Looks like the VW ID.4 is popular

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
And for what it's worth, folks on the internets say that those 2 and 3 year old Model 3s for close to their original prices aren't selling.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Why would they when a brand new one costs just slightly more. Most of them get traded back to Tesla towards new Teslas in any case.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Looks like VW's historic reputation for "electrical issues" have a new look:
I guess some things don't change.
 

gulfcoastguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Location
MS Gulfcoast
TDI
TDI sold, Mazda 3 purchased
Hopefully I can give you an update by the end of the month. The dealer called, mine isn’t ready yet but he will have a demo model that I can look at within a couple of weeks. Btw the warranty on the battery is 8 years/100,000 miles. It is quite possible that it could be “rebuilt” by replacing the worse pouch cells with the same model cells or with improved cells.
 

ticaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
Location
US Mid-Atlantic
TDI
Stock 2015 Golf SW S Manual TDI
Wow, pretty harsh review, but otherwise fair.
I suspect VW don't really understand the American market, and did not do their homework. At least, they have the merit of being cheaper, especially being an import.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
I suspect VW don't really understand the American market, and did not do their homework.
That statement seems misguided; any multi-billion dollar company launching products worldwide isn't just throwing darts at various markets and hoping; they clearly do massive amounts of research and have a better understanding of what sells in a given market than what I would prefer to drive.
For example, they didn't launch the ID.3 in the US. Why? Because the "American market" wants crossovers and SUVs. So what do they come to market with - a crossover electric in the ID.4. And they're clearly not going after Tesla owners (as stated in the video), but rather, ICE drivers who are EV-curious.

Engineering Explained Guy seemed to like the vehicle fairly well from watching the full length of the review. His biggest beef was with how bad the Electrify-America charging station / app / re-fueling experience was. The other negatives are all things that the typical driver doesn't pay too much attention to:
  • heavy (aren't all cars heavy?)
  • CUV handling (duh - it's a CUV)
  • No heat pump (what's that?)
  • No frunk (cool - just like a "normal" car)
  • No 1-pedal driving (again - just like a "normal" car)
(To be clear, my parentheticals above are what the typical driver's reaction might be; e.g., I'm fully aware of what a heat pump is.)

Not a car for me as I'm not a $40K car guy, but for the American market....if you're going to try to get non-Tesla people into an EV, it seems like a reasonable strategy.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I think Volkswagen DOES understand the American market, which is quite unfortunate, and why they'll continue to alienate their "base", because they are trying to just go after people who they think will purchase their products. I am Volkswagen's biggest fan, and their current lineup for me is abysmal, and it is only going to get worse.

We get:

no diesels

no trucks or vans

no little "city" cars

no family wagon (our Passats are sedan-only, and not even a "real" Passat anyway)

and now they are taking away the Golf (so no more hatchback) and the Sportwagon (so no more wagons AT ALL)

I have no interest in:

EVs (ID.x)

CUVs (Tiguan, Atlas, Atlas Sport, whatever that is)

uber expensive luxo/performance cars (GTI, Arteon)

Their approach is really pretty pathetic. My '79 Rabbit diesel lasted through the first diesel drought. My '91 Jetta diesel lasted through the second diesel drought. Looks like my current TDIs will be tasked with lasting until I'm dead.
 

ticaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
Location
US Mid-Atlantic
TDI
Stock 2015 Golf SW S Manual TDI
I'm still waiting to see VW announcing the e-up here in the US ....

Since those electric cars are zero emissions, I'm wondering if the EPA is still making it difficult to import foreign electric vehicles (I'd like to see the smaller ones here, e-up, zoe, even id.3).
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
I doubt the EPA has any issues with small, foreign made EVs. It just makes more sense for the manufacturers to sell those in markets where they are in demand. A lot of those would just sit in US lots collecting dust. Then they have to give huge discounts just to move them, and poof... there goes the profit margin.
 

gulfcoastguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Location
MS Gulfcoast
TDI
TDI sold, Mazda 3 purchased
VW is planning for an electric station wagon and an electric van. But something had to come first and they decided that the first model would be a CUV. It should have the highest number or sales. I know a few people who are drooling over the van but how well do regular vans sell in the US?They need a success on the first launch or they might have to give up the US market.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
If VW brought in the ID.3 I'd seriously consider buying one. But I doubt it will happen, sadly.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
If not the ID3, I'm fairly certain VW will have an even better small car for our market before too long.

The first batch of non-demo ID4s has arrived. https://insideevs-com.cdn.ampprojec...3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

I'm looking forward to gulfcoastguy's input once he gets his. I think it will be quite a good vehicle, even better once they get the charging kinks with Electrify America ironed out.
 

gulfcoastguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Location
MS Gulfcoast
TDI
TDI sold, Mazda 3 purchased
I received an email that mine has been built but hasn’t been shipped yet. Friday I also stopped and looked at my dealers demo model . They had just received it a few hours earlier . It wasn’t ready to test drive but I sat in the seats and looked at the cargo area. I will post more next Thursday or so. Out of town until then. I have a pic but can’t figure out how to post it right now.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Wow, VW stock is really taking off this week. Herbert Diess must be feeling pretty good about his push to electrify the fleet. He was getting quite a bit of pushback internally, but with growth like this, that won't last. It should be an exciting summer with VW firing on all (or no) cylinders, and the Berlin gigafactory coming into production.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Wow, VW stock is really taking off this week.
I bought VW stock back in 2013, and it did quite well over the next couple years - up ~50%, and I was about to sell and then...dieselgate. :(

From late-2015 to late-2020, it struggled to get back to my initial buy-in price ($187US); sold half when it did get back to my purchase price....wishing I'd held more (although $AAPL has done OK in that time as well).

