Press Releases
RV industry magazine honors Winnebago Via
December 17, 2008

The staff of RV Business magazine has selected the 25-foot Winnebago Via (also marketed as an Itasca Reyo) Class A motorhome as the "Best of Show" new model displayed at the recently completed Recreation Vehicle Industry Association's National RV Trade Show.
   
"It was a slam dunk, because the Via is clearly the most complete, integrated concept -- from drawing board to finished product -- that we've seen in quite some time," said RV Business Publisher Sherman Goldenberg, whose staff annually selects what they consider the most innovative and competitive new products on display at the industry's key trade show. "It seems to gracefully meet the evolving definition of a Class A motorhome in a world in which expectations, and many of the industry's potential buyers are rapidly changing."
   
In fact, in the view of RV Business, the 2010 Via/Reyo should help set the pace for what many believe is the imminent transformation of at least part of the U.S. motorhome sector. The Via/Reyo exhibits a transition from larger units to a more compact 21st century style of motorized traveling and camping vehicle, which appeals to a younger generation intent on style, functionality and affordability.
    
Part of the reason the Via/Reyo appears as such a complete concept, according to Bill O'Leary, vice president of product development for Winnebago Industries Inc., Forest City, Iowa, is the fact that it was a project spawned by Winnebago's senior management two years ago -- well before the gas price spike and economic downturn of 2008. As a result, rather than a knee-jerk reaction to short-term economic trends, the Via/Reyo represents more of a far-sighted view of what some motorhome-building insiders see as the American motorhome of the future.
    
"This was not something that was created overnight," O'Leary explained. "A vehicle of this magnitude takes a lot of investment as far as design and tooling and testing. This is a new 2010 product that will launch this spring or summer. We think it's a product for today's market, being fuel efficient and very highly styled. It should make a huge impact on today's market."
   
O'Leary claims the Via/Reyo, with its European influenced interiors, should be the highest miles-per-gallon vehicle available in the Class A market at more than 15 mpg.

The respectable fuel efficiency is due to a wind-cutting design, lightweight construction and the first-time use of a front-diesel Dodge Sprinter F-50 "cowl" chassis, a body-free version of the imported, 11,030-pound-GVWR Mercedes-Benz van chassis currently utilized in FedEx delivery trucks, European ambulances and an increasing number of smaller American-made Class B and C motorhomes. The Via/Reyo, retailing in the $130,000s, is powered by a 154-hp, 3.0-liter Mercedes-Benz turbocharged V-6 diesel engine.

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