I bought a 1996 Jetta brand new… my first new car. Best and worst car I ever owned. A money pit from the jump, but I loved her anyway. Every time I shelled out another few hundred bucks to fix whatever broke that week, I’d convince myself, again, that nothing else could possibly go wrong. It was like being in some kind of weird dysfuntional relationship.
I finally had to break up with my once beloved Fräulein after 5 tortured years. I’d fallen in love with a new lady… a boring, yet satisfyingly reliable Japanese sweetheart named Toyota, and eventually her more refined sister Lexus, with whom I remain intimate to this very day.
But hell if that new VW commercial ain’t stirring some found memories of an old German flame. Wonder if she’s on Facebook? :dubious:
Interesting that they are trying to benifit from their cheating by spinning it as a redemption story. And they don’t even say wherther or not the new model has farfignewton.
I’m sure people will gripe about another commercial using the Sounds of Silence, but yeah, it’s a solid spot. It also can be edited down to a shorter spot that omits the reference to the scandal so it’s economical too.
An all-electric VW Bus will probably sell like hotcakes, with or without the snappy ad. Hope it retains the futuristic styling though.
To me, this was making lemonade out of lemons. The ad itself wasn’t bad, but when I first saw it live I couldn’t get past the first 10-15 seconds reminding me that as a company they did awful things. The electric bus is cute, but it’s now forever cemented in my mind as a redemption offering for the diesel scandal.
Sure. Not that I believe this new vehicle actually reflects that or that VW wouldn’t pull another scam in a moment if they knew they could get away with it.
This doesn’t feel like any sort of sincere repentance but rather like your kid giving lip service to the fact that they upset you before asking for a ride to the mall and $20 spending money.
As an owner of both a non-cheater and later a cheater TDI*; I have to admit that even though I feel pretty burned by the company, I’m attracted by the electric van. It’s got enough range that an absent minded idjit like myself can use it as a daily driver, it can carry all my band’s crap in a pinch, and it has a nationwide dealer support network. If it has modern VW quality interior, I could be actually motivated into buying one when my current daily driver will probably wear out in about 4 years.
*And we were deprived of the buyout on the cheater by a wreck that happened in the (IIRC) month and a half that if you lost title to your car for whatever reason, you were SOL, no money for you. So, VW has to really make me like this vehicle to get me to buy another one from them – no matter how much history we have with them beyond the TDIs.
Yes, I saw it and I thought it was great. I have always said that everyone makes mistakes… people and companies… it is how they respond to them and/or correct them that tells me their true worth. I would love to see more details on the new bus.
Of course that’s not the only reason they’re introducing an electric bus. All of the auto manufacturers are introducing hybrid and fully electric vehicles (and later autonomous vehicles). The massive cost of these changes is why Fiat sought to merge with Renault.
Well it was enough to make me find a 30 minute show that went into great detail on the ID series from VW. If they deliver what they say by 2025 I’ll probably have one in my garage.
My first new car was a 1995 Jetta, and I echo everything you said above. The funniest part is that when my wife and I were driving home from the dealership, Car Talk came on, a woman called in with a Jetta question, and the brothers could not stop laughing. But did I love that car? Yes.
Of course, if Volkswagen puts a hybrid on the market I bet if you took off the cowling for the batteries you’d find a small diesel engine.
But, I somewhat sympathize with the OP. Way back when there was a time my sister had a Jetta. Fun little five speed stick shift. Piece of crap though, even though she bought it new. Random crap went wrong with that thing after just a couple of years. I don’t remember it all, but I do remember having to use my hands on each side of the glass to get the driver’s side window to roll up.
