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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  disappointed - 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Heidi A Silverson - December 6 - 7:06 pm

  this is not a great review - car overheated and glitched after I had it for a couple months, light switch broke, cup holders suck (they drip on the a/c adaptor when I have my phone plug in), the car and insurance is overpriced, tiny back seat, gas mileage is not great and you have to use 91 octane gas. transmission slips and the dealer wont fix it. blah blah blah...

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  Not really happy - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta
  By sallyim - December 1 - 10:00 am

  A number of things have gone wrong with this car and now I am looking at a bill of 1500.00 and of course, only the dealership can fix it. I use to love VWs ....NO MORE.

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  Avoid VW Jettas - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta
  By laurenjc - December 1 - 10:00 am

  I have had repeated problems with the engine...COSTLY repeated problems. The ENTIRE computer system of the car failed and had to be replaced...the mass air flow system replaced...oxygen sensors replaced twice. Interior problems as well; cheap quality plastics used in glove compartment hinges (snapped/broken), other broken interior items as well.

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  Mechanically reliable, but thats all - 2004 Volkswagen Jetta
  By hgates - December 1 - 12:50 am

  I have owned this for 8 years (purchased new). Mechanically, it is fairly reliable. Save a water pump there have been no issues other than normal wear and tear items. The engine seems solid, although underpowered and noisy. The transmission is not very responsive, especially switching from R to D. The rest of the car is complete junk. Everything falls off. The center hub cap on the alloys, the chrome trim on the doors, the fabric on the interior doors, the speaker grills, the headliner is falling down, the center console broke apart, the engine splash guard, the plastic lower grill inserts, etc. Also, all the rubber coating on everything peels and looks horrible after a few years.

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  Low-reliability car. - 1997 Volkswagen Jetta
  By babalooo - November 13 - 2:00 am

  Vehicle has had numerous problems from a blown manual trans, to engine, drive train, emissions, problems, you name it. Pure crap car: poor engineering, poor materials, poor design, just plain poor overall. Everyone else I know that has a VW has the same problem. VW will not fix these know generic problems like trans seal, broken locks, etc. Never again!!!

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  A piece of junk - 2003 Volkswagen Jetta
  By JETTA A POS - November 5 - 2:00 am

  Jetta has lot of mechanical problems. We bought ours(brand new) in march 2002.Since then it has been in the dealers workshop 7 times for repairs. The car did really well for the first 2000-2500 miles. After these initial miles it has given us all sort of problems. It started with door rattling, followed by the left view mirror cracking, followed by complete failure of the audio system 2 times in a row(within 10 days) . Yesterday the drivers side window fell into the door and wont go up. Guys, think twice before buying this car. Buy it if you want to spend your week day off at the dealers place. Atleast this is what has been happening to us.

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  PLEASE DONT BUY THIS CAR - 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
  By vwispos - October 31 - 10:53 am

  it was the most unreliable excuse of a car that costed a arm and leg to fix. please save your self from emptying your pockets to fix this POS and go buy a honda or some other japanese car.

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  Fuel injector #5 replacements and counting - 2011 Volkswagen JETTA SPORTWAGEN
  By lsap - October 28 - 2:29 am

  All started in the winter at about 58k. Bought care used with 34k. Got it for the gas milage as i drive 100 miles highway/ day. Check engine light came on, took it i , vw said had to replace fuel injector. Less than a month later, was in for 2nd fuel injector replacement. Vw didnt think anything abnormal about 2 going bad. Less that a month later car back in twice because of ANOTHER FUEL INJECTOR, and the key ignition switch (locks click on and off when car pulls to a stop). 2 weeks ago, check engine late on AGaIN, VW international said they sent the dealer a faulty one, and they are replacing on that was already replaced 2 months ago. Guess what happened today, after only driving 600 miles.

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  DONT buy a routon, BIG safety issue. - 2010 Volkswagen Routan
  By BoMom - October 11 - 10:00 am

  We just purchased the Routon SEL premium from jersey village Volkswagan in houston TX. I paid $37,000 for there top of the line routon. The dvd screens in the routon block the entire view from your rear view mirror,it is a huge safety hazard. Frankly this vehicle needs to be recalled before there are numerous accidents asssociated with this major design flaw.The dealership which is owned by sonic automotive even offered to have dvd screens put into the headrests, so they obviously know about there safety issue.Dont make my mistake. Buy another brand of mini van stay away from the routon. There is numerous amounts of problems with this vehichle and the one I mentioned was just one.

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  Horrible Design, Poor craftmanship - 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
  By luga - October 7 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car two years ago, and sold it last Saturday. I wish I had saved myself the $9000 (!!!) it depreciated. This is a bad car, very cheaply made. Within the first two weeks, four plastic items simply fell from it. Add to this cheap quality the tiny back seat area, the lack of grip on pronounced curves, where you always have to end up correcting in too sudden a manner, and the completely dumb electronics (the boot closes itself automatically all the time, even with the car open; the e-key is horrible and unintuitive...),and a horrible operating manual, and you have a recipe to go mad.