Posted on 04/07/2009 6:17:47 AM PDT by wolf78
The international automotive industry has undergone some massive changes over the past year (to put it lightly). It wasn’t that long ago that General Motors was the number one carmaker in the world, with Ford a not-too-distant second.
Of course, the top spot was usurped by Toyota last year, forcing GM and Ford down to second and third respectively.
And then there was Volkswagen. Not long ago, the German giant began talking of plans to take the top spot, and it would seem now that its ambitions are not quite so distant anymore. R.L. Polk Germany says that Volkswagen is verging on taking GM’s second-place ribbon in 2009, thanks ironically to a further 19 percent decline in new car sales in the global market.
(Excerpt) Read more at themotorreport.com.au ...
Big VW plant being built in Chattanooga, TN
Yeah, Volkswagen. Now there’s quality! /s
Check the repair records and history of most Volkswagens. Not very inspiring.
I was at the market the other day and saw a similar vintage Rabbit in the parking lot. It had "antique" plates on it.
VW is making a huge gamble on diesel in this country. We’ll see if it pays off.
If any car is ripe for a retro comeback, it’s the Ghia.
my 58 ghia is nice, still also drive my old trusty bug. who needs new cars?, if the old ones were built right, keep them!!!
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Hitler would be proud...
VW’s weak spot is in the USA. Lousy dealers, usually nicknamed “stealerships”, quality not that high.
I was about to say, “Look at that Hitler-wagon!” :)
“VW is making a huge gamble on diesel in this country”
I got to see a VW Jetta TDI at an auto show. It’s really, really, REALLY nice! With an automatic transmission, it gets 29 city, 40 highway (EPA), but real-world testing shows much higher, averaging 38 city, 44 highway. Some have been getting over 50 mpg!
The diesels are VW’s crown jewel and specialty. They really know how to build diesel engines and are continually improving them. It’s their gasoline engines that seem to constantly have problems.
Plus, they’re not too expensive, starting at around $22,000. Unfortunately, dealers have been marking them up BIG TIME, and I’ve seen them advertised between $26,000-$28,000.
I would love to have a Jetta TDI, though!
I’m not so sure we won WWII after all.................
It’s an untapped market, for sure. I think VW will do well assuming diesel prices don’t skyrocket.
I like d the Swedish version better...........;^)
Funny how liberals don’t believe in keeping the elderly or seriously injured alive with life support but they want to keep GM alive with government life support. This artificial life given to GM is no different than a patient being hooked up to the machine. As soon as the machine is disconnected it will die. This means that GM will now and forever require the government in order to survive in it artificial capacity. GM should have been let to die a dignified natural death. I for one will never buy a GM product, or any other product made by a company on life support by the government.
Is VW still owned by the government like GM is now?
The German state of Lower Saxony still has a minority share. Porsche pretty much owns VW these days.
Lousy dealers, usually nicknamed “stealerships”,
Have a really nice 2008 VW Eos, good car for the most part.
A few small issues like AM radio (talk radio) is worse than my childhood crystal set radio, a few roof rain water leaks and some strange steering under hard accelleration. Our local stealership’s service department and VW America Corp Customer Service are masters of delay and denial, “why not just listen to FM?”. If they were on Ebay’s Feedback rating system, no one would buy from them.
Buyers beware.
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