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Aug 20, 2009 - Ze Plane, Ze Plane!

VW workers strike in Mexico

Workers at Volkswagen AG's plant in Mexico -- the only one in the world turning out the Beetle -- went on strike Tuesday after negotiations for a salary increase collapsed.

The union, which represents 9,400 workers, rejected the company's offer of a 1% pay increase starting in February and a onetime bonus of 5,500 pesos ($425), union spokesman Arturo Monter said. Unionized workers are demanding an 8.25% salary raise.

Welcome to Fantasy Island!

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Jul 7, 2008 - 2010 Again?

 First it was the Volt, then others jumped on the 2010 release date bandwagon for electirc vehicles. (Keeping Up With The Joneses). Now VW says it has plans to release their "one liter" car in 2010.

I'm sure that we'll have all the standard equipment with this alleged release... enthusiasts who will proclaim this the ultimate solution and skeptics who will point out things like the fact that a single-passenger vehicle that is going to cost $30-$40,000 isn't really much more than an expensive toy, or at best a noble experiment that might yield some real-world practical concepts..

Gee, maybe they had it right in Car Magazine Online when they were talking about pricing for the car...

"Expect a large amount of subsidy from VW, which hopes to reap a slew of headlines in the current climate."

Imagine that. Looking for Mr. Goodpress.

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Apr 7, 2008 - Repimp My Auto

With the US auto market as competitive as it is, this is not exactly a good time to have a large recall of vehicles.

Volkswagen is recalling some 410,000 Passat sedans sold in the United States due to potential problems with heat shields and fuel line components.

VW had set its sights high for the US market and was even considering building a new plant here.

The recall was voluntary and no accidents or injuries have been reported as a result of the heat shield problem.

Read the story at Reuters.com

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Sep 7, 2007 - Virginia is for Bug-ers

As Michelle Krebs reported on AutoObserver Volkswagen of America announced yesterday that they are moving their corporate headquarters from Detroit to Herndon, VA in a move that will trim the ranks and likely provide an incentive (living in VA versus Detroit) for new talent to join VW.

I'm not sure that this will solve some of VW's percieved problems like reliability or lack of concern for the customer. And if the recent series of postings in the Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible discussion is any indication, VW has a fairly steep hill to climb.

People may think the Beetle is cute, but it's going to take a lot more than that for VW to become a big player in North America. Perhaps getting away from Detoit-think is a step in the right direction.

Un-pimp my auto?
I'm for function over form
It needs more than "cute"

3:13 am | Categories: automotive haiku, autoobserver, vw Comments (11) | Permalink | Alert Administrator

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