All Cars, All the Time

A few thoughts on Volkswagen
With Volkswagen's recent trials and tribulations I have paused to ponder the future of "The People's Car." In the 90's VW had it all--the "Blue Sky" or good will value of the dealerships led the industry. The New Beetle drove traffic in and the Jetta hooked 'em. But things haven't been so peachy lately. There was the injector debacle where failing injectors were replaced as they failed instead of a one time service campaign because parts were in limited supply-which meant up to four visits to the dealership for the same problem. Then the entire product line started to age. The complex W8 engine equipped Passat never took hold and the W8 engine will never return in a Volkswagen. The high end Phaeton required massive incentives to move off the lot. The retro minivan that was planned for the US market was scrapped. Volkswagen was also very hesitant to offer incentives either in terms of cash on the hood (customer money), in the trunk (dealer money) or subsidized interest rates-hurting showroom traffic.

Moving on to the next generation of cars, the big gun, Jetta, has received mixed reviews for its styling with some calling it a derivative of Japanese cars. So far the Jetta hasn't done as well as had been hoped. The Passat is only now coming online and is receiving some heckles regarding its styling. The Golf, next in line and already on the market in Europe for several years, is the next model to hit our shores. In some ways, the Golf may be the biggest hit with its back to what made it great GTI earning rave reviews. There will be a folding hardtop convertible (Eos), a small SUV (Marrakesh/Bedouin), and more than likely a VW badged Chrysler minivan headed our way. There may also be a racy Boxster competitor inspired by the Concept R and a possible pickup truck. What troubles me is that the mainstay cars aren't "gotta have" products. What makes things worse for VW is their less than stellar reliability with stories like this example. Another example would be our friends who leased a V6 Touareg that was in the shop so often that they fought Volkswagen to pay for a month's lease payment. Volkswagen has shuffled the management deck in the USA, but I don't know what that will accomplish. Former Volkswagen of America executive Len Hunt was a customer motivated guy. Len campaigned to bring the five door GTI it the US market, chatted with enthusiast on vwvortex.com, and I think that he will be sorely missed by the enthusiast community.

Volkswagen stepped up their warranty from the "we don't trust it either" two years to a more import standard four years. They are splitting up future model launches so that they don't all hit at the same time. Diesels are beginning to pick up steam in the US market and Volkswagen is poised to be a leader. They hired Daimler Chrysler's whiz kid Wolfgang Bernhard and he's already playing hardball with the German unions. Future products will bring the brand into new markets. Porsche has stepped up its investment in Volkswagen perhaps signaling more cooperation between the companies. One would hope that these steps would help Volkswagen right the wrongs of the past. I would hate to see Volkswagen one day leave our shores like Fiat or Renault, but the only the consumer market will dictate how Volkswagen's future moves are received.