VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now."

1931Chevy · 12-10-2007, 09:01 PM

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has put a bull's-eye on Toyota. He believes the German automaker can outpace the Japanese company in ten years time, if not sooner. He sites German design aesthetics and meticulous engineering as VW's strong points over Toyota.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/10/v...toyota-is-now/

F14CRAZY · 12-10-2007, 10:17 PM

Is he talking worldwide or just in the US? I seriously don't think VW could make either.

FoMoCo Fan · 12-10-2007, 10:43 PM

LOL! Yeah right.

**Branden** · 12-10-2007, 11:16 PM

Please do not post whole articles...only a few sentances, then a link to the original source.

HoosierRon · 12-10-2007, 11:28 PM

20 new cars in the next three years? VW?

VW wants to be where Toyota is in 3 years? I would love to see Bob Lutz's response to that.

I-Love-Pontiac · 12-10-2007, 11:32 PM

2010?

That's funny.

King Riffle · 12-10-2007, 11:52 PM

VW has a pretty huge presence in the rest of the world, it's just NA where they haven't done too well. I can see them getting where Toyota is, though it might take a bit longer than they want.

Best of luck to them.

1931Chevy · 12-10-2007, 11:53 PM

so lets see Winterkorn wants to have more recalls

megeebee · 12-11-2007, 12:16 AM

So VW wants to be building large, ugly trucks that bring protests from environmental groups?

They want to be taken of recommended lists of Consumer publications?

1931Chevy · 12-11-2007, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by megeebee

So VW wants to be building large, ugly trucks that bring protests from environmental groups?

They want to be taken of recommended lists of Consumer publications?

I think you need to be first on the list to then be taken off

zete · 12-11-2007, 12:39 AM

Come on. VW already has the 2007 Toyota quality notions down to a science. They can now focus on bland design, sea of grey interiors, and soft-cushy ride. All they're missing is a pickup with wonky transmission, wonkier engine, and a tailgate that can barely hold a child and they're golden!

If they mean sales, I highly doubt it. VW is still synonymous with poor quality. I have one VW diehard friend left, and he just ordered an Acura. He'd rather buy a VW but doesn't want to go through the quality concerns VW's made him endure any longer.

What is VW's loyalty rate? Is it even close to Toyota and GM? If not, they haven't a prayer. GM and Toyota are in the 65% range, and that's impressive.

zete · 12-11-2007, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1931Chevy

I think you need to be first on the list to then be taken off

Burn!

377Z · 12-11-2007, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1931Chevy

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has put a bull's-eye on Toyota. He believes the German automaker can outpace the Japanese company in ten years time, if not sooner. He sites German design aesthetics and meticulous engineering as VW's strong points over Toyota.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/10/v...toyota-is-now/

Meticulous engineering? Who the F is he kidding?

Martin: For any glimmer of hope of even moving forward you'll need to address the reliability issues, address the customer service issues, parts distribution issues, and pricing.

But, I guess we all can dream.

Bravada · 12-13-2007, 07:12 PM

Again, USA is not the world. You can actually become the world's largest automaker now without selling a single car in the US. And VW still is big in the US.

That said, VAG still has a lot of issues to address and I am not sure whether Winterkorn is the man to address them. They do have great engineering, but it results in the Golf featuring some of the most complex and marvellous engineering solutions and still failing to astonish the average Joe while costing a bomb to build.

The problem is that in Germany they seem not to teach engineers (Winterkorn himself being a metallurgist!) that great engineering can also mean ingenuity through simplicity. This is why all the German cars are so expensive to build and are not reliable anymore - it is much harder to make something complex reliable than a simple thing. Toyota's "great engineering" consists in simplifying and unifying everything (they would hardly win any German engineers' awards with their forever-recycled and unified designs), and that's the "great engineering" that wins today!

Htay7500 · 12-14-2007, 08:50 AM

I'd laugh if they count the US as some of their markets.

12-10-2007, 10:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
FoMoCo Fan 6.0 Liter LS2 V8 Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,985	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." LOL! Yeah right.

12-10-2007, 11:16 PM	#4 (permalink)
Branden Administrator Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 1,460	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." Please do not post whole articles...only a few sentances, then a link to the original source. __________________ 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP Comp G 14.9 @93mph 2004 Trailblazer LT

12-10-2007, 11:28 PM	#5 (permalink)
HoosierRon Banned Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 6,666	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." 20 new cars in the next three years? VW? VW wants to be where Toyota is in 3 years? I would love to see Bob Lutz's response to that. Last edited by HoosierRon : 12-10-2007 at 11:39 PM.

12-10-2007, 11:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
I-Love-Pontiac 6.2 Liter Vortec V8 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: NY Posts: 2,737	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." 2010? That's funny. __________________

12-10-2007, 11:52 PM	#7 (permalink)
King Riffle 5.3 Liter LS4 V8 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Fond Du Lac, WI Drives: 2004 Ford Taurus SES sedan. Posts: 3,187	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." VW has a pretty huge presence in the rest of the world, it's just NA where they haven't done too well. I can see them getting where Toyota is, though it might take a bit longer than they want. Best of luck to them. __________________ Last edited by King Riffle : 12-11-2007 at 01:47 AM.

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12-11-2007, 12:16 AM	#9 (permalink)
megeebee 5.3 Liter LS4 V8 Join Date: Feb 2005 Drives: 2005 STS 3.6 Posts: 3,472	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." So VW wants to be building large, ugly trucks that bring protests from environmental groups? They want to be taken of recommended lists of Consumer publications? __________________ Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

12-11-2007, 12:39 AM	#11 (permalink)
zete 5.3 Liter LS4 V8 Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: NCR, Great White North Posts: 3,492	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." Come on. VW already has the 2007 Toyota quality notions down to a science. They can now focus on bland design, sea of grey interiors, and soft-cushy ride. All they're missing is a pickup with wonky transmission, wonkier engine, and a tailgate that can barely hold a child and they're golden! If they mean sales, I highly doubt it. VW is still synonymous with poor quality. I have one VW diehard friend left, and he just ordered an Acura. He'd rather buy a VW but doesn't want to go through the quality concerns VW's made him endure any longer. What is VW's loyalty rate? Is it even close to Toyota and GM? If not, they haven't a prayer. GM and Toyota are in the 65% range, and that's impressive.

12-13-2007, 07:12 PM	#14 (permalink)
Bravada 70 MPG Two Mode Saturn Hybrid Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 10,732	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." Again, USA is not the world. You can actually become the world's largest automaker now without selling a single car in the US. And VW still is big in the US. That said, VAG still has a lot of issues to address and I am not sure whether Winterkorn is the man to address them. They do have great engineering, but it results in the Golf featuring some of the most complex and marvellous engineering solutions and still failing to astonish the average Joe while costing a bomb to build. The problem is that in Germany they seem not to teach engineers (Winterkorn himself being a metallurgist!) that great engineering can also mean ingenuity through simplicity. This is why all the German cars are so expensive to build and are not reliable anymore - it is much harder to make something complex reliable than a simple thing. Toyota's "great engineering" consists in simplifying and unifying everything (they would hardly win any German engineers' awards with their forever-recycled and unified designs), and that's the "great engineering" that wins today!

12-14-2007, 08:50 AM	#15 (permalink)
Htay7500 3.8 Liter Supercharged V6 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bethesda, MD Posts: 527	Re: VW's Winterkorn: "We want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now." I'd laugh if they count the US as some of their markets.

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