VW may axe Taos and Jetta under restructure
- Thread starter wemay
- Start date
The Jetta (Bora) sedans better suit Chinese, and U.S. tastes, but aren't so hot at home, where more flexible styles like hatchbacks (Golf) are preferred.
VW could afford to ignore, or fumble the U.S. market when the Chinese market was strong, but when the two largest markets in the world don't like what you offer…it would be just like VW to shoot itself in the foot and kill the Jetta, where it does pretty decently for them here…and in China.
Betting the farm on making the Boxster/Cayman an EV with no backup plan was also stupid, and after delays, it still hasn't made it to market.
That said, this speculation is based on a Bild story, interpreted by the Motor1 slop empire, and a writer who should be better known for volume, not accuracy.
Georg Kacher, he's not.
JLR's attempt to retreat upmarket is also going to lead to their demise. Outside of Anglophiles, there were already questionable in that respect, and now, they're even more of an afterthought, if a thought at all.
VW could afford to ignore, or fumble the U.S. market when the Chinese market was strong, but when the two largest markets in the world don't like what you offer…it would be just like VW to shoot itself in the foot and kill the Jetta, where it does pretty decently for them here…and in China.
Betting the farm on making the Boxster/Cayman an EV with no backup plan was also stupid, and after delays, it still hasn't made it to market.
That said, this speculation is based on a Bild story, interpreted by the Motor1 slop empire, and a writer who should be better known for volume, not accuracy.
Georg Kacher, he's not.
JLR's attempt to retreat upmarket is also going to lead to their demise. Outside of Anglophiles, there were already questionable in that respect, and now, they're even more of an afterthought, if a thought at all.
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I didn’t hate the Jetta rental. Not that I liked it but I was too busy missing my Tesla so maybe I was a bit jaded. Fuel economy seemed OK for what it is. Sound system was trash though.
BUT opening the hood did not inspire confidence. I checked the oil because the engine sounded noisy. It was full… albeit very nasty. 10k OCIs on a tiny turbo engine using 0w-20? Oof.
The most noticeable thing was oodles of what looked to be very thin flimsy plastic coolant lines all over the place. It just takes one of those to crack and an inattentive driver to cook the engine.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
I was doing allot of connections in FRA or MUC all the way back to terrible people management during Covid. Sad to say that even LHR is a better connection right now …
Don’t care for IST but Turkish Airlines is ok …
There is a difference between never entering a market segment vs abandoning one. Tesla has thus far been a luxury brand vs the maker of the air cooled Beetle.
Explain more about your point with the Atlas - in other words they downgraded it to favor Audi? But how does that make sense when the Atlas is like a Pilot and Audi sells the Q7 at a much higher price point?
I get why they no longer sell the Passat wagon - i don't like it but I get it.
Thanks.
PS - the only country in Europe that has German efficiency anymore is Switzerland. It's a shame.
You are not troubled at all by the fact that two administrations who agree on almost nothing and speak about each other with other disdain agreed that Chinese EVs are a no-go in the US market for national security reasons? I am not trying to make this political but rather pointing out that when I read something like that, it catches my attention as something where there actually may be some substance or an actual problem.
I want to better understand the arguments why that position is wrong. Not disrepectfully, but in a frank exchange / debate.
Thank you.
You didn’t ask me, however I watched from a front row seat for 30 years while the entirety of countless industries like electronics and machine tools were shipped overseas with nary a concern.
Now somehow it’s security? More likely a very specific voting block which as you already mentioned we may not discuss.
VW abandoned the enthusiast crowd that was responsible for the explosive growth of the brand in this country long ago.
And the day looms on the horizon when China will be allowed to step in and fill a sales gap with their super cheap govt subsidized cars. When they do, they will win, in more ways than one. Just like Mao wanted.
JHZR2
Staff member
Cars get much better fuel economy if done right.
Climate aside, as that becomes political, some don’t want to spend a penny more for fuel than needed.
Removing options hurts the consumer.
Especially when these “suvs” aren’t even real, they’re just cars with horrrid aerodynamics.
