[car fanatics]

Source
Photo credit: Volkswagen
January 20, 2012
By: CF staff

The Wall Street Journal reported that VW feels it would be the top-seller last year if sales of all its affiliates were included. VW's figures don't include the sales from truckmakers MAN and Scania, which will be added in a few weeks, a Volkswagen spokesman told the newspaper. The truckmakers might add 200,000 vehicles to VW's sales total.

Rivals also argue that GM inflates its numbers by adding sales from its China partnerships with SAIC Motor Corp. and Wuling Motors Co. Wuling sales, which topped 1 million last year, are excluded from GM's total by some analysts because GM doesn't have a controlling stake in its partner.

[bluestinger66]

Didnt they count Suzuki in their sales numbers? Thats a partnership, isnt it?

[Cmicasa the GreatXvX]

Gettting pretty tired of VW in general. They been beefing with everyone in the automotive world for teh past 3 years. Suzuki wants nothing to do with them.. now they come up with this shit.

and contrary to popular believe VW quality is still SHIT. I had an opportunity.. if U can call it that.. to drive a new Jetta and Passat back to back. The engines are anemic... the tranny shifts sucked ass, and the build quality overall deplorable. Close the door and U'd swear U were closing the door of a 24 year old 1988 Cavalier. They literally made the cars look expensive.. but completely said fuck to making them feel that way

[REVolution]

I agree, their interiors are a let down from what they used to be but their automatics are alright, especially the DSG. I'm slowly starting to not care for them much either. I like their Audi counterparts, but I just don't care for the VW brand.

[Cmicasa the GreatXvX]

RotaryKing aka Rev;170873 Wrote:I agree, their interiors are a let down from what they used to be but their automatics are alright, especially the DSG. I'm slowly starting to not care for them much either. I like their Audi counterparts, but I just don't care for the VW brand.

But we saw this coming.. and it's idiotic to believe that VW could all of a sudden pull off this crazy desire to be #1 without an even more dramatic drop in their already lackluster quality. I guarantee U start seeing similar issues with Audi, albeit masked by better leathers and styling.

[Thed]

All I know is, I'd never buy them because of the spotty reliability. The "new" interiors just make them that much more... undesirable.

I like the clean, conservative exterior designs, though.

[REVolution]

Yea, unfortunately, it could be a possibility. They definitely cut corners in their Jetta and Passat so that they could gain profits by not spending more into their cars. Its a decent strategy to tell you the truth, but it could come back to bite you in the ass.

[MEGAS XLR32]

I agree. they have to get rid of that 5 cylinder asap. I like the design direction they took and the styling is classy. Like Rev said its a good strategy, but it could turn around and bite them if they aren't careful.

[Thed]

The 2.5 is fine in the Jetta, but not the Passat.

The 2.SLOW is what needs to go.

[Tonavi]

TDI manual Passat FTW. 800 mile range FTW!!!

[iDream Theater]

It's dumb though because they don't really have much of anythIng in their stable to warrant such high sales numbers. I honestly can't even imagine why vw of all companies is in the hunt for number 1.

[Ix3understeer]

Cmicasa the Great XvX;170872 Wrote:Gettting pretty tired of VW in general. They been beefing with everyone in the automotive world for teh past 3 years. Suzuki wants nothing to do with them.. now they come up with this shit.

and contrary to popular believe VW quality is still SHIT. I had an opportunity.. if U can call it that.. to drive a new Jetta and Passat back to back. The engines are anemic... the tranny shifts sucked ass, and the build quality overall deplorable. Close the door and U'd swear U were closing the door of a 24 year old 1988 Cavalier. They literally made the cars look expensive.. but completely said fuck to making them feel that way

From the information that's been released, it seems like Suzuki, not VW, is the unreasonable party.

Until recently, VW produced quite a few cars with interiors a cut above most mainstream marques. Even with their recent cost-cutting I'd say that most of their offerings are far from "shit." I sat in a new Passat recently and understood why so many reviewers have lauded it. It's a pretty pleasant place to be. You're also the first person I've heard call the 2.5 anemic (I've heard coarse, but not anemic) and the automatic it's hooked to lousy (there's a guy on MT with a last gen Jetta who describes it as mind-reader good).

tl;dr I'm not sure your description is accurate.

[All-Or-Nothing]

VW's arguement makes sense.

[Tonavi]

Personally I love the new VWs as I have driven all except the Taureg and CC at this point. The interior in the Jetta only is a step down but in the higher trim levels is still a nice place to be. The new Passat is a landslide IMO. Huge inside, great layout, refreshing design, and the diesel make it the one to beat if you don't want a hybrid. I like the direction VW is going by making products appealing to budget minded consumers on the low end and unique, charasmatic, and very much German engineered ones on the high end.

Contrary to what many think there are many 200K mile VWs on the roads.

[the_koof]

I have a 2011 Volkswagen GTI 5-door with just about 11,000 miles on it. So far it has been flawless (knock on wood). The interior has excellent fit and finish with high quality materials where it counts and all of the switch gear has a quality feel to it. The seats are phenomenal especially in plaid but could use more lumbar support. Its nearing a year old and still looks brand new inside. The exterior has nice, tight panel fitment with quality paint and when you shut the door it has that solid sound to it.

The engine, the phenomenal 2.0L turbo and direct injected four, has so much power and feels like more than the advertised 200 hp. Talk about some torque! The engine also has a great growl to it that is made all the better with the Magnaflow exhaust I put on it which makes the car that much more fun to drive. The DSG clicks off quick, smooth shifts when in automatic mode and when you take command, it responds instantly to your inputs and holds gear till you demand the next gear. When an automatic, it does go for the highest gear a little quick for my tastes but its gotten me 27 mpg so far so I can't complain too much.

Suspension wise, its a little rough when you are driving on broken roads but hey, you are driving a hot hatch and not a Mercedes S600. Once you hit the highways, its a smooth Bahn-burner. Hit some switch backs and twisties and that car just comes alive. It is so stable and composed through the corners and is very forgivable. The tiller has great feel to it and communicates quite a bit which is surprising for an electric unit.

The Jetta may have gotten Blue Light Special cheap but the Golf/GTI have stayed true to the classic German high build quality.