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What looks like a Chrysler, smells like a Chrysler, and has Plastech plastics like a Chrysler? It's the VW Routan minivan, a sad rebadge job that would make the boys at The Buslab, a Berkeley California VW bus specialist, cringe into their bean bag chairs. It looks like a giant bloated Chrysler minivan in person, and what's worse is that VW's hallmark high quality interiors go out the window in favor of a hallmark Chrysler interior. They've added buckets of chrome and it doesn't do any good whatsoever. The engine and transmission are also from Chrysler, so don't go expecting VW's 3.6 liter V6 or anything. I don't have much left to say except that it's an abomination.
38 Comments on “VW Shows Rotten Rebadged Routan...”
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The headlights remind me of the Sebring headlights to top it all off.
Yuck!
Sooooooooooooo sad. Especially after their spectacular concept a few years back. What the hell is wrong with these people? Why would you pick Chrysler of all brands???
This is how VeeDub wants to turn its dismal US performance around?
Looks like we got ourselves a bad case of “big company disease.”
Paging Dr Watanabe…
This is probably the worst case of badge engineering I have ever seen. Makes the Mitsubishi Precis look good. VW is taking its reputation for quality interiors and ‘German Feel’ and trampling on it like the darling children will on the back seats of this bastard VW.
Yuck.
And the irony is every time I see the Dodge or Chrysler version with its angular looks, it makes me think this should have been the bridge between the gen 2 and gen 3 versions (i.e. 1995 to ’96)! Yeah, it’s time, long past time, to retire those headlights with the big “scallop.”
Precis, wow I had to clank the gears in my brain to remember that one!
Hideous. Volkswagen is as doomed as the 2.8. Their huge plans (as seen in the lastest issue of Automotive News) to manufacturer specific US cars in the US is going to end up being watered down to the point where they simply slap badges on whatever’s cheap and available from someone else’s engineering book, as a guess.
Combine Volkswagen’s reputation for craptastic reliability which has driven tens of thousands of potential buyers into the hands of Toyondai, and you have a receipe for a huge waste of money.
If you own Porsche stock, sell now.
Being somewhat of a closet VW fan, this is completely and utterly disappointing. For the issues that my 1999 Golf may have had (and almost to the day the 2 year warranty expired, so did a good bit of the electronics in it), I at least could sit and admire the great interior and overall driving enjoyment I got out of it. I’ve sat in a new Chrysler minivan, and OMG…I could stick a 2 x 4 through some of the panel gaps. I could almost forgive them if they had at least stuck their own interiors into these pigs, but they couldn’t even do that. While the folks over at VW may have been trying to save some euroes, they’ll suffer the consequences for getting in bed with the three-headed dog…
How the mighty have fallen.
On the bright side it may be more reliable than if VW had built it.
As the owner of an almost 20 year old Westfalia (89 Vanagon), this makes me ill. I’m done with VW if this is the type of crap they are offering.
“Why would you pick Chrysler of all brands???”
And why when VW already has a bunch of minivans that they build for the rest of the world???
VW of NA has been smoking crack for about 20 years now. It has resulted in brain damage…
I’ll take a brand new 2003 Eurovan Weekender turbo diesel at a reasonable price, please. Ought to be a little cheaper since the design and tooling is paid for – right???
The used gas versions with 50K miles are still fetching $25K+. I don’t understand… Well, I do – there is a small but rabid demand for these vans. VW is really missing out by not bringing in limited quanities of them. Maybe that is what is haunting the big car companies – the apparent inability to sell small batches of vehicles – always smaller than demand. 10K of these vans a year.
American style minivan = large and bloated and average interior room. A passenger vehicle.
VW Eurovan = large and lean and TONS of interior space. A van for all occasions. For me – an EASY choice. EV all the way, baby!
A Eurovan is the ultimate sport-utility-vehicle. In the rest of the world it could be gotten with 4WD and they will haul an amazing amount of stuff including full 4×8 sheets of building materials (not that I would do that with a $25K+ vehicle interior). Bicycles. Camping gear. Animals. Children. Boxes.
Volkswagen: reintroduce the Eurovan, drop the prices to white van prices and then put a decent interior in it (which it had before). Why were these things so damn expensive? Build ’em in Mexico or Alabama or something to get the price down to something a working man can afford!