I understand your point and cynicism, it's fair. I think, however, that we have finally woken up to the point that Ross Perot made years ago when he talked about that "giant sucking sound." It could be it is just a farce, and another concern about trade, but it could also be a legitimate point. If it isn't national security, and is trade rooted, as you suggest, why lie about it when most of the public now seems to accept that free trade is only really free when you are trading with peer countries with similar legal and civic values?
I try to always be open to well-reasoned counterarguments as a way to learn.
Very true about the SUVs with horrid aero.
My wife has a Subaru wagon. It suits her very well. It's 3-4 years old now. It's a car, but its jacked up a few inches and has lots of cladding to make it look "tough" I guess. I don't love it, but the ground clearance is helpful on the farm from time to time and to make sure she doesn't sheer off the bottoms of the bumpers, etc. (Married guys should appreciate this).
The new Outback came out, we get the mailings. It's a car but with a bloated, square body with even more cladding, but the same boxer 4. It looks like a 4Runner mated with an Outback and it was a baby only a mother could love. Not that her Outback will win any good looks contests but it's functional and not horrid, and the inside is nice. The new thing is when you take a basically sound engineering design (AWD, independent suspension, fuel efficient engine, good safety, etc.) and marry it to a body dreamed up by consultants. They would be better off staying with the older design. The fact that we are getting emails that we can trade hers and finance a new one for 0 percent for 72 months is telling.
Makes the fact that we don't get the Passat wagon harder to take. I would consider an A4 but they are too small for family use. An A6 is nice, but it is a little flashy and I am at the age where I buy cars cash and paying $80k-$90k up front for something that will depreciate like a brick seems idiotic.
Honestly, this is why I made a truck my daily driver. I take the train to work so it's not horribly inefficient and the new pick-ups, whatever their faults, are much nicer than the ones I grew up with. Cars seem to have regressed to some degree, not in all respects obviously, but certainly in terms of looks and driving dynamics. Small stuff in the big scheme.
Darn it. I want that car too!! Looking for a (new?) sports wagon I can afford. So sad there appera to be NO options in the US market. Tragic!
edyvw
$50 site donor 2026
As I mentioned in another thread-they will be in Canada-and they are already in Mexico and in the U.S. in border towns when they drive over for shopping. Photos have already been taken of this. I'm not going to debate this-as you really can't without getting in to politics. If you believe Ford and GM are going to make sedans that are worth buying-sub $25,000.00 you are kidding your self. BTW-we are talking ICE motors as well as EV's-made by the Chinese.
edyvw
$50 site donor 2026
In the 90’s VW introduced Passat B5. It was remarkable success in Europe, so much so that VW had to raise prices several times times just so they can produce enough vehicles. B5 shared platform with Audi. Longitudinal engine, Torsen in AWD models. While cheaper inside, it was still good enough with excellent ergonomics to seriously hurt Audi.
When VW introduced B6 Passat, they went horizontal engine, Haldex etc. Reason was that they didn’t want to hurt Audi. And that thinking stayed that way since then.
VW had on the shelfs for Atlas much better engines than old 3.6 VR6. They could go 3.0T VR6 that they offered in China. Here initially, until 2021 and first redesign they offered 2.0T only with FWD, while China and Russia got 2.0T with AWD too.
Then inside, ergonomically it was possibly best SUV in that category. But they purposely went hard plastic etc. That could be overlooked bcs. targeted audience, and it was assembled good. But mechanically, they purposely went with minimalistic approach fearing it would chip away customers from Q5 and Q7.
VW de-contenting/using lower equipment levels on some vehicles to prevent cannibalizing sales from Audi is still a mystery to me. I don't doubt they do it, but the powers that be are seriously out of touch with the buying public. Local VW dealer also owns the sister Audi dealership right across the parking lot. They even share space in the same lots for new vehicle overflow storage where lots of potential customers walk and look. All of this and none of the sales folks say there is any cross-shopping between similar offerings of both makers, ie; Atlas/Q5, Tiguan/Q3, Jetta/A3 etc. Seems that people who want an Audi, buy an Audi, and those that want a VW, buy a VW. At least around here.
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I have cross shopped a VW Atlas Cross Sport and an Audi Q5. For space alone the VW wins. Price (new) is about the same when the VW has the options added.
