New Polo confirmed for the USA, with TDI

[HoneyBeetle]

Originally Posted by LRTDI

The Polo would do alot more for VW image in the US than anything else.

AGREED!!

[HoneyBeetle]

I read the Polo was less than $10K in Mexico, less than a year and a half ago! Not sure what options, but I kept the article because it was on my company's internat news letter. It was the same time my company in conjunction with VW was offering a 10% discount for employees. Needless to say, while I was waiting for the Polo to arrive stateside, my company dropped the employee discount. The Polo never came. I was so bummed out, I almost forgot about it until now. And........it still isn't here. Still waiting...and in this bad economy, I'm not so anxious to buy as I was a year and a half ago.

[Blackstallion]

Sign me up!

http://green.autoblog.com/2009/12/14...tion-in-europ/

[RomanL]

not sure if anyone picked this up yet, so hopefully im not reposting:
i was up on Edmunds doing Loan Calc for new GOLF, and noticed that some 2011 cars are there as well, and POLO is open as an option. does that mean it's coming to US?
not sure how to post pic's so steps i took are below:
1. www.Edmunds.com
2. Car Loans
3. Auto Loan Calculator
4. select a vehicle
5. 2011 --> VW --> Polo -->4dr hatchback 1.4L 4 cyl Man
$16,900
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2011/volk...54/prices.html

[TornadoRed]

The current generation Polo is built in Navarra, Spain; Uitenhage, South Africa; and Pune, India.

If we were about to receive production Polos from any of these factories, I think there would have been some kind of announcement.

Spain is in the Euro zone, so I think that plant could be counted out.

I don't know why these aren't being built in Puebla, Mexico. Especially since the New Beetle production is a tiny fraction of what it once was.

[donfromnaples]

Interesting. Very interesting.

[sven54]

Originally Posted by chewy

And American buyers complain about having only 5 color choices, while completely ignoring 2,000 dollars of free equipment. And the European GTI actually doesn't have the valvelift 2.0T engine (it has 280 and not 350 newton meters of torque) only Audi has that engine for now. So in this case the American GTI looks pretty good compared to the European one.

Which brings to the problem of bringing the Polo to the US, not easy to bring it here for under 15,000.

That's true but if you look a bit closer you see that equipment that is standard in US model is....how to call it..not anything important.

You have bluetooth, all prepared for ipod, stock alarm system, and steering wheel buttons, cruise control and some other little things and real dope shizz things like rear view camera, or active sport suspension you can only dream about. All those things you mentiones are avalible here in some summer sales like additional equipment for a reasonable price.

And I hope that MK6 would be a first GTI in US with possibility to choose automatic air condition instead of that ugly switches. I don't understand why thet did not afford it to you in MK5..really stupid

[dubStrom]

News of the day.
http://germancarscene.com/2010/01/26...the-year-2010/

Quote:
The jury comprising 59 leading motoring journalists from 23 European countries already chose the best new cars at the end of last November. 33 rivals were tested by the jury this year. Seven candidates made it to the final, and the Polo emerged as the winner.

Note the availability of the 1.2L BlueMotion. "...with an average fuel consumption of 3.3 liters per 100 kilometers and 87g CO2 per kilometer, this model is currently the world’s most economical five-seater with the lowest emissions."

GASP!

Note that for North Americans, this car is forged of Unobtanium.

Pity. My checkbook is open, my pen in hand. LET ME BUY ONE!

What a beautiful car.

[wolfskin]

dubStrom, not to be an ass, but look at it thais way:

The BlueMotion sells fro 16.500Euro base price (no taxes included) in Germany. Convert that to USD, convince at least, say, 100.000 americans to pay that, and it junst might be worth it for VW to invest money in getting the model certified in the US. It does cost a helluva lot of money for each variant of a car you want to import into the US, you know.
And you can't just expect VW to sell everything in the US cheaper than everywhere else, while paying for the expensive cert. programmes.

It's not a matter of VW not wanting to offer these, it's a matter of too much cost for too small a market and with a low margin on top of that.

