What's Wrong With This Picture: A Million Little Volkswagens Edition
Published: June 5th, 2010
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The chart is the problem: VW wants to sell a million cars in the US by 2018, and if Audi’s going to account for 200k of that volume, the VW brand has to get its sales headed towards the 800k range. Ostensibly, the pictures are the solution: with the Passat and Tiguan selling like they have herpes, these updates are going to be an important element of how VW gets from where it is to where it wants to be. And though neither of these images are of the highest quality, they point to some serious dullification. Apparently VW’s bid for “mainstream relevance” mean turning its vehicles into snooze-mobiles. But is the Toyota school of styling going to put Vee-Dub over the top?
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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My ex bought a used Beetle TDI (2001, I think) from a neighbor down the street. It had around 130k, and was a stick. I would have forbade her from buying an automatic. I had great, great reservations about her buying this car, and warned her accordingly based on my ownership experience and the wealth of information out there. However, in this case, it was a gamble she was willing to take, for one reason: The previous owners had kept record of all service done to the vehicle back to day one. Every invoice, every repair, all of it. And you should have seen the stack of papers. It was almost 3/4" thick. Most of the car was rebuilt (including an entire wiring harness - imagine what that took!) under warranty while the first owner had it. Or, rather, from the number of repairs, *didn't* have it while it sat in the shop. It was incredible. Transmission repairs, clutch, fuel injectors, wiring harnesses, switches, struts, front end, the list went on and on. The guy we bought it from was the second owner and he's put something like 80-90k on it with only regular maintenance. So we figured, considering how much had been replaced, it was a safer bet than one that was either new or hadn't had that amount of work. She hasn't had a problem yet in two years. But still.
I am one of those lost customers. My first new car was an 85 GTI. 2 yr unlimited mile warranty. I sold the car right after the 2 years were up. Multiple fuel injection/engine management issues, and a nagging rain leak somewhere in the body. I loved the car, but it was too high maintenance (and I had been a Mopar guy). I have never been tempted by a VW since. My sister, on the other hand, has been a diesel girl and has owned a string of diesel VWs since an 80 Rabbit. (I think it has been 6 of them). I don't think her loyalty is so much a testament to VW, as it is the lack of any other diesel cars out there over the last 25 yrs.