Overview & Reviews

Volkswagen is an automaker based in Germany. Its products typically command a higher price than those of competing models, but the return is a more upscale driving and ownership experience.

In 1934, Ferdinand Porsche was commissioned to build a small, inexpensive car at the request of Adolph Hitler. His answer -- a beetle-shaped sedan that was called a Volkswagen (German for "people's car") -- debuted two years later. Hitler had a town built near the plant for factory workers; he named it Kraft durch Freude Stadt (derived from the Nazi party's motto, "Joy through Strength"), and soon decided that Porsche's creation should be named the KdF-wagen (short for the "Joy through Strength" car). This upset Porsche, who was not political.

World War II delayed production of the vehicle; the factory suffered extensive damage during combat, and was ultimately taken over by the British Army. The company was renamed Volkswagen, and the town at the factory was renamed Wolfsburg (after Werner von Schulenberg of Wolfsburg, who had been forced to surrender his land for the construction of the town and factory). By the end of the 1940s, mass production of the Volkswagen Beetle had begun. The model made its first appearance on U.S. shores in 1949.

The 1950s saw Volkswagen broadening its product range, adding the Bus (Type 2) to its lineup. The Bus, especially, proved quite popular due to its versatility. And the Beetle, which went on to become the best-selling car of all time, quickly showed signs of being an enduring favorite, with more than 1 million models produced at the Wolfsburg factory by 1955. This decade also saw the debut of the Karmann Ghia sports car, which featured a sleek, Italian-designed two-seater body atop a Beetle platform.

Volkswagen's star rose during the 1960s, its success fueled largely by the breakout success of the Beetle. The car benefited from an effective advertising campaign and from an appearance in a popular Disney movie. By the close of the decade, Volkswagen's yearly output of Beetles topped the 1 million mark.

In 1972, with more than 15 million units assembled, the Beetle topped the world production record set by Ford's Model T. Mid-decade saw the launch of a new era of Volkswagens that had front-mounted, water-cooled engines driving the front wheels. The Passat (Dasher in the U.S.) was the first of the new breed and was built using standardized components that could be used interchangeably among other models in the manufacturer's lineup. The Passat was soon joined by the Golf (Rabbit in the U.S.), which met with immediate success. By the end of the decade, the manufacturer's lineup had grown to include the Scirocco sport coupe and the performance-oriented Golf/Rabbit GTI. The Beetle, however, was discontinued for the U.S. market.

The Golf grew in popularity during the '80s, becoming Volkswagen's most popular model. When a second generation of the car was built in 1983, it was crafted in a mostly automated process using robots -- marking the first time robots had been used in vehicle manufacture. By the mid-'80s, the U.S. version traded the Rabbit name for "Golf." The higher-performance Golf GTI helped the manufacturer make waves on the rally circuit. In 1986, Volkswagen Motorsport nabbed the title of Group A World Rally Champions.

Volkswagen saw its sales in the North American market tumble during the early '90s, but by the end of the decade, refocused marketing efforts and an increased emphasis on new products had brought about a turnaround in the company's fortunes. The popular New Beetle helped put the company back on the radar in the United States (though it fared less successfully in European markets). The body style was based on the classic Beetle, and it struck a chord with consumers who still had a place in their hearts for the iconic, cheerful-looking "love bug."

The new millennium saw Volkswagen moving into the luxury segment with the launch of the pricey Phaeton sedan and Touareg SUV. Though well-designed and executed, the Phaeton was a disappointment sales-wise, perhaps signaling unwillingness on the part of consumers to shell out premium dollars for a brand that lacks the cachet of established upscale names like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Luckily, Volkswagen has seen success with other vehicles in its lineup, which currently includes everything from family-oriented sedans to roomy SUVs. Today, the automaker enjoys a reputation for crafting vehicles that offer refined handling and upscale accommodations.

User Reviews:

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  Piece of junk - 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Eric - July 11 - 10:36 am

  I bought this car new in 2002 since day one it was an electrical nightmare. Air cond. stopped working first year. It took a month for the dealer to fix. It took 7 trips to the dealer and me figuring that there was a short in the telescopic steering wheel. Besides the at least 50 or so times this car has been in the shop, the best is when the timing belt snapped while backing out of a parking spot ended up costing me $3500 because it has an interference engine where all the valves get bent requiring head to be redone. There was a bulletin stating there was a problem with antifreeze leaking down the wiring harness, of course this happened to my car. Do not buy this car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  Ill never BUY a VW again! - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Mitch - July 10 - 7:56 am

  After 6 mnts of owning the car it was in the shop weekly.There was some kind of light that prevented me from taking my car out of park!what!?Then for no reason the back seat belt tightened up to the point that it would not move, it was so tight that it was ruining the leather in the car.Then I was told I needed new spark plugs and a spark plug wire set,it was $13 per spark plug and the wire set was $350!Total it was about $500 for a simple fix! Then my coil pack went bad which was $600 plus they told me that my coil pack ruined my plugs and wires again,(happened about a week after i already replaced the plugs and wires). I dumped that car at a dealership and will never own a German car again!

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  Dont use the word "engineered" - 2001 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By Keith Henson - July 9 - 2:00 am

  Have been very disappointed in basics on the car. Headlights constantly burn out. Center brake light intermettent. Fuel lid operator failure. Dealer is great until after you buy the car, then arrogant, not willing to assist at all. Routine service items like lightbulbs are ridiculous. Can barely see fuel filter that requires regular draining, but cant reach it. Have to dissable the car to access items. Should never be able to use word "engineered" in referring to it. Just mechanical stuff slapped into a bug shape! Stick with Japanese.