However, best wishes!

[German_1er_diesel]

Originally Posted by wolfskin

The BlueMotion sells fro 16.500Euro base price (no taxes included) in Germany.

The 16,500€ Bluemotion base price includes VAT (19%) - so it's more like 13,866€ before taxes.
For comparison's sake, the 105hp gasser has a base price of 16,425€ (but is only available in Comfortline trim) - once gassers go direct injected and turbocharged, the gasser's price disadvantage shrinks considerably.
(Comparing Bluemotion and Comfortline trims isn't easy: Bluemotion has 15" alloys while Comfortline has 15" steel wheels, Cofortline has standard rear parking assist, Bluemotion has all kinds of aerodynamic mods and blue sports seats. Both have leather steering wheels and other nice details not found in the Trendline base model.)

Originally Posted by wolfskin

And you can't just expect VW to sell everything in the US cheaper than everywhere else, while paying for the expensive cert. programmes.

Feature for feature, if you try and build a Golf TDI in the German configurator that's equipped like the US Golf TDI, you are looking at a €23K (before taxes) car. I would say, comparing list prices, the Americans are getting the cheaper deal.

[dubStrom]

Originally Posted by wolfskin

It's not a matter of VW not wanting to offer these, it's a matter of too much cost for too small a market and with a low margin on top of that.

All I can say is that I have my own priorities. Speed and power are not as important to me as economy, durability and comfort. I could care less about 0-60 stats. That is a LOW priority for me. Durability is pretty important of course, but take care of a car these days, and it will probably roll up at least 200k miles. The TDIs seem to be particularly durable. That's good.

Like most people posting here, I like the TDI powerplants torque characteristics as well. But for me, it is not just about what I like. Tailpipe emissions is my first consideration, period. If I can throw more money on it and get some comfort, great. I have two kids and I like to think small because they will deal with what I leave them.

The gasoline powered 1.2 TSI Polo will be my choice if the BlueMotion doesn't make it here. North America could really drive the market towards these more efficient cars if that were the priority. I don't mind tossing an extra $10k into the decision if it spews less carbon dioxide, and Turbo Diesel BlueMotion is indisputably right near the top on that score. To me, ANY other consideration besides durability is a distant second.

Still waiting...

[TornadoRed]

At €1 = $1, the Euro was seriously undervalued.
At €1 = $1.40, the Euro is at least slightly overvalued.

VWoA was losing money on cars built in Europe, even before the Euro reached it's current rate against the dollar.

Sooner or later, interest rates in the US will rise significantly and the dollar will strengthen. But even then, if VWoA wants to sell the Golf or Polo or Up! at a profit, they will have to build them in North America. Europe is just too expensive for small cars. The Fiat CEO understands this, which why the 500 will be built in NA and not imported from Europe.

[eb2143]

VW should drop the new mid-size American car for Chattanooga TN and build Polos instead

Bring us a Jetta VI similar to the pictures released earlier this month and this polo with a small displacement TDI and everyone will be happy

[TornadoRed]

Originally Posted by eb2143

VW should drop the new mid-size American car for Chattanooga TN and build Polos instead

Bring us a Jetta VI similar to the pictures released earlier this month and this polo with a small displacement TDI and everyone will be happy

VAG is big enough to give us everything. No need for an either-or strategy. The NMS makes sense as long as it's not a Camry clone. The Polo makes sense, as long as they don't stuff a cheap but inefficient gas engine in it. The Up! may even make sense as a city car. The New Compact Coupe (NCC) and a small diesel pickup might even make sense. Whatever gets built in the US or Mexico will probably be priced at a point that will please prospective buyers.

[eb2143]

Originally Posted by TornadoRed

VAG is big enough to give us everything. No need for an either-or strategy. The NMS makes sense as long as it's not a Camry clone.

I disagree that a new mid-size is necessary or even makes sense. If they are going to Americanize any model they are turning off their base. I think priority should be on getting the Polo here first and improving their dealer network's repair competency. I guess I won't pre-judge a midsize I haven't seen.