Peoples Car

"You have been invited to send in your application for a license to purchase our new prestigeous 2047 year model of ElitistWagen MonsOOn. One could be YOURS if you fit our carefully thought out customer profile. Send in your application NOW, and our selection team will review it as soon as it is convenient for them to do so. In the meantime, you may enjoy these brochures we sent you with this letter, along with the USD350 bill. For the brochures themselves. We are looking forward to making business with you, and in fact we would like to receive a (non-refundable) downpayment of a mere USD57.000 (not more than 5% of the list price of the 2047 ElitistWagen MonsOOn) and if you fail to make this deposit by the end of the week, we will send you one of our lawyers. This would mean another 32.500 dollar bill, but WAIT!

12% of it is refundable upon purchase. (If you fit another demographic group). Thank you Sir, and have a nice day. "

Jan

This is mainly a VWoA problem as I see it. Here in Germany, VW still is the people's car: the Golf is the best-selling car period, and both Polo and Passat are in the top ten too. Even the Eurovan is market leader with the small vans, and the Touran with the minivans.

If they wanted to, they certainly could compete with the mid-to-low-end market segment in the US as well. But they seem to prefer not to give you the Lupo, Polo, or base-model Golf, nor do they compete in the US commercial vehicles market at all (or do they?). Money is, it turns out, easier made with prestige than volume in a foreign market, especially one so different as the US market seems from this side of the pond.

But there's nothing inherently wrong with $80k luxury Volkswagens: rich folks are part of the people, too :-), and it didn't hurt Mercedes one bit to have a range of commercial vans, trucks, farm tractors, and even compact cars to go alongside their luxury range.

I think the VW Phaeton is a much more credible luxury car than some re-badged Mondeo Diesel wagon is a credible Jaguar, anyway. And even re-badged VW Touaregs named "Porsche" are rather stretching the credibility issue, IMHO.

Yours, Erik.

Does it appear that the South American built VWs sold in America are largely to blame for VWoA's problems?

There was one interesting thing in that article which BTW was not written by a U.S. publication. Remember how widely praised Ferdinand Peich was for a few years. Now the new guy is talking about cleaning up his mess. I guess it shows how superficial people are.

Bill Berckman

67 Beetle

Not really. VW "New Beetle"s are Mexican made for the German market too, and they don't seem to have any worse a reputation than those made in Germany, Belgium, Spain, or Poland.

Airhowlingly yours, Erik.

yeah.... and ALL people thought the YUGO sucked... because it was a cheap POS!!! lol yeah i know it wasnt a vw but still a POS!

It's intresting that you should should say that the Fox is/was a POS....it used the same engine and transmission as the Golf and Jetta....quite a few of them still running around in Canada.

Hey I like the Fox, both in the Audi and the VW lines.

later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

Mexico is North America. When he said South america, he meant Brazil.

Karls

"Karls Vladimir Peña" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@uni-berlin.de:

I don't know if New Beetles and Polos are made in Brazil (for southern hemisphere countries?), but as of 2003, the VW factory in Puebla, Mexico "is the only plant that produces the New Beetle that is exported to the United States, Europe and Japan, and also produces the Golf convertible and the Jetta."

The last air-cooled Beetle was made in Puebla VW has had labor/economy problems in both Puebla and Anchieta.

--Bill

Brazil makes Golfs and Polos... Mexico makes Jettas (Boras) and new Beetles...