Guess I’ll keep our ’78 VW Van with the Corvair implant… Cheap, reliable and fun.
Who? Whose Idea was this?
What? What the fuck were they thinking?
Where? Where are they going to apply the badges?
When? When will they admit that this is stupid idea?
Why? Why on earth does VW wish to do EVEN more damage to its brand (atleast in the USA)?
How? How do folks that come up with crap like this keep their jobs?
I can’t wait to see the Porsche version.
guyincognito : I’m waiting for the Lamborghini version: the Marzal LP250.
I dont have a problem with it I guess. Its a Chrysler, end of story VW.
I can’t wait to see the Porsche version.
HA! I knew someone would go for it! With this absolutely pathetic attempt to get into the NA Minivan market, I’m sure VW will go for the R/T version and badge it a Porsche, then grab some bits from the Town&Country, slap on the biggest grill imaginable and call it an Audi.
We’ve seen some bad badging going on with the Lamdas, but this is the worst in recent history for any company.
I never would have though 15 yrs ago that VW would rebadge (and uglify) a Dodge Caravan and put it on their lot.
Gott in Himmel! Das ist NICHT ein Volkswagen! Der ist ein pathetischer LKW von Detriot!
How can the same people who build the GTI build this . . . thing. For the love of heaven, VW, at least put a VR6 in it!
Finally, something for those of us looking for a minivan with a Chrysler interior and build quality that we can take to a VW dealer for service.
I think the only car companies that aren’t completely confused at this point are Honda and Toyota.
Does anyone else but me think that this should have been Chrysler’s Town & Country, but that Daimler made more money licensing it out to VW, and just re-trimming the Caravan for the T&C?
In Europe we have VW Vans that are the very definition of what a “Van” is and can seat 9 people in comfort, have good gas mileage and tons of interior space and very nice interiors and compact exteriors. I think they tried to sell some modified and americanized version of it as “Eurovan” here. It obviously did not work.
There are several issues in trying to sell an European car in the States. Diesel engines can not be sold here because they “stink” and “particulate emission” problems (another word for protectionism). Manual gearshift cannot be sold here because with the exception of a few piston heads the majority of US drivers do not know how or do not want to drive manual. This also means the engine in the American version has to be a lot bigger to compensate for the perceived need of acceleration with the automatic gearshift. These three things combined mean that the US version of any European car will have dismal gas mileage and reliability problems (because it needs a new engine, a new transmission and possibly everything related to these 2 re-developed for America). And then … there is the design. What is seen as beautiful in a car in the US and Europe is different. Just think about Chris Bangle (BMW trying to be more beautiful for Americans), about the “pimping my vee-dub” commercials (VW trying to understand what sells a car in the US), etc. The epitome of that is the cup holder: which sensible European person would eat or drink regularly in their car ? Yet who heard of a car WITHOUT (gasp) a cup holder in the US ? And the cup holder is just the beginning …
So, basically, I think this re-badging is just VW’s frustration with America: they just do not understand what exactly would sell here. In their final desperation they might have said: “let’s just sell something that has already been sold and worked. After all if this is what Americans think a van is, than that is what we should try to sell them” (and obviously not the Sharan or the Caravelle). As I said, I am just speculating …
Andras, have you ever been in the U.S.?
Some obvious errors in your post:
1. Given the amount of foreign cars here, compared to any other developed nation, we obviously have no protectionism here. We also make and sense many diesel engines. So you’re obviously mistaken on those points.
2. Many people, perhaps most men, drive and buy manual/stick here. As the most developed and prosperous nation, many also prefer automatics. But many foreign (and domestic) manuals sell here, and sell well.
3. It’s sad that Europeans aren’t capable of driving and drinking coffee at the same time. Not sure how that’s especially relevant, though. For what it’s worth, many Americans do appreciate European styling, even if it is often boxy and ugly.
There’s no reason VW and other companies can’t make a van that’s well-designed, reasonably powered, and appealing to the American market. Hell, just look at the historical minibus. Design a retro one like the beetle, put in a hybrid engine for fuel economy, and it would be fine. They just lack imagination. Or maybe balls.
