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Behold, the Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen GTD!
54 Comments on “While You Were Sleeping: January 29th, 2015...”
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I often wondered why they didn’t bring the AWD 6 from the UK over here. They’d have sold some. And possibly have got some more credibility for the brand. AWD cars are viewed in a completely different light than those which only offer FWD.
Was it really necessary to make us click to “read more”
at least his post was value added. your vapid commentary? not so much.
No, it’s a valid design decision criticism.
Why hide that list behind a link? It’s not so much content it needs it, and it’s more user-friendly to show it, rather than “click here to find out if you care about the list”…
because half the time I don’t click on the while you were sleeping articles. Derek got me to actually click this one. Advertisers see more traffic and I get to ridicule you two for complaining.
Edit: why complain about free content?
2nd edit: sorry for being so salty. damn I need to drink tonight.
Wow, in excess of $35k subsidies for some Teslas. Elon a “regulatory arbitrageur” (!)
And, yes, that Golf diesel wagon would be very tempting.
That Tesla story was pretty misleading, mixing apples and oranges.
1. As stated, everyone knows about the direct subsidies and has an opinion on them.
2. The ZEV credits – as stated – are the invention of the CARB. Tesla is simply playing in the ZEV credit market created by others. They should be applauded for it, not criticized. (Personally, I hate it that this market exists). Helpfully omitted is that Nissan is actually the biggest player in ZEV credits, but they don’t generate the same envy that Tesla does, I suppose. Fiat is #3 in this category. And since these credits are sold to other mfrs, they are not a subsidy. What a crock to portray them as such.
3. The Gigafactory and Nevada’s giveaways. Tesla is picking up what the states are laying down, which is no different from any other company with jobs to offer. I don’t like it either, but picking on Tesla for this behavior is disingenuous at best.
4. Loan payback. The author claims the early payback ‘cost’ taxpayers a billion dollars. No it didn’t. The imaginary gain on the stock is not a loss; it’s a matter of timing. The taxpayers received their money back, period.
There is no doubt that Tesla benefits from handouts, but it seems the taxpayers and politicians are more than willing to provide them.
Some good points. But the ZEV credit market results in higher prices for conventional cars, which is, ultimately, an expense to those who buy those cars which redounds to Tesla.
I certainly don’t fault Tesla for going after all these credits, but the car–as well designed as it is–is not pulling its own weight in the market.
Characterizing it as a subsidy is incorrect. It’s a penalty, the amount of which is set by the free market.
The government mandates a certain amount of EV output. It could provide every company with individual quotas and then fine those who don’t produce to the quota, or it can encourage some in the market to overproduce in order to make up for those who underproduce.
The ZEV credits would not have any value if every automaker did what was required. Obviously, some of them think that it’s cheaper or smarter to buy credits than it is to build, while others see producing credits as an opportunity.
Sometimes I just want to hit my head against the wall. I fully expect that we won’t get the new VW wagon nor an AWD Mazda – never mind the desirable wagon variant of the 6 – here in the U.S. Dealers don’t like nuance in a vehicle lineup. It confuses them and they think it confuses customers. In my case, keeping such vehicles out is also keeping me out of the showroom.
Even the normal VW Sportwagon we get is pretty nice. I might have gotten it except it reminded me of my A3 and I wanted something different. So I got the Acura wagon instead.
I *did* get the outgoing (Jetta) SportWagen TDI this past summer (would’ve loved a GTD version!). But I happened to see a TSX Sportwagon on the highway today and started drooling. It’s got lovely proportions…
We got the Gen1 Mazda6 wagon and hatch, and no one bought them. Combined they accounted for less than 10% of sales. (And they were pretty widely available in dealer stock when I bought my sedan.)
I recall the Mazda6 wagons being pretty hard to find. Logic would say that since they weren’t languishing in inventory a year later like many of the sedans, that dealers sold all of the M6 wagons that Mazda deemed to make available. Additionally, the Mazda6 wagon was only available in top trim with a V6 and automatic, not the less expensive 4-cylinder. So, 10% of Mazda6 sales (if accurate) isn’t bad when you consider the percentage of Mazda6’s sold with V6 engines.
Seriously, if Mini can sub-segment every niche (2-door versions of 4-door SUVs for example), then how come VW and Mazda can’t see enough of a market in the US for a right-sized wagon that they already manufacture in every other country? Even a small percentage in the US has got to be more units than what they sell in Canada, no? Eh? I think the issue is more that they can charge more for the same vehicle if it’s jacked up and called an SUV or Crossover?
The wagons may have been harder to find than the hatchbacks — I was deciding between the sedan and the hatch when I bought mine. I think there were also more trim options earlier on in the production run.
The hatch was available with both engines and all but the base trim.
