Autobahn: what would I do if I was Volkswagen Group’s boss

I follow car journal websites every day. Not because just to see car reviews and read some bribed car magazine “unbiased” opinions on some brands’ futures, but also because they give me some inspiration and idea on what to write about on my blog next. This time it is about two articles I found on Volkswagen group brands (Škoda and Seat) because they made me think and to come up with some radical, cost saving moves for the brand. The article about Seat said that they have been struggling to find their place in the market and they hope that their latest models which look very pretty will gain some attention. The other one was Škoda stating that their top priority for brand’s development is….design. Sounds barely like strong plans of a large automotive corporation, doesn’t it?

Just a little background info. Volkswagen Group consists not just of Volkswagen, but of Audi, Seat, Škoda, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley and even that God damned Bugatti. And many of you don’t know that VW group have a target set for 2015 which states that the group will be THE BIGGEST CAR MAKER IN THE WORLD. Not just in global market share (where it now is about 1% shy from GM), but also revenue, profits, customer satisfaction and so on. Typical German target. However, what is not typical just recently is VW gradually makes the bad signs of being a large car company apparent even to those who are not car enthusiasts. These signs are very typical for GM, which is a bit of an insult for this great group. The thing I am talking about is “heavy badge engineering”.

 

To those who don’t know what “badge engineering” means, let me draw your attention to the picture below:

What VW group says about these cars is this: these are two different models. However, to me and you it is clearly obvious that this is not the case. Clearly they look exactly the same. The reason for that is to save costs and to gain massive advances in increasing market share all over the world large car companies tend to not do much to the car apart from changing the badge, alter the design only slightly and changing the design of the interior, including “distinctive features that characterize the brand” (the kind of thing SAAB got obsessed with in their final years and something that scared potential customers away, as they were nothing more but rebadged Vauxhall/Opel Vectras (or Saturn Auras, if you’re from America) with some odd designs and ridiculous sticker prices). Everything else in the car (engines, drivetrain, chassis, electronics, software etc) is exactly the same. Then they price them differently which is when it gets weird.

Why does VW make two cars that are essentially the same when only Audi A4 (one on the left) is the one that sells more  and makes money for the VW group. Seat Exeo is just there with tiny production numbers and no reason to explain why it was created at all.

Why doesn’t VW do something Chrysler did recently – set out main purposes of brands – what are they going to do, who they are for and what will be their strength – for example they stated loud and clear that Dodge from now on will be the performance brand of the Chrysler Corporation. But for VW like for GM there are way too many badge-engineered cars that don’t sell as well as their originals, wasting money and resources for the group. To understand what I’m talking about, let us look at VW group’s consumer brands – Audi, VW, Seat and Škoda.

 

ŠKODA

 In my view the biggest victim to Volkswagen empire’s sinister badge engineering are Czech car makers Škoda. For those who don’t know them, Škoda are a Czech car company that until 90s were an independent manufacturer, but because of the “successful” Communist experiment in Eastern Europe, because when the Eastern Bloc broke free from Communism and the #1 Capitalist business idea for Eastern bloc in the 90s was selling off everything they could get a hand on (including manufacturing equipment) and because all Communists cared about was having everyone employed (even those who have no idea how to build a car whatsoever) the quality of Škodas in those days wasn’t good. So when Capitalism came into Czech Republic in 1990s suddenly an ordinary Czech citizen could buy a more reliable car. Luckily for them in 1994 Volkswagen saw an opportunity and decided to try their luck by developing a car together with them. Their first car was a Škoda Felicia. Instantly it was a big surprise in the west, because in 1998 Škoda in Britain became the best manufacturer. Quite a change for a car company from an ex-Communist bloc country.

Seemed like a good start for the brand that got its rebirth under German control. But as soon as old Škoda platforms were replaced by VW ones. The design and parts became even more and more Volkswagenish. No issues with that but why would they waste money on creating cars that look, drive and sound the same?

SEAT

Seat is the second biggest victim to Volkswagen’s badge engineering malarkey. Unlike Škoda, Seat was not doomed because of changing political winds. After long disputes with Fiat which deteriorated their quality Seat went into talks with Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi (who in 80s seemed to collaborate with every single manufacturer in the world, especially Chrysler Corporation). During these talks Volkswagen came to Seat and asked: “would you be very kind and build our Passat and Polo?” By September 30th of 1982 Volkswagen were in and Seat started assembling their cars.

