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So what exactly is VW doing wrong? I think their problem is the engine lineup. The only engine they have that I would consider buying is the 2.0T, the turbo charged 4 cylinder. And you can no longer get that engine in the Passat or the Jetta, their two biggest sellers.
Yes, I know about the diesel, but most Americans are simply not ready to buy a diesel engine, not at this point in time. As for myself, I no longer drive enough miles per year to have an interest in a diesel. Driving maybe 12,000 miles per year, and that spread across 2 or 3 vehicles, I don't really care about mpg.
VW doesn't have trucks and trucks are in a hotcakes mode right now. I wonder if a lot of people just think VWs are too "small" and don't bother checking out the showroom.
VW unfazed by U.S. sales lull as luxury brands gain
He did say his 2010 Camry is using oil at a rather alarming rate, at only 26K miles--1 1/2 qts. in 3K miles. I told him while that's not a crisis, it is inconvenient. He said he looked online and that's not uncommon (his words).
I don't know, as I don't troll Toyota pages.
IMHO, that isn't the issue. The 2.5 offered has comparable horsepower to the competition and the V6 needs to be offered - again due to the competition offering a V6. Although the 2.0T is a great option, most buyers in this segment probable fear the idea of a turbo.
BTW, the Jetta is now available with the 2.0T.
That is a part of the issue. Passat and Jetta sales jumped on the new models but they now have to continue upgrading features and not let these models hang around 6-8 years.
VW also needs a Passat 3 row crossover, a Jetta 2 row crossover, and a subcompact all of which need to be built in North America. IMHO a new van (Transporter) and truck (Amarok) would not be worth importing.
I've warned her again and again but the best I've been able to do is to try to steer her toward a new MINI instead of taking a chance on a used one. I won't be surprised if we don't go car shopping when I visit her later this fall. Part of me really wants her to get one so I can drive it some. :shades:
She would keep the Subaru for backup at least.
Do you have a reference for that? I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere.
Just to clarify.
vw.com
Jetta Engines
It's the GLI engine.
Dave, under most circumstances, wouldn't said car with 40K miles still be under its powertrain warranty?
I wont be buying one of these Kialacs!
Escape is doing really well - tons of them here in CA, too.
I have a 2007 Tahoe LTZ 5.3 and in between oil changes I lose between 1-2 quarts of oil. I'm not burning it and it's not leaking anywhere. I am using a high quality oil has anyone else had this problem?
You never trolled a GM page? Who are you, and what have you done with circlew?
Come on, conventional wisdom is that every Chevy ever made uses oil. Everyone knows that stuff doesn't happen on a Toyota.
(Especially one three model years newer than the example you provided.)
Come on, conventional wisdom is that every Chevy ever made uses oil.
You said it!
I can get more but why bother? You get the point. Remember, balance.
I can get more but why bother? You get the point. Remember, balance.
Well I did a google search for "Toyota oil consumption problems" which yielded 1,250,000 results. The search for "Chevrolet oil consumption problems" yielded 406,000 results.
On AutoBeef.com a site that records complaints for all vehicles, the same searches resulted in a total of 3,260 for Toyota and 2,480 for Chevrolet.
Yeah, I know internet search results are meaningless....
Just for kicks, I did a slight modification:
"Chevrolet transmission failure" - 119 million
"Toyota transmission failure" - 1.17 million
And of course there could be some "Chevy" spellings that don't show up in the "Chevrolet" search term, too. :P
"Toyota engine failure" = 1,590,000
"Toyota air conditioner failure" = 9.5 million
"Honda air conditioner failure" = 15.4 million
"Toyota engine failure" = 1,590,000
So it appears, relatively, that GM engines are good but trannys not so much!
One second?
More hyperbole. Shocker.
In North America last year, GM's profit margin was 7.6 percent, trailing Ford's 10.4 percent, a record for Ford.
At current exchange rates, Toyota’s estimated 2013 profit would be $17.9 billion while Volkswagen’s would be $17.3 billion. The average forecast for GM’s operating profit is $7 billion.
The results were enough to spark a 6 percent rise in Toyota’s U.S.-listed shares, and surely to strike fear in the hearts of Toyota’s competitors. As Bloomberg news points out, while Toyota was edged out by General Motors in number of cars and trucks sold, it recorded more than three times the profit.
I will let that quote stand with only one comment! OMG, suggesting having an open mind to look at that broader picture!!!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
They are doing much better on the taxpayers dime at the moment. Just not close to the top profit companies, oil usage aside.
BTW, when can I expect tyranny and A/C issues to arise in my daughter's CR-V?
70K and no issues beside a computer re-flash so far.
By now, my previous GM example was over $5K in failures.
