Hmm... What is VW selling then? Long-lasting reliable tank?
Mexican-built luxurious interior with flimsy plastic that falls apart?
Creeking wind-noise from door when driving on highway? Maybe
defective windows regulator? That's cheaply made.

Ernest

Ernest Siu wrote:
Gee, I dunno - that certainly isn't what they sold *me*.

--
Mike Smith

Only in magazines. The STi is in a different class, and spanks the R32 in
performance. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the R32, but it's not in the same
class as the STi (not that that's a bad thing).

"Steve Grauman" <oneactor1 (AT) aol (DOT) com> wrote

I did say something to the effect that that VW isn't and probably wouldn't
be the top import car brand. I did not claim that the Jetta and Passat were
*the most* popular cars in their classes. I said they did quite well.

And just because the Jetta and Passat aren't #1 in sales volume doesn't mean
they're at the bottom of their class either and it doesn't mean that VWoA
doesn't know what the US wants.

Yes and no. Recall the previous generation Camry appeared for the '97 model
year, so therefore it's somewhat expected for its replacement to arrive
sooner than a Passat replacement.

I do agree that I don't understand why cars like the Golf V are out in
Europe but yet won't arrive here for another year...VW does seem to do that
quite a bit.

I've driven both, thanks. Your post seems to be based entirely on magazine
reviews though.

It's the muscle car mentality. It worked in the 1960s and it's starting to work
again, with a slightly new face. Young buyers want inexpensive cars with great
performance, and VW isn't offering it. And I'm saying this as the owner of a
2002 GTi 1.8T which I quite like, but which I can tell you won't match the
rawness of an RSX Type S or the overall bang:buck ratio of the SRT-4. While the
Neon is certainly cheap, it also comes with a stealler warranty and nice list
of standard equipment. And the MOPAR division is stepping up with factory-made,
factory warrantied performance parts. All in a car with a sub-$20k price tag. I
hate Chrysler, and would normally never get within 50 feet of whatever their
making but the SRT-4 is a tempting bargin.

True, but it's a step up from the Neon and is of generally good build quality.
Add to that AWD and great performance, a highly tunable engine and ever-growing
aftermarket support and a price tag only marginally higher than my GTi's and
you have a winning combo. The cheapo interior managed to put me off enough to
make me *not* want a WRX (and I didn't anticipate that it would catch on the
way it did) but most buyers will leapfrog VW and go straight to Subaru if given
the choice between the two.

No, VW is selling high quality and reasonable performance. Unfortunately, what
the market is asking for at the moment are SUVs and performance-compacts with
sub-6 second 0-60 times and sub-$24k price tags.

Only in 0-60 and 1/4th tests. The R32 has a superior suspension and with a tire
upgrade (VW's choice of tires for that car was subpar) it'll outrun the STi on
a track. You can see the joint VWVortex/SUBDriven test for proof as such.

Again, if VW needs to cut back model-life cycles in order to get new models out
at the same time as new models from copetitive companies, then they need to do
so. There's no excuse for Honda to has a 240Hp Accord out while VW is
languishing with the 190Hp Passat V6. You'd have to buy a $40k W8 to outpace
the $24k Accord.

In article <20040416011716.17406.00000441 (AT) mb-m16 (DOT) aol.com>,
oneactor1 (AT) aol (DOT) com (Steve Grauman) wrote:

Can't argue with that. But VW certainly is entitled to sell what they
want to sell, and people either will buy or not. Around here, you
pretty much can't fling a dead cat without hitting either a Jetta or a
Passat. So, for this neighborhood and environs, they're doing
something right. I'm not sure I'd count that as "VW losing its way."

Before I bought my Jetta TDI, I test-drove a Ford Contour V6. That car
was a blast to drive. But I could tell from poking around it that it
would not be fun to have to repair after a few years. I bought the VW.
Obviously I'm not in the gunsights of the SRT-4/WRX market.

sd

sd wrote:
A curious pairing of cars, there. Why not a Jetta w/VR6 to compare
against the Contour V6?

--
Mike Smith

So us North American's don't bitch that we get year one cars riddled with
shakedown problems - frankly i'd rather have the Europeans stress test the
cars an extra year... They seem to be a bit more forgiving for car problems
in general.... Then again, at least from what my relatives in Germany tell
me their cars get maintain much more religiously over there (and they get
German built cars not South of the Border cars).
"Matt B." <noway (AT) hellno (DOT) com> wrote