The only time Seat tried to do something different and not obey Volkswagen’s design language was in mid-2000s when they started designing fishbowl-shaped cars like the Leon (above). But soon after they went back to designing cars that resemble Golfs and Passats. They even had a car called Seat Exeo which looked EXACTLY like an Audi A4. Inside and out. I once took a cab ride in one and I was surprised on how precisely Seat have copied the Audi. In 4 years of its production Seat produced just over 75 000 Exeos. It is weird that actually so few people bought it because it essentially was a discounted Audi A4. In all fairness I am surprised it was made at all because of it being a perfect copy of another, more successful car.

BENTLEY

Oh, are you surprised? Well you should be. Because Bentley is yet another victim of Volkswagen’s badge engineering. Example – Volkswagen Phaeton which had its VW badges removed, some interior pieces changed and rebranded as Bentley Continental Flying Spur. Yes, a Bentley that has underpinnings of a Volkswagen. Even BMW don’t do that with Rolls-Royce don’t do that.

Whenever I see one Bentley parked just outside our University’s international school I think “the owner is such a moron.” He is, because he’s spent tens of thousands more for exactly the same car just because it has a fancier badge on the nose. Besides he could’ve saved even more if he bought one second-hand. Seriously, VW Phaetons are laughably cheap. You can pick up a good one with a 5 litre diesel engine for just about €7000!!!! Not kidding. There’s one being advertised on Latvia’s top car advertising pages:

Don’t get me wrong. VW Phaeton is a fantastic automobile. In fact this is the best bargain you can possibly get because a) it’s made by Volkswagen which means it is reliable; b) Ferdinand Piech, then chairman of VW, set out targets for the Phaeton that many engineers thought were impossible to meet, yet they were met, which means this car is massively over-engineered; c) it is super comfortable for everyone. But when a car that wears exactly the same badge that the Beetle wore in 1940s, this questions why would the maker of “People’s cars” (translating from German, volk – “the nation”, “people” and wagen – “car”, “carriage”) would introduce their production methods and the car to an old, rich-herritage British automaker? When even engines have been “masked” to fool these crazy buyers? Clearly they are THE SAME ENGINE. A VW W12 engine!!

They might have done something what one owner of a Phaeton did and nobody would notice – put some Bentley ornaments on it and disguise it as a Flying Spur. Trust me, these rich buyers would not notice that they are wasting thousands on a Volkswagen.

WHAT WOULD I DO?

Now at last, after I’ve got everything off my chest I can finally let you know what I would do if I would lead this big empire.

1) GET BENTLEY TO MAKE INDEPENDENTLY ENGINEERED CARS: no more Volkswagen nonsense, no more badge swapping. It’s not like Volkswagen group can’t afford to design a whole new car. If they could afford to waste millions on every Bugatti they made they can afford to engineer brand new platforms for new Bentleys.

2) VOLKSWAGEN IS A PEOPLE’S CAR AND IT SHOULD STAY THAT WAY: let them keep the Polo and let them keep the Golf hatch. Those should be biggest cars they should be making to live up to their name. Make the UP!, make anything you can, but quit making the Phaeton, stop selling Passat (nobody would care, it is boring enough to leave the scene unnoticed) and invest in smaller cars. Because of such quick depreciations such big cars should be made by other brands because depreciation for an average customer matters.

3) ŠKODA – MAKER OF YOUR AVERAGE JOE’S GETABOUTS: now Škoda does a fantastic job with the Superb and Octavia (which are badge engineered VW Passat and VW Golf saloon/estate) that they are more reliable than their VW and Audi counterparts. Also Škoda’s “worker’s cars” such as Roomster and Yeti (which Jeremy Clarkson loved a lot) must stay, which means VW could stop making the more expensive Caddie, saving even more money and increasing more revenue when those indecisive buyers who couldn’t decide between Caddie and Roomster would start buying Roomsters which could use the money surplus from unproduced Caddies to improve it.

4) SEAT – THE HOT BRAND: I love the principle that Fiat Chrysler realized when they announced their “Five Year Plan”. One of them was to make Dodge to be strictly a performance brand. VW should do the same with Seat. They have already left their mark in motorsport and their recent designs are very sharp and sporty. Why not? VW could keep the Golf GTI, but all other performance versions of other VW lineup cars could be made in Spain. Why not? Maybe even develop new performance cars for middle classes? A rival to a Mazda MX-5 perhaps? The closest offering from VW group is a Porsche Boxster but that’s a luxury brand.

This might be just a small step for a larger reorganization, but I believe that these four steps could give a big kick that VW needs to become the biggest car group in the world. I understand that you use badge-engineering to save time and costs on developing new models, but what’s the point of creating 5 cars under different brands that are in many ways exactly the same.