In VW’s defense, these photos seem to be taken from the worst angles, with a too-bright flash. Photography of automobiles is an “art”…
These photos don’t make it look so horrible: http://minivans.about.com/od/autoshows/ig/2009-VW-Routan-Minivan/
It’s still bad, but not quite so awful. It looks like VW actually changed some sheetmetal and made the interior palatable.
Thanks, picard234, for the link to that nice photo gallery. I think the Routan looks fine for a minivan. Of course, photos can’t provide a tactile impression.
Why did VW go to Chrysler for a minivan? My guess is the answer is the same given back during the CB radio craze when I heard a lady ask a trucker why there were so many International semi’s on the road. The trucker’s laconic response: “They be cheaper.”
Let’s see.
It looks way better than the offerings from Dodge and Chrysler. (When is someone gonna fire Trevor Creed? And hire some designers and stylists from VW?)
After looking at reliability rankings for VW this will be an improvement for them. Plus you can have repair or maintenence done at any VW or Chrysler dealership. So now you don’t have to drive 30 miles to find a VW dealer.
This is what the T&C should have looked like.
Just when I was about to make the point…
It does look a lot better than the Chrysler offerings and they tried to upgrade the nasty plastechs standard issue interior as well, which resulted in a hybrid meh/omg no interior…
The passat like top of the interior looks ok but the center stack still is still nasty, as are the panel gaps of that right airbag from 1996 and the way they installed that Nav unit.
Still, if you are going to buy one of these Chrysler based vans (Voyager/T&C/Routan) you might as well buy the VW…
Didn’t VW try and sell the Eurovan/Vanagon wtf ever they called it for years here in the US? I remember going to the metro auto show back in the late 80s or early 90s and seeing the camper version with the convertible/camper roof.
I never saw one on the road. This while Chrysler’s minivans outsold it probably 20 to 1.
Comon folks, if there are two things Chrysler does right, it’s minivans and heavy duty pickups. I think it looks sharp and VW has bigger problems like how they are going to remain in this market with the strong euro/weak dollar.
I already have to put up with Jap car owners giving me crap about my “unreliable” German cars. I always speak highly of the fit and finish and the driving expereince. It looks like VW just made my argument a lot harder. A POS Chrysler?
I would think anyone needing a minivan is going to shop Honda or Toyota. Those buying the Chryslers are ignorant brand loyalists or simply looking for a cheap price. None of those will hold true for the VW version.
Ok so VW uses the platform but puts a VR6 and VW quality interior in it, that makes me sick enough but Chrysler engines and interiors, I am about to vomit.
I bought my Passat Variant b/c it was a 15k cheaper A6 Avant, it looks like VW has swung the other direction on this one.
“Hey bob check out my new van, I paid 6k more for the same POS….”
One last question, do VW buyers get Chryslers Lifetime powertrain warranty?…no…oh, sucks for them.
IronEagle said “Didn’t VW try and sell the Eurovan/Vanagon wtf ever they called it for years here in the US? I remember going to the metro auto show back in the late 80s or early 90s and seeing the camper version with the convertible/camper roof.”
They sold the Eurovan here from 1993 until 2004 or so. I think they skipped a year there somewhere. It was a great van. I have friends with a 200K mile example with no major systems failure (yes it leaks some fluid now but it has also had a great deal of neglect along the way).
The biggest problem was the cost. It was a VERY expensive vehicle compare to the mid-sized vans (which it was larger than) and still more expensive than a full sized van (Eurovan was smaller).
May have had something to do from tariffs against European trucks and vans left over from the 1960s. I think I heard it called the “Chicken Tariff”.
It is very easy to detect the VW of America death rattle. Remember the ponderous days of VoA per the 80’s and early 90’s when VW ran their car business like a cheap moonlighting job at a decrepit bowling alley in the mid-West? Remember the crappy 3rd world 1988 VW Fox or the mediocre Jetta Karat with those horrible mighty mouse motorized seat belts and electrical gremlins (don’t get me started about the digifant)
How about those late 80’s Sciroccos that had paint jobs defect after paint defect!! They were so bad that I used to place bets on how long it would take for my college roomates\'(back in 1987 brand new red Scirocco) girlfriend’s clear coat would disintegrate causing premature paint fade!