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  Please stay away, please, you wont even able to sell it - 2001 Volkswagen Jetta
  By jzmsewa - July 2 - 8:52 pm

  I purchased a car from a dealer, with very clean carfax,140k miles, nice looking. However, the radiator start leaking within 30 days, so dealer covered it. After that,3 light bulb gone in 2 weeks, and 1 starter, 1 ignition coil gone. I am a student working as a food delivery man part time. The car make me quit the job 2 times because it stopped on street, or start shaking badly for the ignition coil. The the drivers side door close sensor gone, make my car anti-thief working at night in garage and drain my battery, and at the same time, the warning ding will keep honing until 2 mins you start the car( the sensor thought you drive with door open).Then the glove box and the trunk release

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  Love and Hate. - 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan
  By Brett - July 1 - 6:29 pm

  I bought the 2016 Tiguan S fwd in November 2015 (9months ago) as my first brand new car loved it at first but now Im just okay with it. A few problems Ive ran into is strictly with the dealership. When purchasing the base model we was told we could upgrade our stereo system to have navigation and XM radio added, after purchasing the car we took it back to have the upgrades service told us that its not compatible? Another issue, my anti lock brakes are activating for no reason making it hard to stop its happened 3 or 4 times since Ive owned it on smooth dry roads. Brought it to the closest dealership 30miles away for them to tell me they cant pull my warranty information I had to take it to the dealership I bought it from 50miles away. Why?? Ive had it in the dealership 3times now for the antilock brakes and service says its not throwing a code nothing is wrong with it bring it back when it happens again.. Some pros about the Tiguan I really like how the car handles and the fwd does excellent in snow. MPG is great! I average about 29mpg combined (better than advertised).I like that the base models comes loaded. Heated leatherette seats, heated mirrors, push button start, kessy, auto headlights, rain sensing wipers, Bluetooth and back up camera. Cons, turning radius isnt all that great and the transmission shift points are a bit sloppy, mirrors are really small, anti lock brakes activating is concerning... The support from the dealership is terrible. Im developing a bad taste for VW

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  Worst experience ever - 2007 Volkswagen Passat
  By Libaridian - June 21 - 12:10 pm

  Dont get me wrong I love volkswagens, we have had Audis and Volkswagens for 10 years. We recently bought a 2007 Passat and during our 2nd oil change was told we needed a new engine. Our car has been in the shop for over 30 days and Volkswagen has been impossible to deal with. They have not offered to pay for our rental and now say that the cost incurred for this is going to be on us. What? I asked to be reimbursed for 2 car payments since I am still making them and reimbursement for the rental car and they told me "Nope sorry". Worst experience ever and my stupid car is still in the shop. Dont buy one, they are not cheap cars and not cheap to maintain.

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  A Living Nightmare!!! Beware - 2000 Volkswagen Passat
  By chevy55 - June 20 - 10:00 am

  Probably the worst car ever!! Will never ever buy a VW again. It had low miles but already had transmission, engine problems. oil and power steering fluid were leaking. car had smoke coming out of the engine. wobbled while driving on the highway and drank gas as if i was driving a 14 cylinder car. i must have read almost every review about this car and saw that almost every car has a least 89-100 thousand miles on it.i should have never bought this junk. Please buyers think twice before purchasing this car

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  Not too happy - 2004 Volkswagen Touareg
  By Deanne - June 18 - 5:10 pm

  We have had this car in and out of the shop several times. Tires are ridiculous on our model. They keep going bald with not even 18,000 miles on them. Weve had countless sensors go bad, seatbelts recalled. The middle back seatbelt keeps locking up anytime we put the seat down. I have two small children that it makes me nervous to be in the back seat with the amount of stress and tension thats on the seat itself. VW customer service is an absolute joke to work with! If you have a problem you can forget any speediness in resolving the issue. We are on our third seatbelt, second set of tires and on our third call to an attorney!

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  Amazing performance, and little gas consumption! - 2014 Volkswagen Beetle
  By Gabeybaby - June 18 - 1:01 pm

  Terrific to drive, a true drivers car. Im 64" and I fit in nicely. Excellent gas mileage, 30mpg on daily driving! Premium gas only.... The fit and finish is EL CHEAPO. Flimsy upholstery and lots of hard plastic. Rear seats are "pretend", it should be classified as a 2+2...Interior components fail, having seat railings and the seatbelt changed under warranty. Also, several issues with engine oil leaks were fixed under warranty, and I am a rather gentle driver, so reliability is not all that good at all. It looks beautiful, its designed to accommodate all drivers, even very tall ones. Its great on gas and, with the GTI engine, its a BLAST!

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  cute but dont buy - 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By Cheer Chick - June 14 - 12:10 pm

  I loved this car when i first bought it, but then after I had it for a week it was back in the shop. Ive had the transmission replaced twice on this thing. The light bulbs keep goin out and the window buttons always break. My window broke while it was down which was horrible. The dealer always is really expensive too. My brake light switch went out too and I couldnt move my car. This car spends more time in the shop then it does on the road! VW seriously needs to rethink some ideas on the Bug. My interior door handles are pealing and the cup holders stink. I cant even put any drink besides a can in there. It also needs more horspower. It has horrible acceleration! Dont buy a new Beetle.