VW considers small cars, pickups and a cheaper Passat for the U.S.

With the mediocre junk that VW has been offering in the US what we do not need is more versions of the same old junk. To succeed in the US VW needs to make better cars, not more cars. VW had it together at the beginning of the decade and now it is a joke.

Bring back a Jetta that has some hint of it's last generations model and don't charge thousands more than it was.

Don't create a larger version of the Jetta, or is that a smaller version of the Passat? I'm lost, but whatever, the cars are basically twins. If I am spending 30k plus on a car, I don't want it to be indiscernable from its 18k counterpart.

The Golf, GTI, R32, Rabbit?!?!? How many names can we give the exact same car. Oh the Rabbit isn't selling well cause all the kids who used to drive the Jetta instead of a Civic don't want a fugly, boring, no frills, hardly appointed hatchback.

A truck??? HAHAHAHA, VW wants to build another truck. After the Tuareg and the coming baby Tuareg (one that can't sell, and one that won't sell when it comes out). That's a good idea, genius!

A minivan? You took the Dodge Caravan, threw some metal and VW tabs on it, dropped in your horrible electronic nik-naks, and called it a van? What happened to the Microbus concept!!! Make something original and appealing.

I love how VW in the US has become the new Plymouth.

+1 for mentioning the Microbus concept. That was bada*s!

VW needs to do a few things to be successful in the US.It's good that they are building a plant here because then they will be able to compete with the Japanese/Korean and domestic car makers. But that's only part of the equation.Building a cheaper Passat and Jetta should only be cheaper in terms of price.It should not be cheaper in terms of styling,quality,and performance. Quality and reliability needs to be improved over the La Puebla,Mexico plant.Product also has to be appealing. One of the things that people liked about the Golf and Jetta was a Euro driving experience for less money then you would have to shell out for a BMW.The interior quality plastics of a Golf and Jetta need to remain high.The cars can't look Plaine Jane. Nissan and Mazda make a more dynamic looking car then does Toyota. Even if VW is made here it still has to look and feel European and upscale.

How about lowering the price on that Eos while they're at it. Those things can hit $35K in the blink of an eye.

The problem is the Eos is made in Portugal and is subjected to the currency fluctuation between the Dollar and the Euro.Right now the Euro is at or above $1.55. That is why VW claims they cannot bring the Scirocco to the US.My thought is that it must be more expensive to produce then the Eos for some reason.

I think one of the fundamental strategic errors VW made in the US was that it tried to go upmarket too fast. The Phaeton, the Touraeg (sp?)... and then when the current gen Passat and Jetta launched, the price hiked thousands. A previous gen Jetta loaded with leather fetched ~25k and a previous Passat GLX loaded with quattro was I believe ~31-32, but more generic Passats were in the 20s. I agree with mini22 above that the reason why VW was so successful earlier was cause of the European driving experience for much less money than an Audi or BMW.

At the end of the day, if you're spending almost as much money as a BMW or an Audi, most people would want to actually buy a premium brand. I think VW has realized that, and has started decontenting their cars - they've offered a wolfsburg Jetta and took took out some options on the GTi, for example (but I believe still retaining the price somewhat.) From what I've read, they also used cheaper plastics in the GTi to cut costs. Replacing the current Jetta and Passat with a cheaper alternative (not just in price, but in quality) may lose one of the main reasons why people liked VWs before. Pity, because they are one of the only "affordable" European makes in the US.

What kills me is that VW has a luxury brand, it's called Audi. But yet they try and price their cars so close to base and sometimes more expensive Audi models that it makes more sense for someone to get an Audi over a VW. If I am looking for a car comparable in most aspects to a Nissan, Toyota, Honda, etc. why would I want to spend thousands more to ALMOST have an Audi, when I could just go get an Audi.

I never understood VW's pricing, and when they introduced the Phaeton my mind was blown that they would sell such a car that literally threw them into Audi territory with a car that was an Avalon, Maxima competitor in most respects, yet it did offer more, and was priced so far away from people's budgets for those types of cars that people were basically cross shopping an Audi A6 to the Phaeton. Yes the Phaeton was larger, but pricewise, you could get yourself a nice A6 with Quattro.