I am afraid those days have returned to VW:
1. Spotty dealer network that employs incompetent techs, juvenile delinquent customer service reps.
2. More vehicle recalls (i.e.: 2006 VW Passat 2.0t) than Ford saw during the bad old days of the 1970’s. Have you test-driven a VW Passat 2.0t lately? It handles as well as my mother’s 20 year old 1988 Ford Taurus SHO. Thats a 20 year old car with a 20 year old suspension folks.
3. Lest we soon forget about those 3rd world VW Foxs of yore? Remember the crummy and unreliable Wasserboxer in the Wedge?
4. AND FINALLY, THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN- the rebadging of a Chrysler mini-van because the bean counters at VW are too cheap and greedy to build their original brilliant micro-bus concept! Someone in VW corporate is smoking the wacky tobacky. I think VW corporate have their heads way up their asses.
I predict that VWoA will close it’s doors for good and pull out of America by 2013. Mark my words. Especially if the Chinese begin exporting their vehicles to North Amerca. Say goodbye to the VW market in the good old U.S. of A. Wait a second, VW, I have a brilliant plan for you! You can begin selling Chinese mini-vans by rebadging them as VW’s!!!
Can you imagine how insulting if China builds a more reliable and attractive vehicle than VW on their first attempt? I hear a Chinese motor company is slotted to launch a line of vehicles for North America by 2010!
Splittie: I have to disagree with you.
I think there are more to the points than you mention. It’s all relative to alot of other stuff. I’ll try to address some of it.
VW did have really basic cars once upon a time. They were trying to make a buck (or deutchmark) selling “people’s cars”. Read that as narrow margins. Slow, noisy, spartan, but generally durable (Beetle, bus, Karmann Ghia). Their Achilles Heal was rust and a design that needed an hour’s worth of attention every 3000 miles (adjust the valves, adjust the brakes, adjust the carb, oil every hinge or pivot, grease the suspension, tighten the fan belt, replace missing hardware or rubber seals, etc etc). I drove an aircooled Beetle for 4 years daily. I know the routine well. Meanwhile American cars still needed some of this attention but where trying to require less attention. The VW maintenance wasn’t hard but I got my hands dirty.
Remember that there were alot of basic cars in the 70s and 80s before we 1st world consumers decided that quality=luxury=necessity.
There were cars without a/c, with painted steel interiors, cheap door panels, and with few “extras” like sound deadening. Datsuns, Toyotas, Chevettes, AMCs, etc etc. VW competed well in this market well.
What made them shine were cars that generally went many, many miles in their lifetime. There is a well maintained VW Rabbit diesel from about 1983 running around town with 200K+ on it. The onwer told me his previous 80s VW diesel Rabbit lasted 400K+ miles. He drives less than 20 miles round trip to work so that represents about 40,000 trips wearing the interior, hinges, engine warmup cycles, etc. I’m sure he went other places but you see my point.
My ’78 VW van has nearly 200K miles on it. Yes it has had 3 engine rebuilds (original transmission) but consider that it is aircooled and came with 67HP to push four thousand pounds down the road and over the mountains.
Yes, VW had some issues. Power window regulators in the 90’s, paint problems, and overly complex and leaky wasserboxer engine in the 80’s watercooled Vanagons. It seems to me looking at my current ’97 Cabrio that anywhere they tried to oversimplify to save money they went too far and removed durability. However overall the car is quite good.
Problems: Nylon waternecks split, window regulators are weak on the early MKIIIs (not mine), door panels weren’t made with enough material wrapped over the top edge so they “peel”, and that is it.
The rest of the little problems I have had were caused my an ignorant previous owner not giving the TLC when it was needed so that a small problem balloned into a larger problem. Take for example an axle that was replaced but the seals at the transmission that were not. The seal failed on me, washed the grease out of the CV joint and ruined a replacement axle with 10K miles on it.
The wasserboxer is an engine with very specific coolant requirements. Once the factory type coolant was mixed with generic store bought coolant the coolant became a problem that caused corrosion between the heads, cylinders and head gaskets. The Vanagon forum explained that if the engine was maintained EXACTLY as the factory engineers required it to be (right coolant, no overheating) then they would last. I think the head gaskets still had a short life (under 100K) but as long as they were replaced before they blew the engine would keep going and going. Then there was the miles of rubber hoses required to keep the flat four engine cool. They had to be replaced every decade or so. Not doing so would risk a leak and overheating (prob often treated with a gulp of the wrong coolant from the local parts store). Yeah, a maintenance challenge not for the ignorant shade tree mechanic or sloppy owner.
