Alan Wolk (@awolk) and I were having a discussion yesterday about Volkswagen’s lack of brand identity — a problem exacerbated by a lack of innovative vehicles. It stemmed from an article Wolk wrote on his blog.
VW’s problem is interesting given its relationship with Audi, the non-asshole’s BMW. Audi doesn’t build a car that car people don’t like to drive, from what we hear (though they undoubtedly have their critics) — so why hasn’t VW borrowed some of their cousin’s innovation? All VW has going for it are the Rabbit, Gulf and Jetta TDI — three cars that can’t fulfill the market’s needs. And supposedly they’re making a big push in the US?
“Regardless of your opinion of the recent CPB ad campaigns, the buck stops when the consumer goes online and finds out that no one really thinks all that much of Volkswagen’s cars.”
GM and Ford used to do this, sharing model designs with Mazda, Opel, Chevy (Mexico), and Holden (Australia) — and we all know how that turned out. But, how does an automaker with arguably some of the best branding over the years turn its money maker, the Bug, into an over-priced femobile and simultaneously turn the vanagon into a minivan driven by Brooke Shields? Some of you will answer “CP+B” but there’s got to be more to it than that right? To quote the Shamwow guy, “the Germans always make good stuff.”
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More: “VW Moving to Next Round”