>It is UGLY!  I wouldn't be caught dead driving or owning one.

I have to agree. VW has totally lost its way. Once it made simple but
sophistcated vehicles which were affordable (in some markets! They
were expensive in most). Now it makes aluminum Audis, Lamborghinis
and Bugattis... none of which are even reliable, I'd bet.

>VW has always been known for its styling expertise as evidenced by
>the Rabbit to Golf transition

The Rabbit WAS a Golf (abeit a bastardized one), with badge-engineering.

>upper scale Jetta- oooops... I meant Passat.

The Passat has always been unrelated to the Gold, apart from sharing
drivetrains. Tha Jetta (Bora) is a 3-box Golf.

>I get the distinct impression that VW is floundering as a company

Amen.

>It's time VW went out into the real world and asked people what they
>really want instead of relying on Ford's, GM's or Chrysler/Daimler's
>marketing figures.

If VW really wanted to bring back buyers by nostalgia, it could have
done the job properly. The New Beetle could have been a modern
rear-engined boxer-powered car, but no, instead they tacked a tacky
skin onto the tawdry Golf 4. The new Microbus coould have looked very
similar to a Split van (the best-looking van evey, even perhaps one
of the 2 vans ever made that could be called beautiful) with modern
mechanicals and practical interior. But they spit the dummy again...
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
64 (3) 473-8863
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh & VW/Toyota van nut
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Q: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.
A: Why is top posting frowned upon?