VW pushing the envelope

VW has come a long way from it’s early days of making funny looking comedy touring vehicles for fascists… The company has turned over a new high tech, high end leaf in recent years and is making it’s mark as a factory that still produces low end, budget cars, like the Polo and Lupo etc. but also now offers premium level cars that feature cutting edge technology and production techniques… The pinnacle of this new way of thinking at VW is obviously the somewhat unsuccessful Phaeton, but the VW premium quality and fresh technology fairy dust has settled even on models like the Golf that used to be a no nonsense level car… Whether or not they can really elbow their way into the premium level German car market remains to be seen, but they really are making a stir in Bavaria…

Here are a few of VW’s new bells and whistles…

The ultra efficient VW parking garage of the future… Presently functioning as a warehouse to store their fresh off the line vehicles at the Wolfsburg plant, the design could revolutionise parking garage designs…
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/vws-automated-parking-garage-173049.php

The making of a Phaeton… This is the most ludicrously German factory I’ve ever seen… Pretty damn jaw dropping levels of meticulous cleanliness, technology and quality… Even if Taiwan continues to be a factory island for the next 5000 years, they’ll never reach this level… :laughing:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1837641

VW will never be able to compete in the luxury market unless they establish a new brand for that. Even the cheaper VW cars are of good quality and cars like the Phaeton are built to even higher standards for people it’s still “just a Volkswagen”.
At least I don’t think that those people able to afford such expensive cars want to drive around (or want to be driven around) in a Volkswagen when they can have a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus etc. instead …

[quote=“Rascal”]VW will never be able to compete in the luxury market unless they establish a new brand for that. Even the cheaper VW cars are of good quality and cars like the Phaeton are built to even higher standards for people it’s still “just a Volkswagen”.
At least I don’t think that those people able to afford such expensive cars want to drive around (or want to be driven around) in a Volkswagen when they can have a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus etc. instead …[/quote]

Hilarious. Lexus in Japan is branded as Toyota! In the UK there is no Acura brand because Honda market themselves as a high level brand. It is just about positioning. The Honda NSX was my dream car for a while and then I found out in other markets is is an Acura NSX…what nonsense.

I thought VW already had a high-end brand… Audi. :shrug:

It’s very hard to reposition yourself, but Skoda have had a fair innings with the Octavia, thanks to you-know-who.

Didn’t VW also make that 1000bhp car that they sell at a loss of £800k a car? The fastest car ever. Faster than an F1 car. What’s it called?

Yes, they did, the Veyron… The world’s first, and I think to date only 406km/h, 8 liter, W-16 engine… but VW had the presence of mind to do it under their “prestige” brand (read: bail out acquisition) the long suffering Bugatti…

http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/cars/bugatti_veyron.asp

Considering the VW Phaeton retails for about NT$7million+, they should probably have made that a Bugatti as well… It seems the world just isn’t ready for a premium no expense spared luxury German sedan with a VW badge… either that or it shows that the wildly wealthy are brand conscious snobs, but we all knew that anyway…

Most people who buy the Ultimate Driving Machine don’t know the difference between front and rear-wheel drive.

Best time to buy a Beamer? After the first winter snow. :wink:

The VW factory (Chingchun Motors) that makes the T4 van in Taiwan comes close. :wink:

The latest Golf does look really nice in terms of styling. I haven’t driven one, but it looks nice. The GTI puts up great numbers as well. What I have seen around Taiwan of the Bora and the Phaeton and Polo and Lupo, look pretty bad. The Passat isn’t that great either. The Beetle is an interesting car and in class by itself.

I think it is Audi that has come the farthest of late and not VW. Audi is the one that has moved from Tier 1.5 or 2 up to about Tier 1.1. I mean they are almost up there with BMW and Mercedes. IMO, VW is still the people’s car.