Pour One Out for the Volkswagen Passat

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

The Volkswagen Passat is dead. At least in America.

2022 will be the last model year for VW’s mid-size sedan.

The cause of death is complicated. While the market shift towards crossovers certainly plays a role, the car was also simply overlooked by VW in recent years. We called the last one we drove boring. Europeans got a different version that seemed, on paper, to be more competitive, while we got a bland sedan that offered nothing in terms of sport, luxury, or comfort to sway buyers away from competitors like the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. Or to give them a reason to not buy a crossover.

Indeed, Passat sales have fallen off the proverbial cliff since 2012.

If you’re wondering what will become of the plant in Chattanooga, Tennesse, where the car is built, VW will continue building the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport crossovers there, and production of the ID.4 EV crossover will begin there in 2022.

Passat will bow out with a Limited Editon model that has “Chattanooga-inspired” details. Other details, such as the number of cars planned to be built, will honor other aspects of Passat’s past. Limited Edition models will start at $30,295, plus $995 for destination.

The Passat has been sold in America since 1974 — though first under the Dasher name, and later as the Quantum. The Passat name came about in 1990. The first six generations were imported from Europe before the company split the versions by market for the 2012 model year, building the American Passat in Chattanooga.

It’s your humble author’s opinion that this decision is partially responsible for the Passat’s fate. Making the car larger for American customers seemed a good decision on its face, but the car lost some performance verve in the process, and the interior and exterior styling became rather anonymous. Add in the crossover craze and it’s easy to see why the Passat’s goose is now cooked.

VW probably could’ve come up with a replacement model that balanced size and fun and managed to keep the sedan flame burning, but in addition to building crossovers, the focus is also shifting to EVs. So the Passat will say goodbye.

We suspect it won’t be missed.

[Image: Volkswagen]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • CrackedLCD CrackedLCD on Aug 01, 2021

    Please tell me that one of the "Chattanooga-inspired details" will be hiding a Moon Pie in the glove box.

    • ToolGuy ToolGuy on Aug 02, 2021

      One of the Chattanooga-inspired details will be hiding a Moon Pie in the glove box.

  • Schmitt trigger Schmitt trigger on Aug 12, 2021

    “ It’s dated and uninspired, doesn’t offer any power plant options, isn’t made well, and the steering wheel is off-center.” VW is Germany’s revenge on the US for its role on the WW2 bomb campaign.

  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
  • Dukeisduke I've been waiting to see if they were going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary. I was four years old when the Mustang was introduced. I can remember that one of our neighbors bought a '65 coupe (they were all titled as '65 models, even the '64-1/2 cars), and it's the first one I can remember seeing. In the '90s I knew an older gentleman that owned a '64-1/2 model coupe with the 260 V8.
  • SCE to AUX "...the complete Mustang model lineup to peruse"Will the fake Mustang show up, too?
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