Jalopnik: This is what a new $14,000 VW Jetta actually looks like

D-Fence said:
Just for comparison, the cheapest 2011 Jetta here starts at 20.900?, which is 31.000 USD. For this, we get the 77kW 41,2MPG 1.2TSI, which doesn't work in the USA because of shitty fuel quality and white paint. It has AC, power windows, no radio, heated electric mirrors and a "uphill assistant". That's all. Noone over here will buy that spec.
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:nod: My Jetta SportWagen with a green badge was 4k? less, comes with the bigger brother of this TSI, more toys, and metallic paint.
 
The problem with what some of you Euros are asserting here is that for about the price of this stripper VW, there are many other same-class competitors that come with things like air conditioning, a good stereo, a dash that doesn't induce clinical depression, a suspension design not stolen from a horse drawn cart and many other amenities. They also come with things like a 10/100 warranty, a dealer network that isn't infamous for its crappiness and a reputation for reliability - all things VW USA doesn't offer with the Jetta.

Only badge snobs with NO money are going to buy this car in its stripped version, and we don't have enough VW badge snobs in the US to make this viable. The only way this would be different is if they offered it with the GTI powerplant in it, but that won't happen.

To make it absolutely clear: Almost NOBODY in the US will buy a stripper Jetta. The stripper Versa, which is aimed at the same kind of consumer, sells only 60-70 copies in the entire country per month. The Hyundai Accent Blue is the same sort of story. That's less than 1000 cars per year - I don't see this Jetta selling even that many.
 
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Spectre said:
The only way this would be different is if they offered it with the GTI powerplant in it, but that won't happen.
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You can get the 2l TSI in Germany, at 11hp less than the Golf. To me it looks like the US car market does not like a wide variety of engine choices. Over here you can get 12 different engines in your Golf :lol:
 
Okay, so this car pretty much sucks, but wouldn't you rather rent this than a Dodge Caliber?
 
Pedrocas said:
Even the Caliber looks good next to the Jetta
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...and how much is the car as pictured? Considering that the cheapest Caliber is about 17k and the auto box alone is a 1k option available on the 18k trim level or up it might come close to 20k?
 
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Narf, he's talking about as a rental, per laxmax's post - in which case both are in roughly the same class.

That said, no rental company is going to buy Jettas on a national basis as they break down too much. :p Budget has a few in select markets, but they're dumping them as soon as their time is up.
 
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Spectre said:
Narf, he's talking about as a rental, per laxmax's post - in which case both are in roughly the same class.
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If one is several thousand dollars more expensive then it's pointless to say that it looks nicer. No matter who buys it.
 
narf said:
If one is several thousand dollars more expensive then it's pointless to say that it looks nicer. No matter who buys it.
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Laxmax asked the question of which one would rather have as a rental, this stripper Jetta or a Caliber. They're both classed as 'Intermediate Cars' and rent for the same price. I'd rather have neither, but if forced to choose one or the other, I'd take the Caliber. Especially after seeing The Interior Of Clinical Depression.
 
Spectre said:
Laxmax asked the question of which one would rather have as a rental, this stripper Jetta or a Caliber. They're both classed as 'Intermediate Cars' and rent for the same price. I'd rather have neither, but if forced to choose one or the other, I'd take the Caliber. Especially after seeing The Interior Of Clinical Depression.
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I'm not talking about laxmax or rentals, I'm talking about the image posted by Pedrocas.

If your rental company would buy a Caliber with medium trim level and options - what makes you think they would buy stripper Jettas even under the official lowest trim level offered by VW?
 
