Volkswagen takes Taos on the road
New SUV joins Hyundai Santa Fe, Dodge Durango, others to bear name of Southwestern locale
If you blend the words “Taos” and “Volkswagen” into the same conversation, it probably paints a hippie-era picture of peace symbols and psychedelic livin’ and could spur a strong desire to cruise the countryside in packed a VW van. It might bring to mind the distinct rattle of a classic Beetle. That’s all about to change. The German car manufacturer is scheduled to roll out a new midsize SUV in about a year, one that leans on the Northern New
Mexico town for its inspiration. The VW Taos will feature a 1.5-liter engine that cranks out 158 horsepower. It is expected to compete on the American market with rivals like Kia, Subaru and Mazda.
“You know, I haven’t even seen it, but I love the idea of a car being named after us,” said Taos Mayor Dan Barrone. “I mean, it gives us a great opportunity to sell Taos and get us a little more attention in a tough time like the coronavirus.”
A Santa Fe native who graduated from St. Michael’s High School in the same class as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Barrone has fond memories of riding around in his uncle’s VW while going on the occasional fishing trip, some of which were in Taos.
Having a modern twist to that story kind of brings everything full circle, he said.
“There’s a rich history with Volkswagen and there’s a rich history with Taos, and to have us get some publicity and tie it to the cultural history of our home is a good thing for us,” Barrone said.
For now, the vehicle’s name is about the only thing Taos-related attached to it. Initial publicity photos for trade publications like Car and Driver and Motor Trend and cnet. com’s Roadshow site have the SUV shown in places that are anything but Taos.
Not a single adobe structure or sweeping gorge plays a supporting role.
The backdrops usually involve palm trees or sleek buildings, none of them close to the folksy art galleries or small shops that attract tourists by the thousands each year.
Volkswagen, however, did grab some video during a recent trip to town and posted a voiceless 30-second commercial Sept. 17 that shows plenty of Taos scenery — the famed Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, dizzying views of the river, sweeping shots of the mountains, even a bolt of lightning and some frosty snow-covered trees — but very little of the actual SUV.
Karina Armijo is the director of marketing and tourism for Taos. Given the shutdown created by the coronavirus pandemic, the city’s biggest economic engine — tourism — has been virtually nonexistent in the last six months.
“It’s name branding for us and, honestly, it’s the best kind because it didn’t cost us anything,” she said. “They were the ones who approached us, and it’s been super exciting because this is exactly what we needed. It gets our name out there.”
In researching information for VW’s commercial shoot, Armijo said she dug into the city’s past and found that one of its own published a 1969 owner’s manual that is still available on Amazon.
The book, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, was co-authored by John Muir and Richard Sealey and was considered quintessential reading material to anyone with a van or a Beetle.
Muir was a structural engineer who meandered his way to Taos in the ’60s. He grew out his hair, opened his own auto repair shop that specialized in Volkswagens and authored his self-published VW survival guide that he illustrated with his own hand-drawn renderings.
While Armijo doubts that book had anything to do with VW’s decision to slap the Taos name on its newest SUV, it at least connects to a familiar past that’s shared between a town and its love affair for VWs.
It joins a list of Southwestern cities with various makes named after them: the Hyundai Santa Fe, the Dodge Durango, the Kia Sedona and the Hyundai Tucson.
“It will be neat to see a car with our name on it driving down the road or parked outside,” Armijo said. “I don’t know if it will help tourism, but at least it’s free.”
Just don’t expect Taos town employees to be driving a fleet of VW Taoses anytime soon.
“Uh, no royalties are given to us for this,” Barrone said. “Maybe the next car named for us can come with that.”