Tester
It just keeps getting worse for VW. No fix may be possible for the diesels, and now this.
Seems like VW started a chain reaction, that they did not anticipate
I really don’t know what to think except I always thought the marketing goals were ridiculous. Then they and the dealers went and stuck a lot of money into a bad marketing plan.
I guess I’m a little psychic since I’ve avoided owning a VW for the last 40 years.
I guess that it is possible for VW to abandon the US marketplace, but I doubt that this will actually happen. Even if they did choose to withdraw the VW badge from the US, I highly doubt that this retreat would include Audi.
I don’t know about other parts of the country, but in my neck of the woods, I see more Audis than ever. Most are A3s, but there are some A4s & A6s, and I occasionally see some A8s. The various Audi SUVs are also becoming much more numerous on the roads in my area.
I can tell you that there are many more new and new-ish Audis around here than–for instance–Mitsubishis of any age. If the company can sell relatively expensive Audis in much greater volume than Mitsubishi can sell their lower-priced cars, why would they withdraw Audi from the US marketplace?
I read that story as VW withdrawing from the mass market, ie, competing with Toyota. Instead becoming a niche brand (read that as luxury brand) as Audi.
While it’s just my opinion and I could be as wrong as wrong can be, I’m not inclined to think that VW is going anywhere.
They’re one of the most successful car companies in the world and (again, whilie it’s just my personal opinion) I think that VW gets a worse than deserved bad rap applied to them.
The for instance example could be the Jetta and Golf lines. Any car that has a 40 year production run can’t be all bad.
The VW/Audi group is a MONSTER… What they stupidly did with their TDi vehicles was negligent if not outright corrupt. Not sure how much market share America is to VW but Im sure its significant…but they near RULE Europe…so they wont die out.
VW Audi have foisted metric tons of absolute garbage here in the 90’s this TDi scandal is nothing compared to the tons of S*&T we already ate of their vehicles…so whats the big deal? I’d take a “dirty” TDi over any 90’s VW product in a millisecond.
Wow…this is a big big deal wonder what will happen here. Yipes
Blackbird
According to the article, VW is considering leaving the market VW serves, not Audi’s luxury market. I would be surprised if they did this, given the TN plant investment. It seems more likely that they will let it go a couple more years before they pull out. Until the 600 dealer network is cut dramatically due to market forces, they should not do it. Maybe they could sell more cars by flooding the rental car network, or offer price cuts to get through the current sales problems.
I think pulling out of our market will harm their image far worse than any vehicle snafu… dont you?
Blackbird
^
That is just one of the reasons why I don’t believe that VW will leave the US marketplace.
Agreed
I wouldn’t worry about VW leaving the USA . . . we tend to have short-term memory with this stuff. Remember when FIAT left? Toyota acceleration problems? GM ignition issues? Chevy Vega? Ford Pinto? Far too many snafu situations to recount, but VW will weather this storm. What really bothers me about present-day corporate mentality is how quickly the CEOs quit and leave the mess for someone else to fix. Heck, we even EXPECT leaders (Mayors, CEOs, whatever) to quit after a snafu. Why? They should be involved in the fix, don’t you think? Rocketman
Arrogance will eventually cause your downfall! When you walk into a VW showroom the brainwashed staff will tell you that VWs are actually better engineered and better built cars than the competition. Expensive parts make VW ownership that much more expensive.
You won.t find a copy of Consumer Reports in the waiting room there.
There are still GM people swearing people hanging too much stuff on their keyrings caused the problem with GM’s ignition switches instead of admitting GM used cheap defective switches .
Honda Blackbird: I remember the Audi 80/Fox/100s being “CrapWagens” from 1960s thru mid 1990s.
Don’t underestimate the power of advertising. The 2015 Camry was the lowest rated family sedan under $25,000, in part because it handled poorly compared to the comptition and was just plain boring. Next thing you know, Toyota starts that Bold Decision TV ad campaign, as if the Camry was some sort of sports sedan. Need a Prius to catch a Prius because it’s soooo fast? Yeah, right.
But the big difference is that the Toyota Camry isn’t perceived as being an unreliable and literally dirty car
And Toyota still seems to be selling lots of Camrys
apparently boring is just fine with plenty of buyers
It’s not a sin to be content to drive a boring car, you know
No arguement with what you say @db4690. Many people drive so sedately that superior handling would never be noticed. I am not saying anything negative about sedate drivers, only that improved handling and engine power are of little benefit to them. I’m not picking on them, just Toyota for implying that either the Camry or Prius could be considered a powerful sports sedan. I drive a Honda Accord V6 and would not consider it a sports sedan. It’s a reliable and comfortable commuter car.