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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  Its a great car when it runs - 2003 Volkswagen Passat
  By jd-nmi - August 23 - 2:00 am

  This wagon drives like a sports car when it runs. VW has had ignition coil troubles with all of the 1.8L V6 and W8 engines. Car has failed 2 times and is still at shop. No parts available- 1000s of VWs all in shop with the same problem. VW will only fix the broken componets so it will be back to the shop when the next two coils fail or cashed in under the Lemon Law. VW customer service is the worst in the industry.

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  Jetta - Descent, but Expensive - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta
  By MJ in IL - August 18 - 10:20 pm

  The Volkswagen Jetta is a descent little car, it is not very powerful, but sporty enough. I have had massive A/C problems ahough and it uses and leaks oil to the tune of a quart about every month and a half until we added Valvoline Max life...helped a lot. Also, this car has crazy engineering with the circuit breaker design. It drives OK and definitely is fuel efficient. Just hope you dont have to get it worked on.

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  A Lemon in every bunch - 2003 Volkswagen GTI
  By pruittjg - August 18 - 10:00 am

  Bought this "dream car" for my daughter in college. Cant deny the fact that it is fast and fun to drive, but the quality is lousy. It has been in the shop no less 7 times in 8 months for both windows ( a known fault), stereo problems, brake problems, airbag problems. The last time the srvice personnel were frustrated and said that it looked like it had been put together using spare parts and not the right ones. Never again a VW.

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  I dont reccommend - 2000 Volkswagen Cabrio
  By Barshney - August 18 - 2:00 am

  In less than 2 years both power windows have broken several times, and are very expensive to fix about 900 dollars per window. Warrantee is less than that of the other VWs. The airbag ingnitor broke right after 25000 miles and VW refused to fix it under the warrantee. That alone is nearly 800 dollars to fix. I dont suggest this car.

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  Lemon - 2002 Volkswagen Cabrio
  By njgirl - August 18 - 2:00 am

  Have had numerous problems for one year - delivered without enough transmission fluid - not alligned - resulted in requireing new tires - cruise control worked intermittantly - ABS light on - Engine Check Light on - cannot trust safety driving - stopped when engine check light on

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  Horrible quality - 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
  By formervwowner - August 18 - 2:00 am

  I bought the car because it looked good and included a lot of features for the price. It turned out to be the biggest piece of junk Ive ever owned. These are some of my problems: the passenger window just dropped in the door while on the freeway, I demanded they fix it for free even though its out of warranty, they did (always find service bulletins on the web as proof), the mass air flow sensor went out, the CD changer went out, yellow goo comes out of the door panel on down the side of the car (I later learned its adhesive), the electric fan in the engine went out and caused the a/c expansion valve to go out. Im selling the car and will NEVER own another VW again.

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  Problems Too Many To List - 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
  By 8haggis - August 13 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car after driving a Civic for years. What a disappointment. After 3.5 years, the brake and rear lights are constantly failing. The drivers mirror has a developed a brown tinge. Had O2 sensor fail twice, light behind heater control has failed twice. Also I had the glove box hinge break due to the cold Canadian winter. I do like all of the amenities and the drive. I traded it in and am gettting the Golf GLS TDI on Wednesday. I hope I have better luck. By reading the reviews, it seems that the owners are happy.

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  Less for More - 2007 Volkswagen Passat
  By ewolfers - August 12 - 7:43 am

  After owning a 2004 Passat Wagon I was surprised to find some of the downgrades in the updated version. The dashboard materials screem General Motors-like, not-quasi luxury Euro car. The door pulls are hard plastic instead of kind of rubbery like before. The front seats are flat as pancakes offering no thigh support, so much for that five hour road trip. Theres also no lateral support in the front seats. The seats and the long straight dash remind me more of a Buick than a VW. The new dash is very far away and high up making forward visibility poor.

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  Its Worth More as Scrap Metal - 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Jim - August 9 - 7:50 pm

  I have a 1999.5 Volkswagen Jetta and for starters, Im on my second engine. The recalls, the small glitches, the leaky trunk, the fact that the computer randomly decides to lock the doors, the countless repairs. AUGH! I fell into the trap of "just one more repair" but after this latest alternator fiasco, forget it. Im too embarrassed to tell you how much I spent on the car thus far.

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  Ouch - 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan
  By Why Me - August 7 - 9:50 pm

  I loved the looks and still do, but I have had this thing in the shop 4 times: transmission, engine light, major vibration at highway speed - twice. I spent a great deal of time researching before I bought a VW. I wish I had paid more attention to a few reviews that I had seen referencing quality problems. I feel like I have no choice but to sell before the warranty runs out.