[PontiacJ8]

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Automaker Volkswagen AG said Monday it plans to launch a four-seat convertible early in 2006, a move that will continue the company’s effort to give its brand a more upscale appeal.

The as-yet unnamed new model, which was presented as a concept car at the Geneva International Auto Show in March, will sport a retractable metal roof and will be positioned between the Golf and Passat, Volkswagen said in a statement.

It is expected to compete with the Mercedes CLK roadster and BMW’s 3-series, with a price of around 30,000 euros ($35,000).

The new vehicle is based on the Concept C vehicle, which sported sweeping curves delineating the front grille. It will be built at Volkswagen’s plant in Palmela, Portugal, which currently makes the VW Sharan minivan and its twin sister Ford Galaxy as well as the SEAT Alhambra.

Volkswagen has been shifting its core VW brand upmarket, with the launch of the Phaeton luxury sedan and upscale Touareg sports utility vehicle. Sales of its core small-car models, however, have been slipping.

The VW brand posted a first-quarter operating loss of 71 million euros ($84 million) compared with a profit of 188 million euros in the previous year, despite the launch of a new version of its flagship Golf in October.

Full Story HERE

 

[gerardo_zg]

G6 competitor?

 

[awalbert88]

Why in the hell does VW want to move upscale when they already have Audi? Isn't the A4 Cabriolet already somewhat filling this role?

 

[SmallBlock]

Yet another suicidal move by Volkswagen. Piech's grand vision indeed....

I feel sorry for those fools who buoght the VW marketing hook line and sinker. You can tell them by their insistence that VW is competitive and doesn't have any quality issues.

Too bad. VW coulda been a contendah.

 

[jro4566]

While I did like the convertible concept that VW released this year, I'd prefer them not to go upmarket. Who'll be the mainstream for them!?! Skoda??? SEAT???

 

[Maetrix66]

VOLKSWAGEN IS BUILDING THE WRONG CONCEPT!!!!

They need to build the Mid Engine concept R(M??)

That car is one that I might buy, but basically I'm all over any reasonably affordable mid engine car, LOL

 

[jro4566]

Originally posted by Maetrix66@May 11 2004, 10:54 AM
VOLKSWAGEN IS BUILDING THE WRONG CONCEPT!!!!

They need to build the Mid Engine concept R(M??)

That car is one that I might buy, but basically I'm all over any reasonably affordable mid engine car, LOL

I think, like most other companies, they're looking for something more realistic to today's market and what is easier to build.

 

[mgescuro]

Originally posted by awalbert88@May 11 2004, 02:03 AM
Why in the hell does VW want to move upscale when they already have Audi? Isn't the A4 Cabriolet already somewhat filling this role?

:brick::brick::brick:

Don't get people started. We've been down this road waaaay too many times.

What I think will happen to VW is simillar to what happened to Golf in Europe and the US. They are going to launch new versions of their staple cars.... with a lot of cool new features... with the unfortunately higher price point. And the majority of customers are going to balk at the prices of these "mere" VW's.

Hopefully... VW will find the appropriate feature set for their products with appropriate pricing.

That... and the market is well aware of VW Group's lingering quality problems and will probably want to wait a few years and see how these models fare.

A "mid-szed" convertible would not compete with A4 Cabrio. I would assume that it's competition would be more along the lines of CLK Cabrio. And depending on the price point and size... it might actually compete with Solara Convertible. I dunno.

 

[jro4566]

Isn't the A4 convertible a compact? So a midsize would be fine....except that it's not from a premium brand!!! :lol:

 

[j95z]

I happen to work for VW parts in NA and I knew that this Concept C had already been approved for production. I like you guys dont uderstand this cars place in the scheme of VWOA and AoA. VW seems to be competing w/ itself (Concept C& A4 Cabrio, A8&Phateon), we dont understand. I dont believe the world was ready for a 95k VW and I'm sure it wont be ready for a 30k+ Cabrio which might be slightly cheaper then an A4 Cabrio but considering the quality issues they have and they themselves dont belive to be too bad considering that they feel there engineers over engineer there cars and that the fit and finish which they said to us was superior(yeah his mock joke was pull up behind a chevy and see how well there body panels match up compared to ours). I can tell you first hand quality is poor and considering that these models are sooo old you would think they would be able to get it right but they havent so why would anyone want to lay out big dollars to a car company ranked damn near last in quality no matter how good a car looks!