BlueTang

Axel Mees, Audi of America Inc. The "Cojones of the Week" award goes to Axel Mees, the head of Audi of America since March 1 (after spending 20 years with BMW), explaining to the media last week why the VW Phaeton hasn't sold well in the U.S., as reported by Automotive News. Mees said, "It could be the best car, but I would still not buy it because it has the VW logo and because I have to go to a VW dealership where the salesmen are used to selling Jettas and Golfs. Volkswagen underestimated the weakness of their brand in the luxury segment." He added that former Volkswagen AG CEO Ferdinand Piech "was an engineer and he wanted to prove that he can build great cars, and he didn't look at the marketing aspect, the brand aspect." If there was a stronger indication that Piech's influence in the VW Group is waning, we haven't seen it. Is Axel a budding Autoextremist? You just never know.

Dr. Ferdinand Piech. It appears that Ferdinand Piech didn't think much of Mr. Mees' assessment of why the Phaeton didn't work, apparently, because according to late-breaking reports, Mees was fired today because of his comments. As unbelievable as that may sound, it once again focuses the automotive world's attention on the real cause of VW's continuing problems - and they begin and end with Ferdinand Piech, the chairman of the VW supervisory board. It was Piech's wildly misguided obsession with trying to turn the VW brand into a high-flying luxury player that was responsible for the fiasco of the Phaeton. It was Piech's delusional, wild-eyed "vision" that committed VW's considerable engineering resources to fleshing-out the luxury brands he was rapidly accruing, leaving engineers to chase their tails on problematic projects like the million-dollar Bugatti Veyron, instead of focusing on the next-generation Golf and Jetta - their core product line and their source of profitability. In short, it is only Ferdinand Piech who is ultimately responsible for every single trial and travail facing the VW Group, and as long as he's there, and he's able to get people fired for speaking the truth, then we're not optimistic about VW's future in the least - even with Wolfgang Bernhard coming on board. As for Mr. Mees, he is an honorary Autoextremist, there's no doubt about it. Because Autoextremists tell the High-Octane Truth - and inevitably get fired for doing so. We wish him well. As for Piech? It's really simple, Ferdinand - you can't handle the High-Octane Truth. And your ego, left unfettered and unchecked, will certainly run the VW Group right into the ground. With any other car company we'd label this episode as being "unbelievable." But since it's VW, and Piech is involved, it's just standard operating procedure.

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2nd

Steve Trac, Sec 303

woah, interesting stance.

Schnell!

After all, what "engineer" would stoop to using a device that recaptures otherwise wasted exhaust energy to increase horsepower? BMW doesn't do it, we shouldn't have to either.

Oh yeah, and the Touareg should've been Audi-branded to compete with the X5 and Cayenne.

TwinTurboTerror

I take it the first part of your post is sarcastic and the second part is serious?

Bauer

are dealership owners as demo cars.....I have only seen two on the road both with dealer plates....you have a better chance of seeing an Enzo on the road.

The Bugatti Veryon is also a huge mess...what are they like 2 years behind on it. High speed stability issues, no one can make tires that can withstand the 252mph limit. DGS gear boxes keep blowing up because of the huge amount of tourque. Not to mention overheating problems.

I would love to see the Veryon make it to market (a proper car) but at this pace you would have a better chance of picking up a space shuttle.

rant over

Schnell!

Correct; I should've used my </sarcasm> indicator between the two. =P

BiturboBoy_V2.0_S3--

Agree.