VW August '07 sales up 12% over previous year
To them that have, more is given. Europe's biggest car maker just posted the biggest month-on-month increase in its entire history. The People's Car and its family brands did 12.1-percent more business in August 2007 than in August 2006, getting 286,000 vehicles into new homes.
For the year, VW sales are up 8.3-percent over 2006, with 2.4 million Golfs et al finding new homes. The numbers are lead by emerging market gains, with Brazil up 30-percent, China up 27.4-percent, and Argentina doing 21.3-percent more business. Volkswagen is expected to sell more than 3.5 million cars this year.
[Source: Just Auto, sub req'd]











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
whofan 8:12PM (9/21/2007)
Can anyone say DIESEL?
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Don 10:49PM (9/21/2007)
I'm sure this has been helped in the States by their "3 cars under $$$..." ads.
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HAWC1506 11:26PM (9/21/2007)
Does anyone have comments on the reliability and quality of the 2007/2008 Passat?
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toronado455 12:35AM (9/22/2007)
My cousin bought a new Passat and had the water pump go out in the first month.
1337 10:02AM (9/23/2007)
My uncle bought an '07 Passat 2.0T 6MT a year or so ago, and it hasn't had a hitch yet.
HAWC1506 6:44PM (9/23/2007)
It is always so polarized. Some people love it, some people hate it...
HAWC1506 11:27PM (9/21/2007)
Hopefully it's better than the previous...
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HAWC1506 1:05AM (9/22/2007)
ahhhh not good haha. Well there's one car that had something go wrong. My father's looking for a new car, and I am trying to convince him to go for something other than a minivan. We had the tranny replaced on the Odyssey at 80,000 and the Odyssey's almost dead. Sounds like a tractor.
toronado455 2:50AM (9/22/2007)
Odyssey is the least reliable Honda there is. They should be ashamed of themselves really.
If your dad wants to get a minivan, I think that is smart. They have a great combo of space and fuel efficiency. My only objection is they have gotten so big lately that they can hardly be called "mini" anymore. But if you need the space they are great.
Having said that, the Passat wagon is a great looking car. I'd just never be able to trust one. I wish we could get the Camry and Accord wagons here in the USA that they sell elsewhere.
zach 2:23AM (9/22/2007)
wow; is this a vw post that doesn't include vw bashing? I'm stunned, perhaps intelligent discussion is possible here...
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epilonious 7:22AM (9/22/2007)
VW's evoke strong emotions.
People who got good ones love them. Furthermore they cannot understand why anyone would not like them.
People who got bad ones hate them and want them to die. Usually because they were so spectacularly bad that they fear a VW across the highway is going to break down so spectacularly that it's parts will find their way into the path of their car and wound it.
Either way, it's doesn't change the fact that their US lineup is horrible and that VWUSA has severe customer service issues.
I would love to try a VW Polo or a Golf with a 1.9 litre TDI.... but we can't get them here. All we have is the crappy 2.5 litre 5 cylinder (bad mileage, lackluster performance) or the 2.0 FSI ('spensive, scary for all the people who had 1.8Ts with engine sludging or VR6's that seemed to be lubricated on maintenance invoices). If those are my options I just go for the Mazda and save $4000 bucks.
Jim in Tampa 12:36PM (9/22/2007)
Epilonius is right on the money. Those who had good VW's love them (like my Dad) and those who had bad one's hate them (like me).
1337 10:07AM (9/23/2007)
FYI, Epilonius, we will be getting Jettas and Rabbits with the 2.0L, 140 hp TDI in the US in the next few months. The only reason we do not have them is because they do not meet emissions standards unless they run on low-sulfur diesel, and the latest word is that the US will have low-sulfur diesel by 2008.
SPG 3:47AM (9/22/2007)
So this is what former Mercury drivers buy now.
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akatsuki 8:51AM (9/22/2007)
I am in love with the GTI, but frankly their engineering quality is just too bad for me to possibly consider buying one. It doesn't seem like they care about improving it either.
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rb 10:58AM (9/22/2007)
Mazda's aren't exactly know for their rock solid reliability. Our current Jetta 2.5, which we purchased when the new model was launched in late 2005 has been a very reliable and a nice car to drive. Our second VW is a 1995 Golf IIIs with almost 200,000 miles on it, this car still has the original clutch. I have read the horror stories about VW's quality, but I've not witnessed it first hand. I would absolutely agree that their dealer service needs some serious improvements.
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epilonious 2:54PM (9/22/2007)
My mazda had an intake problem that was repaired under warranty, and a recall for the positioning of the airbag sensor. So I have paid $0 to fix it.
My 1999.5 VW golf had a broken trunk latch which caused the security system to go haywire, the CV boots cracked and fouled the joints which needed to be replaced, the ignition module and alternator fouled, and the middle-rear seat belt jammed. All before 60,000 miles. VW USA refused to do any warranty repairs.
I had to pay to fix all these things (and I never fixed the trunk latch, because it was welded into the liftgate and would cost about $1000 to fix) None of them cost less than $600. On a 3-year old car with less than 70K on the odometer. If I wasn't living in a metro area with competent and cheap mechanics I would have gotten rid of it a lot sooner.
The thing that cinched it was when the security system, paired with the retarded trunk latch, decided to start arming the security alarm /while it was running/. Nothing like having the alarm go off and the engine shut down at a stop light (and the only way to disarm it by getting out of the car and unlocking it with the key).
This was the "cheap" golf. and it ended up costing about $3000 a year to keep going. It was a complete hunk of shit and I just cannot see myself buying another one because of it. Not only because I don't trust their initial reliability, but because I don't trust VW USA to make it right if I get a turdy one. The fact that VW USA is hurting real bad and refuses to bring over some /actual/ cheap cars doesn't help thing: "Sure, I can get a Jetta for under $17K... but what happens when the whizbang electrical crap starts popping right after the warranty dies?"
My Mazda has had some issues, but I think the only thing I have paid for that was over $40 was to replace the brake pads. Otherwise it was rental car, apologies, surveys, and smiles.
Donald 11:45AM (9/22/2007)
hmmmm...
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Donald 11:45AM (9/22/2007)
hmmmm...
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Steve 1:30PM (9/22/2007)
I've had my GTI for 2 months now and I've put over 8000 miles on it, including hundreds of miles of tire-squealing, ass-out, bouncing-off-the-rev-limiter driving on hairpin-laden mountain roads. Not a single problem so far. Except that the tires are almost gone. But, um, when you're having so much fun, that's to be expected.
I guess I got a good one; hopefully it'll stay that way.
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