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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  Passat - 2005 Volkswagen Passat
  By Napp - September 23 - 1:16 pm

  The Passat diesel has two great qualities and one big poor one. The gas mileage is fantastic, 38 mpg town and 45 mpg or better highway. The performance is fantastic, it feels like a higher end car, more than what you pay for it. The seats are comfortable. However, the interior stinks! The finish on the handles, and all over, flaked in the first month of use. The interior is not just plastic but cheap plastic and things fall apart without much use. Without power seats the hand cranck brings down the appeal of this high perfomance car. The interior easily marks up and cannot be wiped down. The service has been very good, but theres not much they can do to fix the flaking.

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  2009 VOLKSWAGEN TDI - 2009 Volkswagen Jetta
  By RODNEY - September 23 - 2:26 am

  The car is great! It handles like a sportscar with good acceleration. It is smooth a high speeds. Lots of cargo space with the rear seats that fold down flat. Decent fuel economy averaging 35-39 mpg depending on speeds.

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  VW Passat - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By cassie8844 - September 22 - 11:26 pm

  I bought this car last year at an auction. The minute I saw it I loved it and after I took it for a drive I knew I had to have it. Well I did expect to have to fix some things considering I bought it from an auction and I got it for a pretty low price. I took it to a mechanic after I got it and he told me the ball joints needed to be replaced,among a few other things. This car has eight ball joints! I got the money for it and have someone to fix it and now I cannot find the parts. I have no idea why it is so difficult to find parts for this car but I would never buy another VW for that reason.

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  Mixed feelings about this sexy wagon - 2003 Volkswagen Passat
  By brandobean - September 22 - 2:00 am

  I bought this wagon (GLX V6) based on the myriads of hyped reviews on this site, the web, magazines and even consumer reports. I have mixed feelings about my purchase. CONCLUSION: Nice looking and driving car. But overall, it rattles more than my my sisters 10 year old honda accord (see below)! I would not buy this car again. I would buy an accord, but I needed the wagon functionality.

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  Shifting unpredictable - 2008 Volkswagen Passat
  By France - September 18 - 3:26 am

  Love to drive our Passat when its not in the shop. We have been having a problem with the transmission or shifting pretty much from the beginning. I was hoping to find other people with the same problem as we are experiencing. We took our time in choosing this car, purchased a VW for the supposedly well made vehicle it delivers, great disappointment. Its still in the shop now; hoping this time it will be fixed.

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  *Sigh* - 2001 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By peqy - September 17 - 5:56 pm

  I am a 17.5 year old male, who has been driving this car since I turned 16. I started driving it and really liked the ride. It was very smooth. The insides of the doors were peeling when I got it and continued to peel as I owned it for the next year and a half. I didnt like the looks that I got while driving it, most likely because I am a man. The cupholders are ridiculously placed, and the rubber things come out so the cups dont stay, when they actually fit under the clearance. I had to replace the brake light switch twice because it failed and wouldnt let me take it out of park. I was late to work twice. Also, a belt wore out towards the end. Overall this is a decent first car, but I am never buying another Beetle and probably not a VW either.

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  Unhappy VW owner - 2003 Volkswagen Passat
  By Ercan - September 17 - 10:00 am

  We loved the car but we had enough. First one headlight and both fog lights went out (in 6 months). Dealer HAD to remove the bumper for $500 to replace fog lights. Within 1st year motor for the rear window broke, CD player did not work for a while, some coil problem required another joyous trip to the dealer. The day running lights went out/fixed again. Just when we hoped not to see the dealer for a while we realized that one headlight was pointing down and took it back, only to be told that GREAT VW Engineering placed an ingenious $400 pulley to hold the lights, which had been broken. Now we r trading it in!

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  Brakes - 2008 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Corey - September 15 - 10:36 am

  This is my 3rd VW Jetta. I have driven these vehicles for over 10 years now. This one is nice, but the 5 cylinder burns much more than my last 4 cylinder and without much more pep. My real complaint is the brakes, I am at 23,898 miles and about to change the rear brakes, AGAIN, for a cost of around 370 dollars. Coming from vehicles (VW included) that I went almost 50,000 miles on rear brakes this is disturbing to say the least. Still a great car, a few flaws and electronic issues as every Jetta I have owned or known anyone to have owned has had and would still recommend it if they fixed the brakes. Hope this helped.

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  Great Gas Mileage, Poor Construction - 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Pete - September 14 - 7:50 pm

  I picked up a used 2002 Jetta last fall. Since I drive a lot of miles a year, I wanted the good gas mileage of a diesel and none of the complexity of a hybrid. VW is the only game in town for a reasonably priced diesel car, and the Jetta was in my price range. The car delivers the good mileage that I expected. I average 42 mpg, and usually cruise around 80-85 mph. I have had no mechanical issues in the 20,000 miles I have driven it. My gripe with this car is the build quality, or lack thereof. The Monsoon stereo is junk. I have two blown speakers and the antenna died, therefore there is no AM reception. Also, there are more squeaks and shuffling sounds in this car than my 98 Pontiac Grand Prix had. Plus, the center console has pretty much fallen apart.

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  2003 Volkswagen GTI VR6 Update - Dont buy a VW - 2003 Volkswagen GTI
  By Rob6r - September 13 - 5:43 pm

  This car has given me more headaches than it is worth. My problems with it to date are as follows: 1-radio knob broke and fell off, headrests were missing upon delivery. 2-breaklights stopped working (dealer fixed) 3-front right wheel well fell out! 4-driver side seat was defective and replace 5-passenger seat was defective and replaced 6-on board computer display issues...dealer would not fix unless they saw it happening. 7-battery defective and replace at year two, 20,000 miles 8-dealer gave on computer display, replaced cluster with another yet another defective one 9-back for another gauge cluster... If you buy one, live close to the dealer, youll be there a lot.