Volkswagen becomes world top automaker

[GoFlyKiteNow]

Western economies are taking back from Asia.
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Volkswagen could overtake Toyota as world No.1
17 Apr 2009, 1034 hrs REUTERS

TOKYO/FRANKFURT: Volkswagen AG may have passed Toyota Motor Corp as the world's top selling automaker in the first quarter, helped by robust demand in its main markets, while its Japanese rival suffered sharp declines, partial company data suggests.

The German automaker, with its nine car and truck brands including Audi, Skoda, Seat and Skania, has set a goal of overtaking Toyota and General Motors Corp to be the world's No.1 seller by 2018 -- a target that was initially met with scepticism.

 

[singveld]

and volkswagen is about to be own buy porsche

so porsche rule the car world.

 

[Papsmearer]

Western economies are taking back from Asia.
-------------------------------------------------

Volkswagen could overtake Toyota as world No.1
17 Apr 2009, 1034 hrs REUTERS

TOKYO/FRANKFURT: Volkswagen AG may have passed Toyota Motor Corp as the world's top selling automaker in the first quarter, helped by robust demand in its main markets, while its Japanese rival suffered sharp declines, partial company data suggests.

The German automaker, with its nine car and truck brands including Audi, Skoda, Seat and Skania, has set a goal of overtaking Toyota and General Motors Corp to be the world's No.1 seller by 2018 -- a target that was initially met with scepticism.

Yeah whatever, I have owned both Volkwagens and Toyotas. No fight. The Volkswagen's reliability is the shits. U can't be Number 1 carmaker when u have a shit product line.

 

[zuoom]

mainly because of Volkswagen China.

they are everywhere there.

for some reason that's connected to the past, Japanese cars dun sell as well. but it's changing as the younger gen people are putting that aside and looking at fuel economy, reliability, etc.

most business associate i know have at least one japanese car, either a toyota crown, or honda accord of some sort as the daily drive around town. and then it's another VW, or Audi, etc.

 

[miosux]

Yeah whatever, I have owned both Volkwagens and Toyotas. No fight. The Volkswagen's reliability is the shits. U can't be Number 1 carmaker when u have a shit product line.

serious? which VW? model/year?

 

[GoFlyKiteNow]

VW have a massive plant in Mexico..biggest in the world for thier brand.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Yeah whatever, I have owned both Volkwagens and Toyotas. No fight. The Volkswagen's reliability is the shits. U can't be Number 1 carmaker when u have a shit product line.

Actually in contemporary american slang saying something is the the shit means it is good. Like this food is da shit man! Meaning this food is great, in your case u mean it is lousy right?

 

[Papsmearer]

serious? which VW? model/year?

I had the 1.8 TSI, its shit. The turbo is the shits, and the car suffers from lots of electronic clitches. When it works, it was nice to drive.

 

[Logisex]

There are No.1 due to their huge presence in China. The streets of China is filled with VWs and black Audis.

PRCs think VWs are relaible cause its German and even think it is fuel efficient. They dunno that Jap car makers like Totota have been producing fuel efficient and reliable cars for ages cause PRC are anti-jap and dun bother. Locally made VWs are relatively cheap though for a foreign brand.

There were recent cases in Beijing where VWs (I think it was the Magotan model) car owners found that the back of the car seems to ge getting lower and lower by the day. Upon inspection, they found that the wrong suspension (shorter ones) were erraneously fitted onto the 2 rear wheels. KNN how cana top car maker make such a mistake?

Audi has a history in China as they here very early and was used to be the official car for the Communist party. So in PRCs mind they are THE relaibel luxury car. But in reality Audi are far from the league of Mercedes and BMWs and their design has no class. The A6 looks seriously like a VW Passat.

 

[Screwball]

Herbie is No.1 !
Dun like the new VWs.
Cannot compare to the VWs of Herbie era.

 

[Papsmearer]

There are No.1 due to their huge presence in China. The streets of China is filled with VWs and black Audis.

PRCs think VWs are relaible cause its German and even think it is fuel efficient. They dunno that Jap car makers like Totota have been producing fuel efficient and reliable cars for ages cause PRC are anti-jap and dun bother. Locally made VWs are relatively cheap though for a foreign brand.

There were recent cases in Beijing where VWs (I think it was the Magotan model) car owners found that the back of the car seems to ge getting lower and lower by the day. Upon inspection, they found that the wrong suspension (shorter ones) were erraneously fitted onto the 2 rear wheels. KNN how cana top car maker make such a mistake?

Audi has a history in China as they here very early and was used to be the official car for the Communist party. So in PRCs mind they are THE relaibel luxury car. But in reality Audi are far from the league of Mercedes and BMWs and their design has no class. The A6 looks seriously like a VW Passat.

There was an article written sometime ago about the crap that VW puts out. In the 80s when they could not sell their cars, they stored the excess frames out in the open because there was no more space in the assembly plant. Given the European weather, they started to rust and deteriorate. But they still used them for assembly later on. Some cars they made were really shit like The VW Fox.

The VW Passat (older original model) canme out in 1998 and is a stretch A4 platform. But it had the tranny and engine of the A6. At that time, it was the top VW model till the Phaeton came along. This car was not available here
because the local Passat came out in 2005. By than they had switch the paltform to a stretch Golf platform. Which is why its not as solid, and unfortunately retained all the electronic glitches.

