4 Reasons Americans Aren't Buying Volkswagens Anymore

[Dequindre]

As Volkswagen Group, now the second-largest automaker in the world, continues to experience worldwide growth, it is troubling that its most prominent mass-market brand is having a hard time in one of its most important markets.

1. High Transaction Costs

2. Lack of a Competitive Compact Crossover

3. A History of Questionable Reliability

4. A Crowded Marketplace

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-a...swagens-2014-7

Add extremely conservative design to the list, and it will be about perfect.

[sfbreh]

#5 because they generally suck (see #3)

[BlackGTP]

I do agree with the styling, they look like they were built to be rental cars, take the VW badge off and they have zero personality. They used to have a niche with affordable German handling, now they are discarding it for volume. Visions of grandeur are getting VW nowhere in the crowded US market. So that leaves them with no personality, crappy quality, no German-ness...

[Dequindre]

I do agree with the styling, they look like they were built to be rental cars, take the VW badge off and they have zero personality. They used to have a niche with affordable German handling, now they are discarding it for volume. Visions of grandeur are getting VW nowhere in the crowded US market. So that leaves them with no personality, crappy quality, no German-ness...

They tried to be Toyota, but I guess VW underestimated its reputation of unreliable vehicles.

[CJH]

So that leaves them with no personality, crappy quality, no German-ness...

They lost their Fahrvergnügen!!!

[ryannel2003]

VW's used to be very good looking cars that felt more premium than the average Civic, Camry or Accord when competing in the same class. Now the cars are quite bland inside and out and reliability still isn't where it needs to be. Why would the average buyer own a VW when a Honda or Toyota is cheaper to buy outright and will be much cheaper to maintain down the line?

About 10 years ago, VW had it right by making more premium cars like the Jetta and B6 Passat. They've cheapened both of those cars considerably. In the meantime, they lack a truly competitive CUV and confuse the marketplace with more expensive cars like CC and Touareg. Does anybody remember the Routan? Yuck.

[big swede]

This article blew it. The simple answer is no USB.

[Mentat Bashar]

Fahrvergnügen - Kaput!

Turbonium - Verboten!

Glockenspiel - Nein!

Schnitzengruben - Vorsicht!

Passat - Langweilig!

[vcs2600]

Summary:

VW had a very strong reputation as an upmarket brand, albeit with questionable reliability. They threw away the good part of their image to build dull mass-market crap. But the bad part of their image still haunts them.

Therefore they are now nothing.

Or, at best, a bad German impersonation of Honda which is worse than nothing.

[NHRATA01]

10-12 years ago every 20-something around here got a Jetta as their first new car purchase. While some had their troubles (1.8T coil packs, power window regulators) they were a step up from the average Civic at the time so that a new young professional could feel mildly successful. And it seemed like every hot girl had one. Anyway as mentioned their move to blandness and cheapness without the reliability has distinguished them in no way from the rest of the market.

[Amphibian]

I agree with a number of the comments including the original article's reasons.

Beetle - Fine as is.

Jetta - Future redesign needs to return to more upscale atmosphere and detailed aesthetic, one that has largely be done with the latest domestic compact sedans/hatches. Also needs an assortment of good engines and basically just go back to being a complete Golf sedan/wagon.

Golf - Fine as is.

Passat - Should merge with the new European version, but continue being built in the US for cost reduction.

CC - Redesigned whenenver it is schedule, but a convertible and even coupe version could replace the Eos.

Eos - See CC.

Tiguan - Needs the 2.0T to be replaced by a base 1.8T with a $1500 price reduction (could include standard feature reduction if it remains competitive), and a higher output 2.0T as the flagship engine. Maybe offer the TDI eventually.

Touareg - VW needs an SUV this size for about $29-40K. This presents a problem.

[Ed753]

I think most of it boils down to their N.A. product offering, but one car that has always interested me since its debut is the CC, well a coincidence would have it, a new co-worker owns one, I've road in it a few times, its got a lot of interior road noise and then engine 2.0L Turbo, sounds rather sick when pressed.

Comparing the car to my wife's Fusion Titanium, similarly sized sedan, also with a 2.0L the CC's got nothing outside of about a $100/month higher lease payment.

[Neanderthal]

They lost their Fahrvergnügen!!!

Thank you for saving me the keystrokes of saying that myself.

[big swede]

The new Golf is getting excellent reviews and I would consider one for a daily driver. The only thing that holds me back is what holds everyone back and that's the worry of poor reliability. At this point it could be more about perception than reality but perception takes a long time to change.

Almost all of their current inventory is extremely bland. People who go for bland also go for at least the perception of reliability.

The Golf must be pretty reliable by now or they wouldn't sell over half of million of them worldwide.

[JBsZ06]

Low to mid range sedans and hatchbacks with spotty reliability says it all.