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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  Beware of the Jetta - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta
  By kerryk_21 - August 6 - 10:00 am

  You may look good driving a Jetta but you wont look so cute shelling out money every month for repairs. In less than two years I have replaced the cerpentine belt,the passenger window fell through the door,shocks and brakes, mass air flow filter, many small repairs, $40 oil changes and last but not least the catalytic converter. This single part costs around $1,000 and usually lasts the lifetime of most cars but not the jetta. The cup holder needs to be thrown out the window and I dont know what to do with the gunk that drips from the doors! Youve been warned!

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  Good run around car - 2012 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Vw - August 3 - 8:39 pm

  This is a decent car I went from a Honda pilot to a Jetta people complain about acceleration but most compacts are slow and have CVT transmission anyway so it wont matter what compact there all slow. I like the interior and trunk space sad thing reason why I gave it 3 stars is the gas mileage is the same as my pilot. But this car does the everyday commuter job for getting around.

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  First VW may be my Last - 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan
  By tg3 - July 29 - 9:24 am

  Owned a chevy and honda previously, went with the Tiguan b/c the manual trans and looks... have had the car just over a year and its been in the dealer for fixes 3 times (my chevy and honda needed nothing but routine maintenance). People warned me with buying a VW, but I was like how can it be so bad if so many people have them?. Well sadly I am finding out. I love the car but never imagined having probs with a car thats only a year old. How can VW shoot for achieving #1 car sales if they make junk? Well, this is definitely my last VW, thinking of trading it for a Rav4 before I have to start paying for the repairs. Sorry to say, I did have hopes of 6 years with this car.

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  Not suited to the weaker sex - 2003 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By gebrimner - July 23 - 10:00 am

  The convertible top is the reason to buy but it is not easy to use. The handle to pull and latch the top is hard for a woman to use. Likewise when the top is down the cover boot for the top is required to be in place and it too is difficult to latch. The cover boot was replaced for a better fit but still suffers from difficulty to push the latches into the locking slots. Dealer suggestion to place the boot cover on while heated up is a joke!

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  DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE - 2004 Volkswagen Touareg
  By Holly - July 23 - 2:13 am

  6 days after I purchased the vehicle 3 of the 6 ignition coils were shot and needed to be replaced, a few months later another ignition coil was shot. Since then the Emissions light has been repeatedly going off, was told it was the Catalytic Converter, $3000 to repair! I thought maybe there was something wrong with the sensor as it only seemed to go off when there was a drastic weather change, yet have not had a problem since reset. Power Relay went last week, $1300, then told the Electronic Break Control Modual Assembly was shot, $2400, yet replacement did not fix problem and they have no idea how to fix! DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE!

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  STAY AWAY - 2001 Volkswagen Cabrio
  By smartin6 - July 22 - 10:11 am

  this is the worst car i have ever encountered. i bought mine used less than a year ago with 89K miles, now at 94K and i have put almost $3000 into this car. Tie Rods, axels, timing belt, windows, distributor, engine coils, & spark plugs have been replaced, power steering fluid leaks badly, engine heats up and needs new coolant all the time. car runs out of time often and it costs about $70-90 for a vw specialist to work on the car. this thing is a death trap, i wouldnt even take a free one. BUYER BEWARE. glove box and rear upholder breaks easily and front upholder only big enough for a soda can. Also now i need to use fully synthetic oil to keep the engine from misfiring/ coils going bad.

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  Lasted only 75000 miles VWdesign FLAW - 2012 Volkswagen Jetta
  By unhappyvw1 - July 20 - 1:38 am

  Bought as certified pre-owned with 23K miles Loved the car great mileage ect Drove it to work 70 miles (reason we bought it) and at quitting time tried to start only to have engine turn over then lock up. Turns out after some research these motors have issue with inter cooler As motor is run in cold weather air that comes in freezes on inter cooler as the day warmed up ice thawed and when I tried to start water was sucked into engine (NOT GOOD) Dealer will do nothing out of warranty 600 price tag to just evaluate it. Issue with VW since 2009 USE EXTREME caution before purchase Cost 8-10K to replace this motor

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  How did I get into this mess????? - 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
  By formervwlover - July 16 - 2:00 am

  great to drive..disaster to own after warranty. (5th VW) 4 times for clutch/ sulpher smell/$600 starter at 25K Miles/ cheap plastic inside/out: front bumper pulled off TWICE/ O2 sensor (3 times)/ The best part is every time I bring it in for another ELECTRICAL repair, the dealer breaks someting else I have to fight about because they deny that anything is related to anything. I GIVE UP!!!!! Going for a volvo now.

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  Please do not buy - save yourself - 2003 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By lpdjam - July 16 - 2:00 am

  This car has been in the shop over 15 times in 8 months. The roof does not go up or down most the time. The windows dont go up and down some of the time. The conv. top cables, motor, computer sensor. The roof and electrical system are a total mess. Not even to go into the airbag light going on and not parts available to repair at this time.

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  Buyer Beware - 2002 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By Brian - July 12 - 8:30 am

  I bought my Volkswagen Beetle new in 2002. Weve had nothing but trouble with it. It has tons of rattles that cant be fixed. the hatchback shocks failed three times and the CD player has never worked. We had to have a complete engin rebuild at 58,000 miles (the engine came apart) and a dealer that doesnt give a darn. Do yourself a favor buy a Honda or Toyota.