How Long Until Volkswagen Moves From Niche Player To Volume Brand In The US?

It will require americans to get smarter and stop supporting dumb car companies. Embrace ecoSmartFuture™ companies like VW that build 240 MPG cars!

I'm curious. What makes companies like Range Rover, Bentley, Aston, Lambo, Ferrari, etc... smart?

"Americans are smart buyers" Maybe this is why this country is in such great shape. LoL! because of all these "smart buyers" buying items they cannot afford. Look at housing, credit cards debt, college tuition debt and so on. Sure, "Americans are smart buyers". Keep dreaming, that is why most in the counry are struggling.

We have a Touareg and we love it but VW will never be a player here in the US, just like LEXUS will never sell as many cars outside the US as they sell here. Just a fact.

They won't be a player if they fail to compete on price. They cannot have half of their offerings for the mass market, and the other half considered premium.

You are absolutely correct.

I would say that at the rate of their apparent sales growth here VW will become a major player in the next 3 to 4 yrs.They have reconfigured their product choices here, they have a US factory in Tennesee and a factory in Puebla, Mexico. Becasue of this they can now build cars and SUV's cheaper than importing them from Europe. They have been carefully studying the American market and the success of Honda, Toyota, Nissan etc.. The American VW passat is one of the results of this study. Midsize car with vertually the largest interior in it's class. They are addressing fuel economy issues with diesel and now hybrid. They are making someowhat boring mainstream cars that mainstream America is attracted to.Next yr they are replacing their 5 cylinder engine with a 1.8 turbo. It's power and torque will fall into a similar area being offered by Ford and will offer much better fuel economy than the 5 cyliner. Additionally it will be quite a bit smoother.They are coming out with a larger American based SUV(larger than the Tiguan)that will be priced between Tiguan and Toureg. They are starting to follow the "Toyota" playbook. I don't know if they will eventually offer pickup trucks but I wouldn't put it past them either. I think they have tapped into this market's pulse. They are moving away from the "Euro" designed product to an "American" designed product.

If VW does not dilute its Teutonic offerings with Americanized econo-cruisers, I think they will provide viable alternatives to the mainstream corporate bland. Otherwise, they will simply compete head-on with the multitude and loose those elements which make them of interest. Certainly, engineering feats such as the GTI and GTD still provide benchmarks by which others are measured. Quirky cars, such as the Beetle, bring interest. But, bleh watered down Jettas may sell a lot of cars, but will not encourage repeat buyers.

VW dealers are one reason why they don't sell more in the U.S. Many are pathetic and that needs to be addressed.

I'd say the service costs aren't helping them either. We had a passat years ago and you couldn't get the regular service done without spending $100+ every time through. Seemed a bit high for a rather normal sedan. Unless that has changed in recent years, I think that would keep the average joe from looking at VW.