Comments on: Why doesn’t Volkswagen offer more Fuel Efficient Cars in the US? http://drjunker.org/2008/07/21/why-doesnt-volkswagen-offer-more-fuel-efficient-cars-in-the-us/ On a quest to find optimality in an imperfect world. Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:31:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Achim http://drjunker.org/2008/07/21/why-doesnt-volkswagen-offer-more-fuel-efficient-cars-in-the-us/comment-page-1/#comment-623 Achim Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:46:48 +0000 http://drjunker.org/?p=133#comment-623 Well, I think the answer to the your question might be: because Volkswagen assumes the customer wants it that way. Ever since Americans liked cars with big engines and huge displacement. Compared to my 5.7 Liter V8 (which is called a small block) even the 2.5 Liter Jetta Engine is actually small. Only the high fuel prices during the last months forced Americans to rethink their attitude. And they actually did. Gas guzzling SUVs are now offered with large discounts (up to 40%), because nobody wants them anymore. Smaller and more fuel-efficient cars are now what is asked for. And you're right, if Volkwagen would be clever they could take great advantage of this situation with their line-up of fuel-efficient cars and offer them in the U.S.. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Volkswagen recently announced to build a new plant in Tennessee, where smaller and more fuel-efficient cars can be produced. Source: http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/news/2008/07/US_Tennessee.html So maybe in a few years you will see a VW Polo on american streets. Here's an outlook how it might look like: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rzYaU5Qvdm8 Sorry for those of you who don't speak German, haven't found it English. Main thing is they are argueing who gets Peter (the Polo GTI Driver) in his team, because the car makes him sporty ;-) Well, I think the answer to the your question might be: because Volkswagen assumes the customer wants it that way. Ever since Americans liked cars with big engines and huge displacement. Compared to my 5.7 Liter V8 (which is called a small block) even the 2.5 Liter Jetta Engine is actually small.

Only the high fuel prices during the last months forced Americans to rethink their attitude. And they actually did. Gas guzzling SUVs are now offered with large discounts (up to 40%), because nobody wants them anymore. Smaller and more fuel-efficient cars are now what is asked for. And you’re right, if Volkwagen would be clever they could take great advantage of this situation with their line-up of fuel-efficient cars and offer them in the U.S..

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Volkswagen recently announced to build a new plant in Tennessee, where smaller and more fuel-efficient cars can be produced. Source:

http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/news/2008/07/US_Tennessee.html

So maybe in a few years you will see a VW Polo on american streets. Here’s an outlook how it might look like:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rzYaU5Qvdm8

Sorry for those of you who don’t speak German, haven’t found it English. Main thing is they are argueing who gets Peter (the Polo GTI Driver) in his team, because the car makes him sporty ;-)

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