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:

• 

  My 2.5 Volkswagen Jetta - 2006 Volkswagen Jetta
  By IMPERIAL_DMOR - August 9 - 3:23 pm

  Getting a Jetta was the best decision I have made when buying a car! I love this car. It suits me perfectly. I love the way it looks, the way it handles and how much more luxurious it is compared to previous models. The only thing is I wish it had a more ponies under the hood. For some reason my fiancees Beetle, with the same i-5 engine and and only 150 lbs lighter, has more punch! Other then that, and a few warranty issues, it has been my most enjoyable car yet!

• 

  Cant go wrong with a TDI golf - 2004 Volkswagen Golf
  By Ears - August 9 - 10:00 am

  I bought a golf TDI and it has been the best car I have ever owned. The car gets around 50 miles per gallon running on diesel fuel which in some cases is considerable cheaper than gasoline. The cars interior is beutifully designed and very used friendly. The stock sound system is incredible. The only downfall is the performance. The car stock doesnt have all the much power, but for a diesel it does out-do many of its competitors in the performance category. But hey if u want speed go buy a corvette, if you want reliable efficiency buy a golf TDI, you wont regret it.

• 

  Golf Grrl - 2004 Volkswagen Golf
  By g4oxygen - August 9 - 10:00 am

  I love my Golf, and while its not as flashy as some other compacts, its practical, peppy and super fun to drive. It really defines me.

• 

  Pure Driving Pleasure - 2003 Volkswagen Golf
  By countrygirl - August 9 - 10:00 am

  We love our Golf. It handles like a dream. We took ours for a vacation to visit our son in South Carolina. We took the scenic route and went through the mountains. It went up the mountains without a hint of hesitation and you want to talk about economy...it didnt even cost us $50 to go over 1400 miles. There is plenty of room for packing a double tent along with suitcases. I would certainly recommend this car to anyone.

• 

  Out-of-touch Car Manufacturers - 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By Mr. B. E. Etle - August 9 - 10:00 am

  Uncomfortable back seat because of headroom; car much too low to the ground for pot holes and poor roads, interior falls apart (fourth beetle owned) colors boring - this is a fun car, and the same colors over and over, or shades of the same do not sell cars. But...... best design exterior appearance, excellent handling, best most comfortable seats. Also,hate unmovable new console, seat belts very hard to use. Most of the improvements on these new models stink. Who is designing these anyway? Why did they mess with a great car? Pay attention to my comments because I am a very loyal Volkswagen customer!!!!!

• 

  Nice Car - 2007 Volkswagen Jetta
  By jessie brouillette - August 8 - 4:26 am

  I have had my Jetta since 09/05. I have only had one problem with it, which was the truck latch didnt work all the time. They replaced it and I have had no problems since. I have owned Hondas and the Jetta is much better built car on the outside and inside. Especially the seats, they have better quality leather. For people who are shorter, the inside is user friendly and comfortable.

• 

  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.

• 

  our 98 Beetle - 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By ourlibby - August 6 - 8:53 pm

  We like ours, runs great, good on gas, inside is a joke ! But for a good sound,,, take off the muffler just run the cat :)

• 

  Best car I ever drove - 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton
  By bernardo - August 6 - 3:36 am

  Terrific ride. Floats along without any effort at 100 mph. Never a problem mechanically. Awesome technology.

• 

  My first car, the GTI. - 2007 Volkswagen GTI
  By Mike - August 6 - 3:13 am

  I did a lot of researching for my car and finally decided on the GTI. I wanted something fuel efficient, cool looking, fast, but not too pricey. Compared to any Honda (Civic, Accord), Mazda (3), Mini Cooper and Audi (A3), this car by far took the cake. Some of the best handling Ive ever experienced. This is an extremely fun and fast car which has a very subtle look about it, but shines when youd like it to. VW may not be on peoples radar for amazing cars, but the GTI has my full backing 100%. This is easily the best investment Ive ever made.