I took the OP to mean that they market to idiots. Not that idiots buy VW’s.
But what do I know? I work in advertising. :rolleyes:
I hope idiots don’t buy VW’s! Or, er, that all who buy VW’s ARE idiots!
It didn’t send me into a fit of madness, but I wound up talking back to the TV on that handle licking commercial. For chrissake, the one car I see all the frickin’ time on the road around here is a silver friggin’ Jetta. There are probably twenty million on the lot alone, dude. Move on!
But generally I find the ads to be unusual or sorta cute.
Anyone that ever buys a car because they like a commercial probably deserves what they get, case in point Mitsubishi and it’s zippy marketing spin on a quality control nightmare.
But… I really enjoy the VW ads. The consistently make me smile, even back to the one where the two slackers snagged the stinky lounger.
This coming from a man who drives a Peugeot. Can’t miss going with that world famous French technology, can you?
I’ve got a Beetle with a stick. Very nice, easily able to handle itself in traffic, good strong clutch. And at the time it was the safest car in the class. Decent mileage, and people smile when they see it. Good trunk, too.
My next car is going to be the 5-Door SVT Focus, mind you, because I want the plain brown wrapper body and not the fancy cladding, so my perspective on things may be a bit strange.
But, mechanically, good solid car. Dashboard is handy… I’ve put velcro across mine, for holding full maps. And it’s very good in snow. I can tell you this because I just drove from mid-Westchester to Queens NY in it, the day after the blizzard. The roads are not entirely plowed yet. It’s a Golf in a fancy wrapper, but the wrapper doesn’t do much harm… except for working on the engine… and it certainly has a positive impact on people.
Sure, it’s got a hundred and ten horse, not the 60 of the original car. Sure, the engine’s in the front and not the rear. Sure, it’s not air cooled, and it can’t float.
But it certainly is easy to spot in a parking lot.
The perennial deal-killer for me with VW’s was their shifters always felt too rubbery and vague to me on a test drive. The salespersons always said you get used to it and get better at quickly finding the gear you actually want but I was never willing to pony up the cash to test that hypothesis.
<egregious hijack>
Is your Beetle geared really short like most German four cylinders such that you can approach the redline in top gear for maximum top speed or is it geared like an American car to make perhaps only 3500 RPM in top gear to maximise gas mileage? When driven gently, what kind of gas mileage do you get?
<egregious hijack>
Huh. I swear I put a " 
" after my last post. S’OK, Coldy knows how I meant it.
One aspect of the New Beetle ads I hate is the claim on being more roomy. Not true at all! Curved spaces are less efficient for people and packages than round spaces. For cars in particular, curvy is bad, boxy is good. Sheesh. I actually do feel you have to be an idiot to buy a New Beetle. Just get the Golf/Jetta/or whatever it is, that was built on the same frame but has better use of interior space.
I was a '69 Beetle owner. Loved it. Went to some VW dealerships to look at Rabbits. Overpriced pieces of junk. VW lost their core market decades ago and has never recovered.
Phlospher, the Jetta (Bora in Europe, nicknamed “Boring” ;)) VR6 is a good machine. Excellent engine, good road holding. But, have you driven a standard Golf or Jetta? They don’t get the fancy Billstein springs and lowered floor pan. They steer like pigs, IMHO. Plus, if you don’t mind me asking, what did it cost you? I can tell you the VR6 costs EUR 39,000 over here, or almost $42,000. That’s a lot of money in my book, for a Golf with a trunk and a snazzy engine.
Weirddave, everybody has their preferences when it comes to cars. There’s nothing wrong with a VW, but I bought a Peugeot 306 because of its handling, and excellent seats. At the time, it was the absolute hatchback class leader in handling. It’s successor, the 307, is at the top of the league again if the journalists are to be believed. But hey, handling is only one aspect, and if you’re more interested in stuff like resale value (well, I am too, somewhat ;)), then a VW will definitely beat a Peugeot. I’ll still leave the Golfs behind me in the corners, resale value be damned. 
Lorenzo, if the Beetle has the same gearbox in the US as it has over here, then it’s got the “normal” gearbox, not an overdrive one. If you wanna know its mileage, look for data on a VW Golf.
Coldfire - Maybe thats why you do not like it. We paid $28.5 USD, and it’s loaded.
Also you asked had I ever driven a standard? Uh, standard in the US means manual-clutch and you have to shift yourself. Did you mean Automatic? Automatic - in the US - means the car does everything, you basically start it and go, no shifting?
I can see how standard could mean “the norm” .
To answer no. I have not driven an automatic Golf or Jetta. All of our vehicles are Standard Shift… Better handling and much more fun, especially with the addition of the 6th gear in our new ride 
Back in 1976, my parents bought a brand-new red convertible Beetle. We named her Ladybug.
In 1986, just before my sixteenth birthday, my parents sold Ladybug to a girl who was two years ahead of me at school.
I’ve never forgiven them.
I want a red convertible new Beetle. Now.
My 35th birthday is coming up.
The thought of that commercial still makes me smile. It was wonderful.
And I’m obviously alone, but I like the Passat commercial with the guy sliding around the ice.
Sadly, my only experience with a VW was my parents’ Vanagon, which was hell to shift, so I doubt I’ll get one, but I love their advertising.
Phlospher, my bad, a bit of multi-lingual poor translating there. When I said “standard”, I didn’t mean a manual speed Golf, I meant a -say- 1.6 liter basic model with no frills, least of all the fancy springs and shock absorbers that make your VR6 corner so well. My point being, that some of VW’s main competitors (well, in Europe at least) make better handling cars across the range (Alfa Romeo 147, Peugeot 307, Fiat Stilo, Renault Megane), whereas with VW, good handling comes at a stiff premium - in the sportier versions such as the VR6.
If you knew how many chicks I have met just because of my New Beetle Sport, you´d run to buy one right away, maybe I am an Idiot… but I am the type that everybody says:
look the idiot this superbabe is holding…!!!
I dont care about marketing, I buy what I like…
Good advice if one wants EPA estimates which don’t well estimate street gas mileage. I’ve had cars which have exceeded their highway mileage estimates when driven gently on interstates and heard of hard driven cars that couldn’t achieve their city ratings.
So I thought I’d ask the man who owns one. Thanks.
Oh, sure. I was merely taking another mild stab at those who think a Golf with a different body is somehow an amazing car.
Well, as a woman who owns one, I’ve found that my Beetle (a 1.8T) gets 24 to 30 mpg, depending on how much highway I’ve driven. Not as good as it’s sibling, a convertible Rabbit, who gets 30 and up, but not bad.
–benanuel, who loves her little kickball of a car, no matter what people may call it
See, now THAT was an example of a GOOD VW ad.
And I can’t remember a BAD ad for the New Bug.
Ahhh… sorry Coldfire and anyone else here who read that wrong… the Asshats remark was directed towards V-Dub, not the SDMB
Waaa,
You mean you dont love that commercial where the folks on the city sidewalk are helpful and friendly to one another and it was all precipitated by a girls smile to the guys in the passing bug?
After my 79 monza chevy expired in '84, I have bought nothing but VW’s- Ok I really want an alfa romeo, but the VW’s will do!