And rather than try to build market share by lowering prices, the automaker is mostly using its lower cost structure to achieve higher profit margins. In fact, the number of cars it sold in the quarter was actually slightly below the level of the same quarter last year, 2.23 million, down from 2.27 million. But Toyota was making more money off of each car, reaping higher profits. That’s particularly welcome for U.S. and European automakers, who can live with the fact that Toyota is making record profits but would be hard-pressed to match price cuts. (It may also be politically savvy of Toyota because if it were to slash prices and grow market share, it could push other governments to raise the political pressure on Japan to curtail its easy money policies.)
All they need do is invest one-third of the 3X profit advantage over the American Dinosaur GM into their products to keep them best in class and their market share will rise by itself. IF they are not too big to execute that strategy.
Sheesh, I've heard of tranny and AC issues in CR-V's, but not 'tyranny'. Man, the Japanese makes lead GM again!
I've yet to even put a battery in my Cobalt...five years and four months old and 62K miles and it sits outside all the time. You would be amazed at the smoothness of idle...original plugs and wires. Built-in satellite radio. I'm still very happy with my $9,900 new car purchase which was built 40 miles down the road from me.
I gotta say, the Edmunds pic of the blue '14 Silverado that shows up when I log in, doesn't do very much for me. The front end reminds me a bit of the Wagon Master Family Truckster--that two-tier look of the same thing.
Mine is 5 years also on the battery. It's home from OSU for a couple weeks between apartments and I find the battery cranks just fine. I'd just put in a Walmart battery if it didn't. Engine idles very quietly and smoothly. Shifts great. Rolls well on the Michelin Defender tires.
I was looking at the used cars at a local Hyonda dealer and noticed their storage area for their repairs seemed really full. The doors to the repair all 5 of them were open wide and they were in there working. Must be a lot of things going wrong with those perfect cars from Hondia. Hadn't seen that before--even when the showroom has closed for the evening. I was going to take sit in the new Accord to see if I wanted to test drive. Now that they've "cured" the noise problem that they and their fans claimed they never had all along (:grin). I think a toyota would be a better buy because they are working so hard to sell cars to get a title of #1--that's with those incentives that folks in 2003 were telling me Hyonda and toyota didn't need because their cars were so perfect.
As far as I can tell, they put their wheels on one lugnut at a time. All cars have things that go wrong, even the CLK500's of which two have shown up at a neighbor's shadetree garage, cars owned by cheapskates that don't want to pay 1200$ for a Mercedes tuneup. If you can't afford to maintain it, don't buy it would be my motto for the status-seekers.
I'd like to buy a relatively low mileage Cobalt for myself to drive but the prices on used ones are outrageous. I get mail from dealers wanting to buy my black 2LT with a package that gives the low running lights and leather wrapped wheel and shift lever.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Cobalt SS would be one to find - a mint cared for one (turbo model esp) will become a special interest car.
They will need the extra revenue to pay for their ongoing frame replacement program for Tacoma and Tundra. They are mostly keeping owners of trucks up to MY 2004 satisfied, but unfortunately there are many with MY 2005 and above with the same rust problem. There is no official reframing program in place for the newer models and owners are not very happy when they are told that by their friendly Toyota dealer while also being told the truck is unsafe to drive.
Their are some examples of Toyota stepping up and re-framing the 2005+ models, and eventually probably will have to extend the program for the newer trucks. For the most part the owners with new frames seem very satisfied, as they should due to the fact that each re-frame costs in the $10K-$14K range often on trucks that are only worth half that.
Obviously Toyota is serious about maintaining their reputation.
I wrote a post possibly a year ago about that phrase due to the fact that in the same overview in the reliability section the cars had solid green checkmarks. At the same time in the overview of the Mazda RX-8 there was no mention of the well documented terrible reliability record of its Rotary engine.
I interpreted that as anti-GM bias and stated such in my post. I am glad that Edmunds realized that there was no legitimate reason for that comment in their overview of the GM twins.. My son's girlfriend has a Solstice. She loves it and it has been very reliable, but I agree the interior is cheap.
Of course the change could have nothing to do with my post and it might have been made as just ongoing updating by Edmunds.
Boy, no kidding...for a defunct model, used ones still bring a lot IMHO. I've been looking for an '09 for my younger daughter, thinking I could find one that still has some of the 5 yr./100K powertrain warranty left. I don't want to buy a car with over 100K miles, but ones with a lot less than that still are in the $9K range...or more. Sheesh!
She's not enamored with learning to drive a five-speed in our '08.
It'll build character and everyone taught to drive a stick helps keep the dream alive. The dream? That of keeping the standard transmission from going the way of the Studebaker. :shades:
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
I'll be the first to concede, I tend to not think like the average guy does. If I want a car that feels good, bolsters my image, I'd rather it be an old car than something new. But that's me.
But for models 2007 on up, the reviews I see on reliability are pretty good.
Of course all countries do these sorts of things to manage their economies. Japan is printing excess money and spending a bunch domestically to spur the economy, and in the process, increasing their deficit significantly. Sound familiar? :P