The Great Volkswagen Connundrum

"Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal) 12/27/2013 at 07:13 • Filed to: Volkswagen

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Like soccer, Volkswagen is huge the world over but little more than an afterthought in the U.S. In terms of worldwide sales, the Polo, Golf and Jetta are in the Top 10 best selling cars for 2013. Worldwide Volkswagen sells more Jettas than Toyota sells Camrys. A lot more. Only the Focus and the Corolla are more popular worldwide.

Source: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

duurtlang > Just wear your damn mask... 12/27/2013 at 07:54

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I'm more surprised by the CR-V and the Cruze to be honest. The Cruze always seemed like the poor man's Opel Astra to me, and that Astra lags behind cars like the Golf and Focus already.

Hermann > Just wear your damn mask... 12/27/2013 at 08:18

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WARNING: Have a nice dose of emergency coffee in hands before reading this list!

duurtlang > Hermann 12/27/2013 at 08:22

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And please refrain from reading the comments. They're horrible.

Hermann > duurtlang 12/27/2013 at 08:23

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Comments on Yahoo! are somehow much worse than YouTube comments.

505Turbeaux > duurtlang 12/27/2013 at 08:25

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I got 3 deep and had to quit. Damn

Just wear your damn mask... > Hermann 12/27/2013 at 08:32

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Are you talking the list of cars or the comments? Because the list of cars makes sense. Enthusiast cars will never sell in volume.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > duurtlang 12/27/2013 at 08:42

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They're not just horrible. They're also likely to cause you an aneurism.

Hermann > Just wear your damn mask... 12/27/2013 at 08:46

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The list. I know enthusiastic cars will never sell in volume. I'm not one of those Jalops who hate on Jettas and Camrys (even though I don't like them), but this being a Friday morning on the second to last week of the year, 2 days after christmas and even if it was a list of the coolest cars of 2013... I'd need a coffee to finish reading it! Yahoo Autos is great to get updates and lists with useful and interesting info, but the way they write is very boring.

Just wear your damn mask... > duurtlang 12/27/2013 at 08:47

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The Cruze shows that GM has figured out the concept of selling one car everywhere instead of continuing with the local designs. With Chevrolet being discontinued in Europe as its own brand, I wonder if we'll see Opel or Vauxhall badges on the Cruze, like they do in Australia with the Holden Cruze.

Nibbles > duurtlang 12/27/2013 at 08:52

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The Cruze has become a surprisingly nice vehicle with a lot of options to choose from

It's currently the only diesel compact available in the US, save VW's offerings. It's a damned good gamble too - they did a hell of a job with that little motor (joint project with Fiat). 151 hp and 250 lb-ft is unheard of in an American compact

Couple that with it's pricing scheme - starting at $18k, diesel at $25k, wide array of options and high level of comfort through all trim levels (we don't talk about rentals), it really is one hell of a nice little car. It may be a "poor man's Astra" in Europeland but in the 'Murrica, where the truck and land yacht reign supreme, it's a refreshing take on what was previously, nationally, considered a throwaway

duurtlang > Nibbles 12/27/2013 at 09:36

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I'll have to admit I haven't tested a Cruze yet, but reading reviews and the comparisons with the other GM compact it cannibalizes here (the Astra) I've become quite wary. Especially because I was utterly unimpressed after having driven an Astra, which is supposedly the better GM compact. It's reflected in the sales figures here, the Astra isn't doing great but far better than the Cruze, even though they're frequently featured in the same showroom.

How does it compare to a Focus in the US? That too is similar to what we get in Europe. I assume the Focus and Cruze are priced similarly as well. Isn't the Focus a much better car?

duurtlang > Just wear your damn mask... 12/27/2013 at 09:42

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It would make sense for GM to offer the same car everywhere with regional differences to the drive train, just like companies like Ford and VW are doing. However, the current EU market Cruze won't cut it in Europe. It's a bit too low end for a mainstream compact and the styling is very uncompetitive. The mainstream EU GM compact is the Astra, which is available in the US as the Buick Verano. Yet Ford does manage just fine with the Focus. Maybe our Focus is nicer than yours, or your Cruze is nicer than ours? I wouldn't know.

Just wear your damn mask... > duurtlang 12/27/2013 at 09:49

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The Cruze here can be pretty nice, as can be the Focus. I wonder if the Cruze hasn't been tainted by the downmarket Chevrolet that GM peddled to Europe in the form of old Daewoos.

Nibbles > duurtlang 12/27/2013 at 10:01

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Both the Focus and Cruze are great compacts here in the US. The Cruze is older than the Focus and is probably due a redesign soon, but they're both highly competitive cars and a large leap forward from their previous offerings.

The uplevel feel brought by the Cruze (and later by the Focus) has also brought us the Dart - Chrysler's first good entry into the compact market since the Neon. Detroit is finally starting to understand that people want nice things, even if they're looking at a $20k car.

I haven't driven a new Focus, but I have tested the Cruze both NA, Turbo and Diesel. They are all nice vehicles for the price, especially the ECO in manual guise. Comparing it to my 2007 Focus, the Ford does not stand a chance :) Just reading some info on the new Focus, it seems that it would still probably be the better car in terms of performance. Economy wise, the Cruze wins. If only GM would bring back that 260hp 2.0T...

If you test a Cruze, report back with your findings! I'd like to hear how such a presumably nice little car in the US fares across the pond

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Nibbles 12/27/2013 at 10:06

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I don't know about the diesel, but I've driven a top trim Cruze RS, and it was actually pretty, dare I say it, fun !

Nibbles > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur 12/27/2013 at 10:13

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That's what I'm talking about. Perceptions are so completely different between the two continents; what we consider over here to be a fun, peppy and comfortable little car can be an overweight, underpowered pig elsewhere

I'd like to hear someone's impressions of the Cruze over in Europeland. Then again, maybe not. I checked Wikipedia's list of the European engine offerings, and they actually seem pretty dismal. At least they get the hatch and estate

duurtlang > Nibbles 12/27/2013 at 13:57

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You'll have to consider that Chevy Europe is not the Chevy you're familiar with, in Europe it's Deawoo 2.0. There is no Malibu, no Impala, no SS, Equinox, no Traverse, no Tahoe and no Suburban. Camaro and Corvette are unicorns and on special order, dealers don't tend to stock them. There is no need for powerful engines or whatnot in a Cruze, simply because the mainstream GM brand (Opel/Vauxhall) offers the Astra which does have all niceties available.

In Europe the Cruze is an economy car in the true sense of the word. The main stream GM compact the Astra is not, not in the extent the Cruze is. Especially the upper parts of the lineup isn't. It does come with a 280 hp turbo engine mated to a manual 6 speed, torque steer solutions and some other considerable upgrades in the Opel Astra OPC/Vauxhall Astra VXR (UK) or with a diesel with 2 turbos and an unholy amount of torque for a compact (~300 foot/pound/leg/whatever, same as the OPC). That said, the Astra traditionally is a fleet favorite as well.

Stef Schrader > duurtlang 12/27/2013 at 14:05

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"I own a 2004 corolla. I would not hesitate to buy another corolla."

THIS BREAKS MY HEAD

(J/K, most of the top comments are fairly civil like that. Is the really hilarious troll stuff at the bottom?)