Still, you’re talking about a car that sold somewhere between 50-70k a year during that generation. That’s 2500-3500 wagons a month — which has to underwrite a unique US-specific rear fascia and crash testing.
And as you suggest, they can move a lot of those customers to a CX-5, which is a volume model.
The niche Mini models sell at a premium price point; they can justify that expense. For mainstream cars, it’s harder to get the numbers to work.
The number Mazda told Consumer Reports was <200 Mazda6 wagons month sold in the US.
Perhaps this is why you can’t get an Audi wagon that isn’t an Allroad this year.
If only VW brought the Jetta GTD wagon to the US – I wouldn’t buy one in a heartbeat.
I award you one internet.
Raise it up and clad it! It’ll sell.
The GTD is a great idea but why does it have to look like it was styled 15+ years ago? I am generally a fan of simple understated styling but this is ridiculous. A little style wouldn’t hurt VW.
I can see needing a slow diesel wagon, and I can see a slow diesel wagon being a good match for your needs.
I cannot see lusting after or clamoring for a slow diesel wagon.
Unless brown manual, then Jalop
I don’t understand jalopniks. when I lived in my mom’s basement, I jacked it to porn, not brown diesel wagons.
Ahhh, back to the time where we had to wait for our porn to download.
HAHA
*pours out a 40 for his homies on dialup*
Why do you cons1der the GTD slow? 181HP is a rather respectable figure for a compact and the low-end torque of the diesel would suit the American style of driving just fine. You might be used to more but nothing about this car is “slow”. Slow for the price, maybe; but not slow in itself.
I, however, do not understand the “diesel lust” part. Sometimes when I read the comments gloryfying the oil-burners I am amused by how deluded some of you are. Only some of them are as durable as you seem to believe, and many of those that are require much more thorough and costly maintenance than the gas engines to reach that mileage. They are getting increasingly more fragile by every generation. In your case, their MPG advantage is negated by the higher cost of diesel. I could go on for long but I’ll just finish at that: A lot of you list heated seats as a must-have for any new car. If it’s so important to some of you then why are you lusting after cars that take upwards of 10 minutes to just start blowing hot air? Come on.
Guys, your fuel price is less than half of Europe’s. In your countries you could still reasonably make a case for buying a 270HP midsize sedan, a 16-feet fullsizer, a V8 RWD coupe, or even a truck the size of a small building. And yet here you are clamoring for small, amorphous blobs whose only claim to existence is that it’s the only thing many Europeans can afford? Be grateful for what you have, and that you still have a choice.
“Why do you cons1der the GTD slow? 181HP is a rather respectable figure for a compact and the low-end torque of the diesel would suit the American style of driving just fine. You might be used to more but nothing about this car is “slow”. Slow for the price, maybe; but not slow in itself. ”
8.1s 0-60 is, in my opinion, slow for an object of lust. My DD does 0-60 in about the same time, and I find it slow. But that’s a boring DD I bought to go to and from the office, not something I am praying a bunch of Krauts send us from Germany. Maybe a better word is “mediocre” or “adequate” but to say “Oh my God I wish I got this wagon that went 0-60 in 8 seconds, that would be awesome” is like saying “Jeez, I really hope I can have a salad with dinner, probably without dressing.”
In that case, I think you’re damn right. I don’t find anything exceptional about the GTD either.
By the way, what’s that DD of yours?
’11 2.4L TSX 5AT
If I remember correctly, that’s the Acura version of the Euro-Accord, right? If that’s true then lucky you! I heard nothing but praise about it, and where I live they keep their prices like crazy. Hope it’s serving you well.
Btw my S40 is 2.4 5AT as well but for some reason it can’t reach 60 in 8 seconds no matter what. Well, at least it has the sound that I like!
(cannot reply to you directly, somehow)
COTD!
In the real world, 0-60 isn’t the most practical measure of performance. In-gear acceleration is where these turbo diesels really shine.
I simply like diesels. I like how they sound, I like the torque. I LOVE the added range and the innate efficiency. I’ve owned a bunch of them. Peugeot, Mercedes, VW. Took my license test in a diesel Suburban. I consider it a premium engine option, thus the added cost of fuel means nothing to me – it’s not about saving money. If I could get one equipped the way I wanted it, I would be getting a 328d wagon this summer instead of an M235i (and I am only getting an M235i because I can’t get a 228i the way I want it). I never had an issue with getting heat out of a diesel, including VW TDIs, and I live in a climate about like Stockholms.
If I didn’t have the money for my current BMW wagon, I certainly would have bought a Jetta Wagon TDI in ’11 when I bought my last new daily driver.
So that is one car guy’s take on it. I do think lust-worthy is a bit strong for how I feel about the GTD, but I like it. Especially if they include the plaid seats. Not so much a fan of the front valence and huge wheels though.
7.9 seconds makes it faster than my Corolla.
