This guy has the current VW corporation PEGGED!

[bugnut]

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/auto/review/volkswagen_touareg.htm

I couldn't agree more with his comments on VW's attempts at reaching to the "upper crust" with their newer vehicles....

[armchair]

Yes maybe but I will say the Toureg is a real nice truck if you are into SUVs. I personally am not, but at least they went all the way and didn't just make a luxury "soft roader" but a vehical that also has a generous towing capacity and one that truly can do some real off roading.

As for what he said about the air cooled VWs, mine has FM as well as a CD player and my heat works just fine thank you-and t he lever in the middle is not crusty on my car!

I think VW made a very unsuccessful attempt at going upmarket. The Toureg has done well. But the Pheaton was a dismal failure-it made the 411/412 look like a resounging success, its current Passat has gotten middling reviews. And the quality and number of problems owners have had is embarressing. Too bad because they are nice cars. I think VWs biggest problem is not with the cars themselves but VWs service and marketing. When did you ever see a Phaeton ad? Have you visited a VW dealer lately? People spending upper crust numbers are used to getting picked up and dropped off by the dealer, free car washes, etc etc. The dealers I have been to lack product knowledge, do not dress professionally, and should not be peddling $15,000 Hyundai Elantras let alone $40-80,000 cars.

[ErikTheRed]

New VW sucks. Quality issues, car designs that dont sell, shoddy dealerships, overpricing. And to add to all that, they have completely turned their back on their roots and what "The People's Car" is all about. I cant understand why they're trying so hard to ratchet the VW nameplate up the prestige ladder? They own Audi, why dont they use that brand label for their high-end cars? Or Porshe for Pete's sake? Keep VW where it belongs---- around the blue collar. They seem like they're scared to death to produce an affordable, quality car that appeals to Joe-middle-class-worker, kinda like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, GM, Ford, and all the rest have. Not every car from Germany has to be la-tee-da luxury, does it?

[martin]

A co-worker's friend bought the Cayenne after comparing it to the Touareg. It turned out that the Porsche was cheaperl. If they're the same cars, how come the VW is getting the bad rep and not the Porsche?

[Kafertoys]

I don't even see the True quality that aircooled VW's was built with in the new VW's and Ive been at this for 27 yrs. I could build/restore any vintage VW to match  any of the new ones for the cost and would be much more enjoyable to drive. I don't see it, it cost $1700 to turn the check engine light off on a newer cabrio just to get it thru inspection. and I have no problem driving my 67 westy off road I dought like hell anyone in a Touareg will play follow the leader with me. when I have half the cost of a new VW into my my bus I will have the utimate suv.

I don't think I will be driving any thing newer then a 67 anytime soon

Mario

[Glenn]

I thought VW stopped making cars back in 1979 when they discontinued importing the Beetle to the USA.

[James2]

Sorry Glenn, last VW was made in 67.






hehe, J/k

[youngnstudly]

Sorry Glenn, last VW was made in 67.






hehe, J/k

Yeah  I used to think the same thing about 67' down cars (My first and only car being a 63' cal looker that I have owned for 10 years). Then the damn neighbors across the street moved and some (San Francisco native) Hippies took their spot...and brought along the only "valuable memory" along with them from their previous lifestyle-a 68' Karmann Ghia.  The second it pulled into the driveway, I knew I had to ask about it. 2 months later I owned this "jewel" for $300.00 (yeah, it was THAT nice! ) and after spending $373.00 in back registration  plus a year of repairs and refinishing it, I'm 1/2 done. For some reason everyone laughs when I tell them I have "A bigger, fancier set of wheels to cruise now" (disc brakes, heater, 2 speed wipers, paint, windows that roll up/down, MUCH more room in the engine bay for those dual carbs, taller R&P)-Definetly and upgraded "newer" vehicle-Even if it is only a 68'...
Andy

[Keith S]

And to add to all that, they have completely turned their back on their roots and what "The People's Car" is all about.

Not true. In Europe, VW sold the Lupo and Polo, and have just launched the Fox (not to be confused with the old car of the same name), all of which are aimed at the budget end of the market, with a massive option range allowing the customer to decide between 'bottom dollar' and 'Holy Sh*t' (as in the Lupo GTi – 1600cc, sub-compact with 125bhp and 127mph straight from the factory. Mine almost cost me my driver's licence...). VW offers one of the most complete ranges of any manufacturer – it's VW of USA (along with restrictive US 'safety regs') which prevent these cars from entering North America.

[ErikTheRed]

Sorry Glenn, last VW was made in 67.

Thats funny, I was gonna post the same thing after I read Glenn's post!

[martin]

I thought the current marketing that VWoA is doing with the "unpimp my ride" ads was aimed at the average joe punk, rather than the high end of the car market. Good for them.

[elmo]

Yeah, but look at their latest joke, the "New Rabbit". It has been promoted as an inexpensive intro- level car, but try and find one at the supposed bargain price of $15,000. Most of the cars coming in have been $18,000 minimum. I really think VWoA is where the problem is; many people seem to have been brainwashed that the vehicles  VWoG has available wouldn't meet current US emmission  or crash standards. I would like to know how the Scions, Mini's and Aveos do it then???

[jimr]

Boy, don't get me started here. I service import repair shops, and I'd say most of my customers specialize in European cars...especially newer. I'll save the details for a later story, if anybody wants to hear them, but I will tell you, that I, among many individuals that I know and respect, will never buy a VW product. I don't have the patience for problems such as the problems I hear about day in and day out, especially when mailing off a payment on the thing once a month.
I have heard unbelievable stories about dealers refusing warranties on engines with 41K miles that lost rod bearings, burned out turbos, valvetrains running dry, coils failing (dropping respective cylinder), window regulators, ABS control units, timing belts failing, hydraulic followers collapsing, excessive oil consumption at 20K, valves snapping....

No Thank You.

[elmo]

Most of the oil related failures, ie. rod bearings and valve train failures, were due to oil starvation. The oil starvation issues that I have seen, (15- 20), were ALL caused by the pick up screen being TOTALLY plugged up with thick, black, goopy carbonized oil. Every single one of those vehicles had oil change intervals of 10k miles or less, usually closer to 20k. Customers would usually respond " Oh, it is a lease car" or " Gee, no one told me I had to change it more often when I bought the car". Most people just want to make what should be PERSONAL responsibilty anyone elses fault when there is a problem. Now, we had never refused a repair on a customers vehicle or voided a warranty , but when confronted with the true issue of needing to regularly change their oil, many people become down right nasty- go figure. In some cases VW certainly would be justified in denying these free repairs. All the other issues, well those are different stories for different days