There’s not much time left until the end of 2015, so if anyone from VW sees this, discuss this in your boardroom meetings. It can work out well!

I am rolling: why are so many people ignoring Volvo?

So after all this ridiculous heat wave we’ve been having here and a lot of adventures I’ve been having outside (unlike some of you who, judging by my stats, have been coming in here and checking out my blog almost daily. Thanks so much, guys).

And so…back to business.

 

“Jag rullar”: Why are so many people ignoring Volvo?

 

For the past three weeks now I have been in business selling cars…..well…trying to, but it’s not as easy as it seems. I am working a partially voluntary job at a Volvo car dealership at home in Latvia. Before I joined the team I was well aware of the brand and what they stood for. I owe a big deal of respect to Volvo, because it has played a huge part in my life as a passionate car guy. It was the first car I could remember of being in, because my dad used to work for a Swedish company who had a fleet of Volvos. He had a 940 and a 240. Both were estates, cos they were in the league of their own when it came to taking stuff around. My dad told me he used to take HALF A TON worth bags of cement (I’m not kidding, he used to take lots of stuff around) and it would remain in one piece. I liked those cars. As you can see from the picture below with me next to my dad’s 240 (why it had Swedish plates, don’t ask. I don’t know):

Then, in 2005 I think my dad bought his first Volvo in years – XC70 T5. That car means a lot to me because that was the first car I drove on public roads. And it has to date been the fastest car I’ve ever been driven around. 180 km/h. Still to this day I haven’t beaten it. But it’s sort of a good thing because that thing accelerated like a rocket. And it was the first time in my life I learned about traction control. My dad wanted to demonstrate. He drove on a snowy field one winter day, I was sitting next to him. He said “watch”, after which he floored it and yanked the wheel all the way to the left. But the car followed. It didn’t spin, eating its own exhausts; it followed where it was directed. But then he turned the traction control off (you have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the combination in which the switches have to be pressed to turn it COMPLETELY OFF) and all hell broke loose. The car span out every time the car started moving. I was fascinated by it.

But I’ve noticed that I am one of a handful who gets excited about Volvos. So many guys who think they know their cars (ones I’ve talked about in one of my older blog posts) say the things EVERYBODY are saying – that they are boxy, noisy, don’t go anywhere, are driven by old people, torque steer…blah blah blah. People, where have you been all these years?! That could have been the case with Volvos in the past (those facts they are mentioning are of the Volvo 850. It did torque steer but…they seem to forget that they won a couple of races in the British Touring Car Championship. Not bad for an “old man’s” car). I have to admit, I have missed out stuff on Volvos and paid too little attention to their lineup. Until now, that is.

First thing that I noticed straight away and was startled by was the unbelievably perfect build quality and the upmarket feel of it all. I am not saying they have not been this way in the past, but there was a bit of a decline during their Ford years when the floating console appeared. But I have to say (and this is not biased) they are better put together than many of the German offerings. Believe me.

I have to say I am a sucker for that TFT gauge display. Volvo have done a fantastic job on it. Unlike Cadillac, Jaguar or Mercedes, who have just shoved a large display behind the wheel, the Swedes have made it look delicate by making it look like analog gauges would belong there, with separate screen for every virtual gauge, all of them based around a huge tunneled gauge which is for the speedo/tachometer (change to whatever you like, up to you). There’s a reason for that. It is an option for about €400 here in Latvia. As standard you get a set of analog gauges, but do tick the box for the TFT display. They are worth the price.

 

Then the whole interior feel and quality. It may not be up there with Audi, but I have to say they are very close with it. What I am definitely sure about is that the quality is by miles better than that in current BMW range. It just is. It may not be as minimalistic, but it sure has the quality feel to it. And can those car journalists shut up about the centre console having too many buttons cos that’s rubbish. Even though it might look like a phone from 1980s, the buttons are laid out very logically and they are easy to use. Those many buttons in the middle are a keypad like you find on a phone which you could use for (yup, you guessed it) the Bluetooth telephone. But what people fail to realize that the only two other options they are used for is for entering Navigation details (which is way easier with a keypad than with the iDrive in BMWs. I hate entering address with an iDrive. Think of texting. You never thought texting on old phones was complicated, didn’t you?) and for preset radio stations. That’s it. Don’t let the looks and car journalists fool you. Try it for yourself.

