VW shifts away from minimal four platform strategy

[Tom Nas]

"Edward Birch" <edwbirch at home.com> wrote:

> > The March issue of Ward's AutoWorld has a long article<snip>  "Critics say
>VW may have >outsmarted itself. It's cost cutting<snip> backfired on the
>German auto-maker in much the same >way that it did for GM in the
>1980s<snip> VW is suffering a buyer backlash<snip>....
>
>No buyer back-lash around here. VW Salesmen are busy delivering new cars and
>the TDI is in short supply. Who cares about platforms; just so the car is
>solid and reliable.

Nor here. VW is second in sales in Holland, just behind Opel as it's been 
for as long as I can remember. It's even passed Opel for a couple of months 
when Opel's sales were in a slump.

Skoda and Seat have created their own niches, by perceived brand identity 
and by pricing strategy, just as VAG intended. Maybe someone goes for a 
fast Seat instead of a basic Golf every once in a while, but there's no 
'buyer backlash' as reported...

Some car makers run TV commercials to shift cars- contests, free prize 
draws, free gifts, free financing... VAG brands just run 'image'-type 
commercials, which is saying enough.

Tom