The rationale for the big spike, though.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Best I've seen is "they're gonna beat Tesla at their own game", which...I mean, 🤔 most people don't buy Tesla to drive an electric car; they buy a Tesla to drive and be seen in a Tesla.

(Edit: I didn't realize just how much $VLKAF had jumped today; I looked this morning and saw another (3rd day in a row) 10-12% spike at ~$350USD, but then now seeing it ended the day at $420, having peaked at $480 during the day?!
Posting the screen grab so we can all look back at that in a few years and marvel at either what a bubble it was, or what a bargain VW once was. :D
 
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turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Well, despite some of the spike getting trimmed a bit today, I don't think it's a bubble. I could be wrong though. Supposedly some of the meme stock crowd (hesitant to call the gamestop crew investors) have rallied behind VW, so that portion of the gains may not be very durable. At least they are getting behind a business with decent prospects. But most of the gains are from better informed investors I think. VW had their "Power Day" event which was probably the catalyst for much of the investment. VWAG has positioned themselves very well for the coming EV boom. Snagging Diess from BMW has probably saved the company.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
VW and Audi are saying there will be no new ICE families developed. Just improvements to the existing lines. They also seem to be aiming for 70% EV marketshare in Europe by 2030. Not sure how realistic that goal is, but it's not out of character for VW. I wonder what their current European marketshare is for all passenger cars. I doubt it's over 35%. I do think that will probably grow significantly with their big push into EV's.
 

Metal Man

Vendor
Joined
Sep 29, 2001
Location
Sunbury,PA 17801
TDI
1998 NB TDI, 2006 Jetta TDI, 2014 Tiguan gas, , 2019 E Golf X2
My local dealer got one in. I sure do hate the dash, what I love about the Egolf is that it's pretty much just a normal Golf.
 

ticaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
Location
US Mid-Atlantic
TDI
Stock 2015 Golf SW S Manual TDI
VW aiming at 70% EV marketshare in Europe, and 50% in the US...:sneaky:
I guess nothing wrong to aim high, but with all the competition coming in, I seriously doubt they'll capture that much market share. but nothing like an optimistic PR to boost stock prices.
 

gulfcoastguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Location
MS Gulfcoast
TDI
TDI sold, Mazda 3 purchased
The surest way to fail is to never try. I like the dash better than a Tesla 3 or Tesla Y. At least it has the key information directly in your line of sight. I have sat in one already. Even internal combustion engine vehicles are all going to large screens at eye level, they are necessary for backup cameras (federally mandated) and navigation systems. My current Mazda even has a similar screen in the center top dash to the one on the ID 4. If you are concerned about the white steering wheel and column don’t be, that is for the First Edition only and reservations for them sold out in 8 hours back in September.
 

ticaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
Location
US Mid-Atlantic
TDI
Stock 2015 Golf SW S Manual TDI
Well, VW regular car market share is only a few percent in the US, and maybe 25% in Europe.
Considering that virtually all car manufacturers are coming up with EVs, I'd like to see an explanation on how VW plan for 50% market share in the US (70% in Europe :rolleyes:).
The good thing is that soon we will have a serious choice of EVs.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
VWAG has about 25% market share of new car sales in Europe and 4% US market share.
 

Rob Mayercik

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Location
NJ, U.S.A.
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS, Baltic Green/Beige
Well, VW regular car market share is only a few percent in the US, and maybe 25% in Europe.
Considering that virtually all car manufacturers are coming up with EVs, I'd like to see an explanation on how VW plan for 50% market share in the US (70% in Europe :rolleyes:).
Maybe they mean 50% of their U.S. market share, not 50% of all U.S. market?
 

ticaf

Veteran Member
Joined
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Location
US Mid-Atlantic
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Stock 2015 Golf SW S Manual TDI
Maybe they mean 50% of their U.S. market share, not 50% of all U.S. market?
Yes, that's exactly what it is. The article by InsideEV is the typical click bait, misrepresenting type of article.
VW indeed 'expects' customers to shift to EV, rather than they have some kind of strategy to drive the market. And they may be right, that in Europe, 70% of THEIR car sales will be EVs. With the mileage EVs can get, Europe being small (relatively speaking), and the demonization of gasoline/diesel (a.k.a green taxes), there is literally no incentives to buy an ICE powered car.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
I'm going to try to find the VW press release. I wouldn't put it past InsideEV to misrepresent things, they do tend to be quite click-baity often. The bigger news was the plan to halt new ICE development, imo.

Edit: Here's the press release- https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com...n-into-software-driven-mobility-provider-6878

It does seem they meant 70+% of their own European sales would be EV by 2030. Could have been clearer though. Maybe something got lost in translation.
 
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turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Youtuber Tesla Bjorn did this range test of the base model 82 kWh ID4 and managed 280 miles of range at 56 mph. Really good considering the vehicle and battery size. Despite his handle, Bjorn does fairly unbiased EV reviews. It seems to me that he has been very impressed by his time behind the wheel of the ID4.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Give it a couple of years and sleeping behind the wheel shouldn't be a problem. ;)
 
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