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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  I dont trust the engine - 2015 Volkswagen Jetta
  By chuck nyman - October 2 - 1:57 pm

  at 3300 miles on the car my wife was at a stop light. She stepped on gas to leave the stop light, the motor raced to 6,000 rpms and engine roared but the speed stayed the same. This scared the hell out of her, she pulled into a parking lot and turned off the motor and waited a few minutes and drove home. I drove it for 30 minutes trying to replicate the problem. What really bothers me is couldnt get ahold of anyone at Volkswagen to talk about the problem locally or nationally. I dont Volkswagen cares about its customers. They should have someone available to talk to 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I will not buy another Volkswagen again!

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  VW FAIL. - 2001 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Josh - September 13 - 2:26 pm

  I financed this Jetta used for around $11k and ended up spending over $13k in repair receipts over the short lifetime of this car. Every possible part on this car had to be replaced at least once, and it was constantly towed to the shop. We just got rid of this for a reliable Honda.

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  May the Force be with You - 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
  By sharbi - September 7 - 10:00 am

  Vehicle purchased because Volkswagens reputation as producing a dependable car, & several items were standard, i.e. floor mats & power doors. NEVER buy a Volkswagen if it is a new design. My 2000 Jetta has been nothing but a headache - excessive oil consumption, broken pieces of plastic origin unknown, and the oxygen sensor light keeps illuminating. VW America refuses to stand behind its product, and Ganley, Inc is a dishonest operation. Both parties continue to pass the buck. If you are thinking about purchasing a Volkswagen, make sure you have another reliable vehicle to drive while you are waiting for the repairs to be made.

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  Big Mistake - 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
  By neverbuyingavwagain - September 7 - 10:00 am

  I watched the cool commercials. I salivated when I first saw the car in person at the dealership....what a great looking car. I test drove it....wow what great pickup it had. I bought it...BIG MISTAKE. The car in a nutshell is a piece of crap. Bad electrical system, Bad 02 sensors, bad window regulators, the car is so low to the ground everything scrapes,Bad water pump, bad starter, bad battery, the door frames leak water into the cabin when it rains heavy...the list goes on. Yes it looks great. Yes it has pickup...but the reliability and the cost of things breaking and going wrong at this mileage? I smell a lemon. Dont buy it.

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  BEWARE!!! - 2004 Volkswagen Touareg
  By Dakota - August 30 - 10:53 am

  Oh, to have the decision back on whether to buy this thing. Well, I got ripped on this one. The Touareg has to be the worst value out there. Let me start with the transmission. Press the pedal half way down and it doesnt move, press a tiny bit more and it throws you in the back seat. Its impossible to drive in stop and go situations. Besides the cheap brakes pads (unbelievable amounts of brake dust), stopping is an adventure as well. Both front seats squeak already and its very top heavy. I bought a 2004 that MSRP at 51,000 for 40,000 and I cannot get rid of it after 6 months. The value drops like a rock due to the recalls, electronic problems and engine. Many recalls. STAY AWAY from it.

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  Dont do it - 2002 Volkswagen Cabrio
  By Dnice - August 24 - 10:00 am

  Got this car because its what I had wanted for some time; what a joke. With my foot flooring the gas pedal, it took a few seconds to pick up speed. I was getting in the way of the other drivers. Granted I hadnt test driven the car before buying it, so I do blame myself for getting saddled with a cheaply built, sluggish, low performance vehicle. It freely swayed from side-to-side with the wind and rattled over every bump in its path. I hated it after 2 days, within two months it was history. Now Im riding in a Benz and have that "new car feeling." An important factor missing when driving the Cabrio.

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  Terrible vehicle - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By MiMi - August 17 - 5:46 pm

  I will never, ever buy an VW vehicle again. I bough this car three years ago, and ever since, the car keeps breaking down every few weeks! Every electrical problem that could have happen, did happen. Every mechanical problem that could have happen, also did happen. The Volkswagen should be ashamed for selling such terrible vehicles. Read other reviews here before you decide to buy any VW.

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  Cute but terrible - 2001 Volkswagen Cabrio
  By Brittany - August 13 - 10:46 am

  I got my 2001 VW Cabrio as a high school graduation gift two years ago. My dad was so proud that he could get it for me, but now we are very very upset! Its been one thing after another with this car! It may be cute, but the upkeep and all the money going into it is an awful lot of hassle. First both front window dont roll down or up. My AC doesnt work. Timing belt wore before it should have. My seat is broken, my shifter shaft is completely worn. I took it to the dealer two days ago and the price to fix the AC and the shifter shaft was 1900. Youd think because it was German designed you get what you paid for, no. You dont. Dont get this car. it is cute but you are naive if you do.

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  Diesel engine. VW dealerships are scammers - 2012 Volkswagen Passat
  By Richard Fleming - August 7 - 11:10 pm

  Not sure why I couldnt select anything but gas models from the drop-down list here but I have the 2012 TDI SE with automatic. The car was in the dealership so many times for repairs and recalls that the salesman joked about how he saw us there all the time. Very amusing. The windows got noisy when moving them up and down. We had wind noise from the windows that took two trips to the dealership to get corrected. The vehicle came to us from the factory with damage to the interior trim in five places. We had ordered ahead of time and thats the thanks we get? The "leatherette" vinyl looks nice but is very stinky for years from off-gassing. The rubber matts are very smelly, too. Cloth wasnt available with an automatic transmission which is stupid. Youre forced to buy a sunroof you dont want and smelly vinyl seats. I can go on but the real scandal is how we started having problems with the emissions system near the end of the warranty. We took the vehicle to Fairfield Volkswagen three times for "repairs". The first one was them turning off the issue in the computer and telling us to wait and see. The same problem happened again (the urea system told us it would shut off the car in X miles). The third time they said they had done this and that. Well, then the warranty expired and the same problem happened again. I took it to another VW shop in Cincinnati and had to fight to get VW to cover the repair under warranty. Well, apparently that "repair" didnt actually repair anything. My spouse, when it acted up again, took it back to Fairfield because we started having tire pressure warnings. They replaced all four tire sensors, claiming they were faulty. They also claimed the entire urea system needed to be replaced. He ended up paying $2400 for these repairs – repairs that had allegedly been done already by the other dealership under warranty. The reason the tire pressure light had come on? There was a nail in the back tire that VW never found and repaired. None of those tire sensors were actually bad. I bet the urea system had already been repaired by the other dealership and Fairfield knew it could scam my spouse because hes too nice a person so they probably either ripped out the replacement system or just charged us for something they didnt even do. So, we have a car with poor resale value thanks to DieselGate and its a ticking time bomb, knowing VWs legendary reputation for reliability. And we cant rely on the dealerships to even remove a nail from a tire rather than charge us thousands for alleged repairs to things that should have been fixed before and which werent a problem in the first place. VW doesnt just lie to the world its dealerships have a reputation for lying to customers.

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  Oh My God!! - 2003 Volkswagen Passat
  By Not what I Planned - August 5 - 2:00 am

  Timing belt failure!! $5000 and none of it covered under warrantee!?!?!!? Just be wary a regular change at 60K cost almost $2000 and yes the car is not paid for yet!!!!!!!