I also try to take into consideration who buys a certain kind of car. It’s going to affect whether the car recieves enough TLC, whether it’s driven hard, whether the owner is going to notice little things before they become larger things. Think I’m full of stuff? Consider sport bikes. Ridden hard and resold cheap. How about base models of cheap cars? Are those people typically known to treat their cars like the Porsche crowd? No. Use it up, throw it away and go get another car payment. Lots of folks driving VWs b/c they like the style but know NOTHING of how to care for it. Turn the key and go. When it breaks take it to the dealer.
Now the dealer is another weakness of VW (any car manufacturer). I have not generally had good luck with VW dealers. The dealer tried to sell me a crankshaft clip for $65. The aftermarket equivlanet was $5. Another dealer tried to sell me pushrod seals for $70 when the aftermarket equivalent was $16. Both dealers were rude. Both made me want to buy a new VW like I wanted to jump into the Hawaiian lava flows barefoot.
That said I am placing an order for parts from 1stVWParts this morning and their OEM prices are CHEAPER than the local FLAPS selling unknown quality aftermarket parts so not all dealers are bad.
I know how good the OEM parts are b/c they have lasted 150K miles and 10 years. The FLAPS parking brake cables I ordered didn’t fit – the steel sleeves didn’t fit the car floor or the brake backing plates. Easy choice don’t you think? Wish I had just ordered the parts there first instead of wasting several days with the FLAPS guys again (this has happened before – several times).
Do I think the curent run of VWs are durable? Yes, but it depends on the owner, the honesty and ability of their dealer or independent mechanics they use. My self-maintained cars have been very good.
I have owned four VWs now. Two aircooled and two watercooled.
In other parts of the world these cars were preferred for their basic design (70s and 80s). People judged the cars on a different set of expectations than Americans. Italians I knew liked them because they were durable and easy to fix when they broke. They were more robust than some of the competition (like Fiats which had great engines but sometimes fragile suspensions and transmissions).
VW held on to the idea of basic transport for a long time. They were still trying to be the people’s car. We know that there are narrow profit margins on cheap cars to begin with.
VW was trying to sell cars cheap that were made in Europe where overhead was high. Then they moved some of the USA production to Mexico. Everybody has had their share of production startup problems there – VW, GM, Ford.
That period was the early to mid-90s. During that period VW had quality problems and VW-philes would tell you to buy a VW made in Germany. My Cabrio was “Hencho in Mexico”.
My ’84 Rabbit lasted beyond 200K miles. Last I saw it the old car was going strong. Then just like now there were brittle plastic pieces disintergrating but the car as a whole was good. VW seems to use a brittle plastic where other manufacturers like Honda has a pretty good plastic.
VW did have paint problems when they switched to some sort of low pollution water based paint. So did Chrysler, GM and Ford when they made the same move. Remember all of the cars, trucks and vans running around with big bald spots on the roof, hood, and trunks? I still occasionally see vehicles from that era with unfixed problems, big patches of surface rust.
If you recall the irritating motorized seatbelts were found on many different cars – Mazda, Ford, Nissan (?), etc not just VW. Yes, I hated them too. More than once I’d drive a friend’s car and get nailed in the head with the belt thingy as it slid forward. I preferred the more simple door mounted belts in my ’87 Accord LXi hatchback. No motors, no tracks.
As for the soft suspensions in the VWs – time and again I have seen where VW sells a softer tuned suspension for the USA than anywhere else. They are trying to give us what they think we want. I too prefer a tighter suspension over a wallowy soft suspension.
The story about the new minivan that I read was not that Chrysler is building and selling it to VW. What I read was that VW and Chrysler developed the van TOGETHER. I don’t know about you but that makes me feel better about the van b/c I have much more faith in VW than I do Chrysler. I hope it sells well for both of them but I still would prefer a new 2003 $25K Eurovan Weekender with a turbo diesel. Yeah, I know where a nearly 200K mile 93 Eurovan is with the original engine and tranny in it. Quality 5-cylinder engine.
I don’t see VW as being anywhere near a death rattle. I think they have a multiple personality disorder to say they least.