The 328d wagon is faster at 7.2, but one assumes rather more expensive.
Diesel wagon lust is not about 0-60 times; if you want that, you buy a V60R or something.
Wow! I’m surprised. No one had asked the de riguer internet question – does it come in brown with a manual gearbox? On a serious note, realistically, VW would be lucky to sell 10,000 a year. Not worth the cost of certification for V-dub…
They already sell the TDI wagon here. In brown with a stickshift no less. This would be just a trim level in the US, most likely. A TDI Wagon with GTI trim and suspension, no extra cert required. It is already confirmed I believe that we are getting the Golf GTD that way, so why not offer the long version too?
National Review on Tesla? Please exercise more editorial discretion on what to post. No mention of defense spending subsidy of ICE. No mention of ICE cost dumping in terms of pollution.
So, they’re not hippies and they realize that most defense spending has nothing to do with oil.
(The US defense budget ain’t about keeping the oil flowing from the midwest, Canada, and Mexico.
It’s not even about defending the Gulf – the US gets twice as much oil from Canada as all the Gulf states combined.
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_m.htm
As for “pollution”, well, there’s no arguing with aesthetic value judgment, I suppose.
[Hint: Electricity doesn’t come from fairy dust. The plurality of US electricity comes from coal, that makes my car’s engine look like a cleanup crew, not a polluter.])
Well, that was incredibly naive.
You probably should type “Carter doctrine” into your favorite search engine. We’ve never stopped following it.
Your “favorite search engine” snark thing is getting old. Even when I agree with you, like here, it makes me want to not agree with you. It’s really unnecessary.
It is necessary. Clearly, that commentary missed a very basic fact, namely that fighting for Middle East oil has been a US foreign policy doctrine since the 1970s. That isn’t an opinion.
Providing links is a waste of time when they won’t be read or understood. Some of you need to learn to go look up this stuff on your own.
I like providing links least anyone thinks I’m pulling something out of my butt to make a point. If someone wants to continue to debate based on their own misinformation or conjecture contrary to the facts presented then they run the risk of appearing like they’re an idiot from some continent on the bottom of the earth…
… like Antarctica ;-)
I agree. I say as long as Brzezinski is still alive this won’t change, and probably long after.
“The following key sentence, which was written by Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter’s National Security Adviser, concludes the section:
Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Doctrine
The world needs oil for the sake of stability, and the US wants stability.
The US does not want to steal Middle East oil for itself, but it does want to make sure that it keeps flowing to the world and that the pricing mechanism for that oil comes from an exchange instead of a Middle Eastern cartel that has a history of using oil as a weapon.
I can see everyone waiting for that wagon to turn three years old. Then they’ll buy it, used.
No they won’t. They’ll then complain that they can’t find one in brown that doesn’t have “too many miles”, that the bumper and quarter panel were repainted and it “shows up in the sun” so they’ll “never be able to unload it,” that the seller “won’t budge” in response to an absurd lowball, and the “tires were worn”, replacements are “too expensive in that size!” Oh, and they “can’t find one with a stick” either.
Besides, I don’t want fancy gizmos like power windows, a back-up camera, etc.
Just more things to break down and add weight.
My backup camera weighs 200 pounds, it’s true!
My fancy power window motors weigh less then the good old hand crank mechanisms
Driving a 2012 5 door Golf TDi….yes, I’d buy this in a heartbeat. I’d have bought a regular GTD too if they’d let me.
8.1 seconds isn’t fast in 2015 but in 99% of your normal, not on a racetrack or internet-style driving, it will get you away from a stoplight way faster than the pack.
Driving a diesel car is like driving the old big blocks. Many were sold to mass market buyers with only two barrel carbs. These engines had massive torque but got wheezy up high.
They lived in big four door sedans and moms (Turnpike Cruiser Vista Brougham XL) wagon.
The modern turbodiesels have the exact same torque curve.
I hope the price drop for gas (not diesel) won’t kill this car in the US.. I bought regular gas for 1.95 recently. D’oh !
Volkswagen, you idiots. I said GTI, not GTD. D doesn’t look anything like an I. If I wanted a diesel wagon, I’d buy what is already over here instead of a lukewarm version of it for god-knows-how-much.
Put the 2.0T and GTI suspension under it.
You have to put up with different things whether you go diesel or gasser. My TDI may not be painted in a lovely shade of brown, but I like the fuel range a lot. It’s quiet enough and smooth once cruising speed is reached. Would I still get another one? Maybe. I really don’t know. You really should only go diesel if your driving fits the character of the diesel. If VW’s new 1.8T is light on the front axle and charismatic as Saab’s B207, I could be tempted by the gasser again. The boost build up, the wooshing, you get none of that in the TDI. But I would miss the TDI’s strength. When it comes to driving fun, I still miss the 9-3…