has capacity to refine low sulphur deisel.
07-04-06, 08:21 PM
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there was a great photo of Michael Boogerd in Cycle Sport from last year I think, coming back through the team cars, obvioulsy just as Theo de Rooij hit the gas.....massive cloud of diesel smoke form the Merc wagon engulfing him!!
Poor bloke...
Poor bloke...
Last edited by ed073; 07-04-06 at 09:33 PM.
07-04-06, 09:18 PM
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While Euros tend to shy away from big American pick-ups and SUVs, I did see a silver Dodge Ram pick-up along the route near the 5K to go marker.