Can they sell a car like the Phaeton, a car like the current Polo/Fox (nice!), and a car like the Golf at the same time and appeal to all those demographics? Can a dealer relate to those different demographics without ruining the new car experience for someone? Obviously the Phaeton owner is going to require a first class experience while the same time and expense couldn’t be spent on the Polo owner. I’m thinking of vehicle pickup or drop-off, loaner cars, etc etc. I don’t know. I think that VW ought to set their top price limits at $35K or so. Anything more expensive is an Audi by default. Then they ought to return a few “People’s Cars” to their lineup. The Rabbit looks nice for the price. All sorts of options available. We’d be interested in the Polo/Fox.
VW is going to have to sort out their other multiple personalities. They sell a German designed product. German expectations are very different than American expectations. Cup holders are a good example. Germans don’t generally drink anything while they are driving while cupholders are very important to Americans. VWofA wants to sell cushy, trendy cars to the Yuppie crowd while VWofG is defaulting to what they know best – performance driver oriented vehicles.
I’d like to see them release their products as North American editions or European editions so people like me can have a true German car not diluted by VWofA’s idea of what I should want just b/c I’m an American.
Bushbodger,
Thank you for elaborating on the points that I mentioned per my post. It sounds like you have a well developed “mechanical engineer” acumen which in many respects is necessary for the VW owner in this country.
The technology in today’s (2008) automobiles is so advanced that NO CAR, I mean no modern car should require anymore service than the obligatory oil and fluid changes, and tire rotation until at least 50k. I.e.” my wife’s 1991 Honda Accord has over 280k. All we performed service wise was the obligatory oil changes, and a wheel bearing at 190k. Before the Honda she had a 1984 Toyota Supra that she sold to a nice college student with over 260k miles. You cannot tell me that her experience is a fluke. She purchased both vehicles new and drove them both very hard. The current Accord offering is no different than a Passat (performance wise) and in fact both vehicles handle similarly (soft) with similar bells and whistles. In fact a new Accord is cheaper with more technology and bells and whistles with less sticker shock.
I am not a first time VW owner. I have owned 7 VW’s over the years (’68 Karmann Ghia, ’84 Scirocco, ’82 Rabbit (petrol), ’88, Camper, ’93 Jetta GLX, ’97 Passat, and my current 2006 Passat 2.0T). As you can see I have been a loyal VW customer through the good, bad, aMy wife of 10 years never understand my obsession with VW’s. When we were dating I tried to rationalize my love for the “People’s Car” by that they were great handling cars for the money, etc, etc.
My VW opinion changed forever after my recent VW purchase : 2006 Passat 2.0t with a 6 speed manual. The car not only left me stranded on the 101 at 3 am in the middle of nowhere California but it caught fire minutes after the car shut-off without warning. My personal property inside the trunk of the vehicle was destroyed as well (Mcintosh preamp and CD player I just purchased from an audio dealer in San Fran that I was driving back from).
2 years and over 3k in attorney’s fees and insurance company nightmares later,VWoA finally agreed to settle with the insurance company. Where did that leave me? I was the loyal VW customer and VWoA treated me like a 2nd class citizen.
I lost the following:
1. Lost time and wages (I am an EMT)
2. Total loss of my stereo gear in the fire (worth 8k), as well as lost wages, etc that I have not seen a penny of.
I also lost total respect for a company that treated me like an abused spouse who remained loyal until someone really got hurt!
You know I would have some serious doubts about VW if I had the same experience with VW as you had. Did they ever figure out what caused the fire? My mother’s Envoy had a fuel line improperly crimped that popped off. Lucky for her, no fire. There were recalls for that problem.
Was surprised to hear that the contents of your vehicle were not covered by your insurance. I’d be really upset too!!!
Will continue to watch them and their cars.
Had an idea the other day about vehicle quality surveys. JD Power counts how many times new cars are returned to the dealer for repairs as a signal to the vehicle’s quality. I wonder if the survey’s value is dinged by trying to compare cars without comparing the owner’s expectations and the vehicle’s complexity as well.
Consider vehicle A – It costs $14K and offers a basic 4 cylinder SOHC engine, a/c, power windows and a sunroof. Disc/drum brakes. 5 speed manual tranny.
Consider vehicle B – Costs $45K, power everything, 32V DOHC V-8, and a feature list a mile long.
Customer A drives cheap cars. Is happy that everything works, looks respectable, feels tight driving down the road.