 

[Papsmearer]

Actually in contemporary american slang saying something is the the shit means it is good. Like this food is da shit man! Meaning this food is great, in your case u mean it is lousy right?

U need updating on your American slang. Its now known as "The Bomb". If you want to say something is good, u say "its the bomb". By the way, I am not American, so I really mean its shitty when I say shits.

 

[miosux]

I had the 1.8 TSI, its shit. The turbo is the shits, and the car suffers from lots of electronic clitches. When it works, it was nice to drive.

u think its problem with the engine or the build quality of the car? coz i considering the 1.8 TSI engine but in audi...

maybe u suay kena stuck with a bad batch?

 

[tommyh]

You cannot be a world player without a strong presence in the US market.

Toyota,GM, Ford have been crippled by the credit freeze. In fact when we read about Toyota trying to borrow from Jap G - it is for their financing arm.

Traditionally Toyota Credit is not as big a player as GM or Ford. After all their cars sell on their own merits. GM and Ford have to play the leasing/financing game. They sell huge fleets to rental agencies and offer easy credit for business owners.

VW has direct access to easy credit given that they are owned by German provincial Gov. I think the reason why VW is at the moment the top automaker is because the real big guns have had their sales drop because of the credit crunch.

Incidentally, just read a Fortune article about Buffet buying 10% of Chinese car maker BYD. See Below:

This time Buffett asked another trusted partner, David Sokol, chairman of a Berkshire-owned utility company called MidAmerican Energy, to travel to China and take a closer look at BYD.

Last fall Berkshire Hathaway bought 10% of BYD for $230 million. The deal, which is awaiting final approval from the Chinese government, didn't get much notice at the time. It was announced in late September, as the global financial markets teetered on the abyss. But Buffett and Munger and Sokol think it is a very big deal indeed. They think BYD has a shot at becoming the world's largest automaker, primarily by selling electric cars, as well as a leader in the fast-growing solar power industry.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/13/technology/gunther_electric.fortune/index.htm

 

[besotted]

You cannot be a world player without a strong presence in the US market.

Toyota,GM, Ford have been crippled by the credit freeze. In fact when we read about Toyota trying to borrow from Jap G - it is for their financing arm.

Traditionally Toyota Credit is not as big a player as GM or Ford. After all their cars sell on their own merits. GM and Ford have to play the leasing/financing game. They sell huge fleets to rental agencies and offer easy credit for business owners.

VW has direct access to easy credit given that they are owned by German provincial Gov. I think the reason why VW is at the moment the top automaker is because the real big guns have had their sales drop because of the credit crunch.

Incidentally, just read a Fortune article about Buffet buying 10% of Chinese car maker BYD. See Below:

This time Buffett asked another trusted partner, David Sokol, chairman of a Berkshire-owned utility company called MidAmerican Energy, to travel to China and take a closer look at BYD.

Last fall Berkshire Hathaway bought 10% of BYD for $230 million. The deal, which is awaiting final approval from the Chinese government, didn't get much notice at the time. It was announced in late September, as the global financial markets teetered on the abyss. But Buffett and Munger and Sokol think it is a very big deal indeed. They think BYD has a shot at becoming the world's largest automaker, primarily by selling electric cars, as well as a leader in the fast-growing solar power industry.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/13/technology/gunther_electric.fortune/index.htm

US market is dead now. American consumer is broke and the economy is haemorrhaging. Americans only know how to sign credit card and borrow money, don't know how to save and invest.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

U need updating on your American slang. Its now known as "The Bomb". If you want to say something is good, u say "its the bomb". By the way, I am not American, so I really mean its shitty when I say shits.

LOL da bomb. I didn't know updating means saying a phrase from the 90s.

The fact is that da shit means it's good, it's the one. It doesn't mean it's lousy. Damn now making up ur own slang terminolgy.

 

[Papsmearer]

u think its problem with the engine or the build quality of the car? coz i considering the 1.8 TSI engine but in audi...

maybe u suay kena stuck with a bad batch?

Here is a review from Edmunds.

Vehicle

2005 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T Fwd 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5M)

Review

We bought it after our 01 passat starting having problems (bottom pan fell off while on the hwy). The car is great when you do not have any issues. Our passat has been in service for repairs 12 times or more in 3 years. 4 of them I needed to be towed. Had fuel system problems, a/c went out twice (we live in Texas), check engine light blinked several times totally disabling the car (once over x-mas holiday), replaced rear axle beam due to old one bending, & now the oil pressure light came on and showing signs of sludging (found out that sludging is a big problem with the 1.8T engines) and might have to replace engine. We have drove across USA with it and it is unreliable on any type of trip.

Favorite Features

Good handling, sporty, fast, and feels great @ high speeds. Just do not trust it after the mfg warranty expires. Definitely but extended warranty if you buy one, it will save you thousands of dollars. Gas mileage very good, I get 28-33 mpg/hwy. City 20-24 mpg. VW does care about you after you sign!

Suggested Improvements

VW needs to be responsible for all the ongoing problems with the 1.8t engine an no play stupid when the issues occur. They are well aware of all the problems these engines have.