Volkswagen emissions scandal

[puntofan01]

,Secondly, the adverts were meant as humerous but aimed to show glamorous people driving VWs, vw have always made cheaper cars for those that dont have millions in the bank but half the aim of marketing is to make people 1. Want your product and 2. Be happy to pay more for it, the aim has always been to upsell.

The iPhone for example is no better than any other android phone but apple have the best marketing team in the world which is why people camp outside the apple stores ever iPhone release and are happy to pay 50% more just to have the latest phone from Apple. This is basically the same tactic that vw have been applying to vw cars for year. Wonder why the majority of cars in movies these days are all audis? And depending what film you watch you'll see VWs starting to creep into films aswell. This is not by accident

The 1st and 3rd adverts portrayed vw drivers as being glamorous, the casino ad portrayed him as being a bit of an idiot really. VW aren't the only company to try and glamourise a humdrum car: ford did that in the 70s with the mk3 Cortina.

And yes, I'm very familiar with product placement. Lotus did it in the late 70s with the Esprit, managing to get it in The Spy Who Loved Me, and ford got the previous shape mondeo into a James Bond film.

 

[puntofan01]

How old are you? Genuine question.....

I'm 25. Why do you ask?

 

[AndyRKett]

So.... You asked

What I don't get is at what point did vw become a borderline prestige brand? Not that many years ago, they made affordable cars for the masses..... Blah blah blah

I answered your question pointing out vw have positioned the self higher in the market for years than a run of the mill car but below the likes of BMW and Mercedes.

VW aren't the only company to try and glamourise a humdrum car: ford did that in the 70s with the mk3 Cortina.

no they are not but you asked about when they became a borderline prestige brand when they have been for as long as you've been alive, through clever marketing and the quality of the product they sell.

And yes, I'm very familiar with product placement. Lotus did it in the late 70s with the Esprit, managing to get it in The Spy Who Loved Me, and ford got the previous shape mondeo into a James Bond film.

Yet knowing this (which I used as an example because you seemed incapable of getting the concept) you still asked the above question.

So 3 posts and a typically unnecessary trollesque argument later, and the answer I initially gave still stands. vw have for many many years (probably 35-40 certainly since they stopped making the original beetle) positioned the self to be a borderline prestige brand as you put it. They have always made affordable cars, but what they didn't make was "cheap" cars. So an £8000 vw might have far less in the way of luxury to a £8000 Hyundai but the vw will be better built hold its value longer. That's the ethos the company is built on and why they have the reputation they have. Basically they 'don't cut corners' which is why the scandal around the emissions testing has been so surprising because it basically goes against the values of the company and the reputation that the brand was built on.

 

[StevenRB45]

What I don't get is at what point did vw become a borderline prestige brand? Not that many years ago, they made affordable cars for the masses, now they're seen as being a cut above the rest, and the cars are overpriced accordingly.

Mr RKett has nailed it, since the Beetle went out of production in Europe they have been involved in a process of moving up market, or attempting to.

 

[puntofan01]

Mr RKett has nailed it, since the Beetle went out of production in Europe they have been involved in a process of moving up market, or attempting to.

Fair enough. I must admit, I am surprised by that. I'd thought that until recently, they were considered on a par with the likes of ford and Vauxhall etc, rather than slightly above them.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Fair enough. I must admit, I am surprised by that. I'd thought that until recently, they were considered on a par with the likes of ford and Vauxhall etc, rather than slightly above them.

You were mistaken, never have I ever considered them on par, certainly price wise if nothing else tbh.

Have you never wondered why even at 15-20 years old Golfs still command a £2-£3k price tag where as the same age Focus is nearer £200-£300

 

[JimbbobW1977]

Basically they 'don't cut corners' which is why the scandal around the emissions testing has been so surprising because it basically goes against the values of the company and the reputation that the brand was built on.

Is that what you believe? I've said this before but I think VW are cutting corners of late because they know that people will just buy the cars on the badge.

The current Golf for example is claimed to be 37% cheaper than the last one to produce. They took a step back and introduced a torsion beam rear set up on the lower models, the floor pedal accelerator has gone, they got rid of the soft touch plastics rear door panels made them hard plastics.

The one that surprised me recently, and this is also on the new Passat, was that when sat inside the car you can see bare painted metal round the door frames, even my Focus has this covered with trim.

VW reliability is not what people believe it to be neither.

 

[306maxi]

I'm 25. Why do you ask?

You just come across as very naive and inexperienced.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

VW reliability is not what people believe it to be neither.

Agreed, it never has been.

 

[dave]

Have you never wondered why even at 15-20 years old Golfs still command a £2-£3k price tag where as the same age Focus is nearer £200-£300

Andy already explained this he said its because the buyers are idiots like i-phone buyers and get suckered in by marketing and pay way too much just for a label their friends wont laugh at.
Instead of being like puntofan01 and thousands of other fiat fans and buying what they like regardless of what others think.

 

[pooroldcodger]

A few years ago I was running a small company . It was just 4 of us basically, so we din't have any hard and fast policies to adhere to. We agreed that we would lease a car for one of the guys, and we agreed on a budget. I was all for leasing the Skoda equivalent of a Passat estate, but the guy was horrified because of the image thing. BUt then also, probably because of re-sale values, the price difference to lease turned out to be negligible anyway so we went with the Passat.

 

[ChrisUK]

"Scene Tax" comes into play on anything with a VW badge more than 10years old.

 

[puntofan01]

You just come across as very naive and inexperienced.

Fair enough. I normally get told I have the mentality of an old fart!

 

[puntofan01]

"Scene Tax" comes into play on anything with a VW badge more than 10years old.

The same thing applies to Corsas and fiestas, I believe?

 

[ChrisUK]

No. Can get a knacker of an old corsa for £50. The equivalent golf would be £2k

 

[puntofan01]

Corsas are "scene" cars as well though, don't forget, lol!

 

[306maxi]

You obviously don't understand what scene tax is then....

 

[puntofan01]

You obviously don't understand what scene tax is then....

Explain?

 

[306maxi]

Scene tax is when car prices rise far more than other comparable and perhaps better cars.

Like how Escort Cosworths are worth loads more than Imprezas of the same era.

 

[StevenRB45]

Scene tax is when car prices rise far more than other comparable and perhaps better cars.

Like how Escort Cosworths are worth loads more than Imprezas of the same era.

Question is will a mk3 or mk4 golf ever be "scene"...or will they forever be rubbish?