Customer B drives luxury cars. The car is so quiet inside that every component of the car is audible, there are more electronics on board than some small aircraft, and more computing power keeping the car pointed the right direction on the road in all weather than a decade’s worth of early NASA spacecraft and mission control put together. There is simply alot to go wrong on this car. The owner demands perfection for thousands of miles in all weather and all road surfaces.
I wonder how much this affects those quality numbers… Maybe JD Power needs to bracket vehicles so we aren’t comparing a Kia to an Audi. Hmmm, maybe the do and I have not noticed.
Anyhow, hope to get the rear suspension back under my Cabrio this weekend if parts arrive. The lower strut mounting hardware is rusted in place and it was easier to pull the whole rear end out to work on that roll around on the floor. 30 mins to remove by myself.
Want to fix everything, sell it for a fair price and get the VW Westfalia project back underway. I’ve almost finished installing a Corvair falt-six that doubles my power b/c 45 mph on interstate highways isn’t safe anymore. VBG! While the Corvair as a while had issues, the engines are as durable as the aircooled VW engines. Lots of improvements can be made over the factory GM design who were way too conservative (too many cheap outs).
Thank you for your response. It sounds like you have the understanding, patience, knowledge, and time to really enjoy a VW. I never received a straight answer from my dealer what exactly caused the fire however the schmuck at VW service mentioned something about the wiring harness, or defective fuel line insulators???
To be honest, I just need a fucking (excuse my vulgar) vehicle that will handle well in addition to being safe and reliable. I do not have the patience or sanity to stoamch anymore VWoA marketing bullshit. They have spewed enough LIES on North American customers for years now. I admit that I was gullible enough to buy into it. You know what I am talking about. The daft “German engineering, “Farfegneugen (sp?) bullshit. It is all horse shit. What is the purpose of a car anyway?? TRANSPORTATION.
I (IMHO) have not found a 21 century VW handling or their crappy 1.8t, 2.0t, or 6 cyl powerplants to outhandle or peform better then any Honda Accord, Mazda 626, or Toyota Camry mill. Of course the marketing spin doctors or the poor gullible souls that bought into it will tell you differently. Ain’t psychology (i.e: cognitive dissonance)great?
Imagine if Madison Avenue actually told the truth? We would all be driving reliable cars like Hondas, Toyotas, and Mazdas. Oh, wait a second, we ARE!!! Maybe those of us who are either have enlarged pituatary or adrenal glands enjoy the current line-up of VW’s.
I would rather arrive to my destination reliably, economically, and safely than simply look good in a vehicle. The world has gone insane fellow uber mensch-keit (sp?)!
The German big three auto manufacturers apply to the “other half,” Many of the “other half” living in this country have their heads (in Al Pacino’s gravely voice) WAY UP THEIR ASSES!!! Right? Right?
Azoiy Gezunt (sp?)-
I completely understand what you are saying. I’d be pissed too but so far all of my VWs have been low rent very much used vehicles so I did not have a very big investment to worry over.
’84 Rabbit ‘vert ($250, sold for $4250), ’65 Beetle ($1500, still have it. I live in TN, bought this car in Italy, was originally a Memphis car!), ’72 Super Beetle ($1500), ’72 Bus Westfalia ($1500 Southwestern van they said, yeah maybe but it spent alot of time up north apparently!), ’78 Bus Westfalia ($1500, still have it), ’97 VW Cabrio ($5500 for sale in a month).
Had our 1999 CR-V turned into a big paperweight for any reasons I’d have the same feelings about it that you have had about your Passat. ESPECIALLY if it had caught fire. Sort of basic car design not to burst into flames.
Your explaination is the reason I bought another Honda in 1999 instead of another VW. I was worried about having a new car that was as unreliable as a very used car.
Hang in there!
B-
I looked at the new Chevy Malibu LTZ today. Nice car. Not a rental fleets care anymore
B-
Good look with your VW’s. As a former car enthusiast I would recommend looking into the old Mercedes diesel hobby that I have immersed myself into. My wife’s 240d is so reliable that many friends have traded their new leased vehicles for them.
Thanks. The old Mercedes diesels, the BMWs and the Volvos all have my attention for their durable natures. I’d really like to have a turbo diesel, even with the current prices.