No, the Phaeton was in many ways more advanced that it's Audi sibling, the A8. There were a number of issues with selling the Phaeton in the US that VW didn't anticipate. FIrst, there is a huge label stigma in the US that isn't present in Europe. MB, BMW, Ford, Opel, Remault, Citroen, etc.; there are so many options here in Europe that people don't fixate on labels - just value for money. In Germany, for instance, most of the taxis are Mercedes. Uninformed Amreicans just couldn't rationalize buying a luxury automobile, regardless of how good it was, from the same company that made the Beetle. Second, there is was a huge disconect between what luxury car owners expect from their dealerships and what the run-of-the-mill US VW dealers were offering to Phaeton customers. Third, there was a significant amount of confusion among American buyers between this can and the Audi A-8 with many Americans assuming it was essentially the same car which it wasn't. VW-NA wasn't much help either denying US customers options for the Phaeton available in ROW but not in NA markets. In the long run the Phaeton was poorly accepted by US luxury car buyers who put their priority on perceived status and it was pulled from this market after only 4 years or so. It still sells in ROW though and is a phenomenal car to drive.

Then it makes no sense for them to sell a car with a VW badge that competes with their Audi bretherend directly. Probably the worst marketing and segmenting idea I have ever seen on a car. Why would you step on the feet of your luxury brand? The man who thought of this one hopefully doesn't work there or for any auto manufacturer anymore.

I compared it to the Avalon/Maxima only because VW cars compete with these brands of vehicles. Like it or not, the Golf/GTI competes with the Matrix, Mazda 3, Focus, etc. It's what people cross shop. They don't cross shop a Jetta and a BMW 1 series. Or for that matter, a Jetta and an A4. So to make cars that are so far out of your market segments is just suicide. I do agree it was more car, better built, quality, etc. than the Avalon/Maxima. But companies like, well, everyone else do not make such a car for a reason. They have luxury brands to do that for them, and it makes no economical sense to sell a $70,000 car when most of their clientele shop in the $20-45k range. To jump from a Passat that can get upwards of high 40's low 50's if you option it right, another 20-30k depending is A LOT of money to dish out. I understand it was not a regular run of the mill vehicle, but then don't produce it. Make an Audi A7.5 that is just about the same dimension as the A8, with fewer luxo options. Don't create a VW that nobody wants.

Agree. Had VW followed thge same marketing strategy as Toyota did with Lexus and Nissan did with Infinity the Phaeton could have been a success in NA too. I've owned and driven driven BMW 7 series and MB 500 series cars (as well as numerous lesser makes such as Jaguar XJ series, etc.) and I personally liked the Phaeton better. So I bought one and we still are driving it today. If I wanted to move up I'd have to go to the Maybach.

One day you can read that VW is adding another diesel choice to their lineup for the future, and the next day, you'll read they are trying to go more down market.

I don't see how they can pull both off simultaneously considering a diesel power plant, with the advanced exhaust-treatment systems required for a U.S.-emission-certified diesel will cost the consumer an extra $2500-$3000 without affecting the manufacturers' margins.

I would really like to see the Polo BlueMotion here, but it sells for about US$25,000 in Europe and would be competing against the Yaris, Aveo, and Versa here that cost around $14,000. It would be great to get small, cheap diesels here that get up to 80 mpg and can run on three different renewable fuels, but I don't see how an automaker could pull that off in a society where so many people expect small cars to be cheap.

huu76.

You must not get out of the house much, because you tend to over simplify everything.

I'm sure that it is much more complicated that just VW execs. feeling they could push any junk on us as long as it was German made.

The entire German auto industry has gone through a few years of reliability woes, which did not bode well in the U.S. The U.S. industry has gone through this as well but was about five years ahead of the German industry, and the U.S. is still struggling to get past problems from the past.

VW like BMW and Mercedes-Benz are going to have to prove to America that they are making reliable products. So far, MB is still having problems with their latest products like the E-Series. The latest VW products, save the New Beetle which is still an old design, however, have actually moved up to average quality and reliability compared to all other brands, but the perception is still that they are making unreliable products.

My 2006 Jetta TDI scores higher than average reliability and initial quality for its class as J.D. Power has now separated the diesel from the gassers for scoring. The standard, 2.5 Jetta scores right at average against competing, compact class. The previous edition, however, scored well below average, so VW is obviously fixing at least some reliability issues as a matter of survival, but the new products have not been out long enough to absolutely confirm this.

I've had my Jetta for two years, six months. I had a windshield washer hose clamp fall off and the dealer replaced it under warranty after I had the car about ten months. That's the history of my quality woes with the latest VW Jetta.