VPG's MV-1 Wins Government Regulatory Decision, Chrysler Calls it a Monopoly
Vehicle Production Group, makers of the wheelchair-accessible VPG MV-1 van, has won what Chrysler has described as a monopoly from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA), reportsBloomberg.
The comment centers around the FTA's "Buy America" rule, which requires vehicles purchased with federal money by transit agencies to be assembled domestically from mostly American-made parts. Chrysler's call out of VPG's so-called monopoly comes after the FTA ruled to put back in place its Buy America rule for the purchase of wheelchair-accessible vans. The new ruling reverses a 2010 ruling that waived the Buy America rule because at the time no U.S. company met the requirements.
Michigan-based VPG builds the MV-1 at a plant in Indiana that formerly produced Hummers, using an assortment of American-made parts from various automakers; the MV-1's 4.6-liter V-8 and four-speed automatic comes from Ford, its rear differential comes from the Chevrolet Camaro, and much of the tooling used to build the MV-1 was previously used to make the HUMMER H2.
The FTA's decision is expected to benefit VPG and may hurt sales of the wheelchair-accessible versions of the two Chrysler minivans, which currently lead the market. Both the Town & Country and Grand Caravan are built in Canada.
"FTA notes that the current waiver has served to the near-exclusive benefit of Chrysler since 2010," said the FTA while dismissing Chrysler's monopoly claim. VPG's CEO John Walsh noted that his company still has to compete with Ford and many other smaller companies in the market.
Despite the decision, Chrysler doesn't think that the MV-1 is the best solution for those who purchase wheelchair-accessible vans. "Chrysler Group does not believe the MV-1 vehicle is a good substitute for Chrysler Group-manufactured minivans, modified through our established vendors, in serving the needs of disabled customers," said Chrysler spokesman Mike Palese toBloomberg.
The VPG MV-1 is one of the wheelchair-accessible vehicles exempt from New York City's Taxi of Tomorrow contract.
Source: Bloomberg
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
Read More