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Pedrocas was responding to laxmax, so you can't really respond to that without joining the chain. :p
 
D-Fence said:
Everyone claiming "MY OLD CAR LOOKS BETTER THAN THIS" is missing the point, because your car probably was way more than 14.000 USD when new. VW is positioning itself at the low end of new cars, for 14.000USD, which comes out as ~9.800?, you get a Jetta. Just for comparison, the cheapest 2011 Jetta here starts at 20.900?, which is 31.000 USD. For this, we get the 77kW 41,2MPG 1.2TSI, which doesn't work in the USA because of shitty fuel quality and white paint. It has AC, power windows, no radio, heated electric mirrors and a "uphill assistant". That's all. Noone over here will buy that spec. But guess what, in the USA, people will buy the cheap Jetta, so ofc VW sells that. Why? Because from the outside, everyone says "ooooh ahhh he drives a new 2011 Jetta", and that is all that counts for some idiots. As well, fleet cars/rental cars. I would never, ever, pay 21.000e for a new shitty spec car, I mean, my friend is looking at Audis right now, 19.990? gives you a 2.0TDI A3 Sportback Quattro with ~40.000km done (which is nothing), Bose sound system and Xenon.
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We don't get a shit cheap Jetta here. The cheapest is the Bluemotion S which is ~?21,000 and at least comes with aircon and an MP3 CD player with a diesel engine. Even our cheapest Golf at ?15,500 has alloys, AC, MP3 CD etc powered by a weeny 1.4 80bhp lump.
 
Looking at the OP and at both sides of the debate, i.e. the products for each side of the Atlantic, I just have this question: what the beep are they thinking when it comes to selling cars in the USA? It's baffling to see how contrasting the image of one car manufacturer can be when you compare opinions in Europe and the USA.
 
narf said:
I'm not talking about laxmax or rentals, I'm talking about the image posted by Pedrocas.

If your rental company would buy a Caliber with medium trim level and options - what makes you think they would buy stripper Jettas even under the official lowest trim level offered by VW?
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Here in Canada, where people OFTEN buy stripper cars, the caliber still looks like the better deal:

2011-Dodge-Caliber-Steering-Wheels.jpg


That's the 2011's interior.

AND IT HAS THE MINIFRIDGE AS STANDARD, EVEN IN THE STRIPPER MODEL HERE :D
 
epp_b said:
Elantra: made by people who eat dogs :p

Jetta: will still be running 500 years from now
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As a Volkswagen owner, I would have much more faith in the Elantra over the Jetta.
 
epp_b said:
Elantra: made by people who eat dogs :p
Jetta: will still be running 500 years from now
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The 2011 Elantra is US-built.
The Jetta will not be running 500 days from now, or will have failed at least once in that time. I am exaggerating, of course, but not by much; VW has richly earned their reputation of unreliability in the US.

VAG desperately needs to do more and better hot weather testing than they do. Most of their designs fail due to poor thermal management or engineering.
 
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Spectre said:
The 2011 Elantra is US-built.
The Jetta will not be running 500 days from now, or will have failed at least once in that time. I am exaggerating, of course, but not by much; VW has richly earned their reputation of unreliability in the US.

VAG desperately needs to do more and better hot weather testing than they do. Most of their designs fail due to poor thermal management or engineering.
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This confuses the fuck out of me. They make them IN MEXICO why would they suck close to where they were built and be good in the snow.
 
epp_b said:
My post was in jest. Yeah, I know, VW's for the NA market are awful.
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Even the ones made in Germany, so it isn't 'because they're made in Mexico.'

The only thing worse is their dealer network and North American corporate operations, who seem to take the attitude of, "Hey, you bought it, we got your money, we don't care what happens to the car or you any more."

katwalk said:
This confuses the fuck out of me. They make them IN MEXICO why would they suck close to where they were built and be good in the snow.
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Because they don't do any significant testing in the area. Some German engineers design it, test it in Europe, then send the design to Mexico for construction.

If they did, they'd find that the A/C systems are woefully inadequate, for starters.
 
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I got a letter 2 weeks after my warranty ran out saying that my transmission may be faulty but they would cover it under warranty (not otherwise though!). It was at this point that I decided I will not be buying another VW until they get their shit together which will probably be a long time from now.

My A/C works rather well I think considering that my car is half cloth and glass. It works well enough for me despite my heat sensitivity to about 95F which is a hell of a lot better than the one in mom's subaru that doesn't even cool when it's 80. Maybe I got lucky and they just accidentally built the A/C properly for my car. :dunno:
 
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