Also, you can chose an option that could turn your car into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for your usage (if you’re too stingy to share it). And Volvo is one of few car makers in the premium brand market who offer a Digital TV use on their cars. Until now this option has been available on S-Class Mercs, 7-series BMWs and A7 & A8 Audis. Yes, Volvo have chosen to pursue the luxury world. Good idea, as their projects for masses have been disastrous (the S40 and other NedCar Dutch built Volvos) and they have covered the basics of a luxury car for ages – comfort, safety and performance. The latter one did not occur up until the introduction of the T5 5-cylinder Turbo engine which gave Volvo some victories in motor races too.

Speaking of comfort, I can put my hand on my heart and say that I haven’t yet found anything as comfortable as a Volvo. Every time I got to sit in one it was like laying down in a lounge sofa. I am not exaggerating, it really is like that. No other car has been close. Maybe Lexus, Jaguar and Land Rover have, but others have not. Audi? Nope. BMW? After 2 hours of driving I need a massage because my buttocks ache so badly. But not in a Volvo. Even looking at them makes you feel cosy. All that comfort is benefited by the sound of the stunning stereo system. Any range – from standard to the upgraded Harman/Kardon sound system – their sound quality is worth a million dollars…probably.

If you still thinking “you’re nuts. It’s not a well built car.” Well let me show you a brilliant example. First, let’s look at a BMW X3 engine bay. This one is a 2 liter Turbo.

This shows that BMW have become so arrogant they have stopped paying attention to quality. HOW CAN A £30 000 CAR HAVE WIRES TAPED  TOGETHER? And some of them are even uncovered to water, bud and dirt that comes beneath the engine. Looks like BMW have begun cost cutting. Even in the inside it feels very plastic-fantastic. But that does not bother me, cars have had plastic interiors, but this kind of rough work I’ve only seen in either French cars or in American cars. And that’s no coincidence because all BMW X-cars are built and most of designing is done in South Carolina, USA. But this, the X3, is not the only case of such “quality”. The brand new X4 has exactly the same wiring with exactly the same tape with exactly the same uncovered wires. So slow down when you go through puddles if you drive an X3, because you might create a short circuit.

But in a Volvo (in this case, a D4 engine (even though a Diesel, the changes are dramatic. The quality is the same in a Diesel BMW as well), well, just look at it. It is so tidy and all those open wires are where they belong – in plastic boxes!

 

And long gone are the days of boxy designed Volvos. They are truly amazing to look at and, some of them, a lot of fun to drive. The brand new Drive-E engines are particularly good. I drove the S60 D4 Drive-E with 181 BHP and 8-speed auto gearbox. I have to say I had a time of my life. It made me want an S60. It corners brilliantly, has lots of grip though it has FWD, there is NO torque steer (whereas an Audi A4, which is in the same class, tries to kill you with torque steer) and is very sharp on acceleration. The seating position is absolutely spot on (it suits you both when you’re cruising, when you want to rest your elbow on the door panel’s hand rest, and when you’re going fast) and all but XC70 and S80 have a sport-grip steering wheel as standard. The grips are so comfy and deep that the wheel wouldn’t slip even if you held hard on it while your hands are covered in butter.  It might not be as sharp to drive as a 3-series (it is as good and sharp as everyone says) as it has the inevitable FWD trait – understeer – and it has a number steering feel than the bimmer, but it is definitely the best FWD saloon there is. I WANT ONE. 😀

But don’t think for a minute I am here to write an article because I work for them, oh no. For instance, though Volvos now do look great, the design has wiped away their long term top position in practicality league. The V60 boot, though it is convenient, it is quite small. From cars I’ve driven, Subaru Outback has a bigger boot than a V60. Same applies for V40. It is fun to drive as it is based on a Ford Focus platform, but the boot is tiny. And it is just too much cash for the product. People at the dealership have said that too.

And though S60 is a fantastic car to drive, that can’t be said about the XC70. First of all, that car has been quite old. It still has a lot of Ford in it. Then there’s the ride. It is very comfortable but because it is about 4 centimetres higher above the ground than the V70 on which it’s based, it does feel like a duck around the corners. It tilts to one side quite a lot, so it’s more of a cruiser, not a bruiser.

And finally,  I have to be a bit of a perfectionist. Though almost all of the buttons feel very high class, there are a couple who don’t and those are reading lamp buttons above the driver. They feel like they belong in a Toyota, but not in a premium brand car.

But that’s it. I have started to love Volvo. It is a great car brand. It’s not like with SAAB, where I loved the illusion that the brand is the same as it was in 1980s (with airplanes and good quality). No. The older you grow the wiser you get. And that is why I have started appreciating the truly great things.

 

So don’t hesitate and have a look at modern Volvos. You will be surprised.