Not to further derail the thread, but CR ratings show that around the middle of the MK5 jetta/golf lifecycle, they managed to get reliability relatively under control for what I'd argue is their bread and butter car line here in the US. They're also making improvements to how things are laid out in the cabin (for example: during the MK5's run, they replaced the recline twist knob with a power adjustment, then wen't with a traditional lever) to improve JD Power IQS scores (remember, a person complaining about brake dust due to high performance brakes has a negative impact on the score for a model, same goes for things like seat adjustments) and holding the line on price.
Now they've got to show the US public they've changed for the better. Spectre's right, us American's are quite the fickle sort...it took Hyundai and Kia nearly a decade or more to get to where they are now in the US public's eyes....and there's still plenty of buyers who would choose a Toyota or Honda product over them due to brand image/perceived quality.
The advent of a super long warranty and care program was the main reason why Hyundai and Kia have gotten to where they are here. Maybe it's time VW did the same...if they don't think they could do it for the more high tech models like Touareg or Eos, then don't but at least for the bread and butter cars like Golf/Jetta, Routan, and Passat.
Having a long warranty to many people says that a company is willing to put their money where their mouth is, regardless of whether the warranty is easy to use or not (some say that it can be tricky to get Kia/Hyundai to do warranty work...My parents had no issue with it on their Sportage (hood latch was over lubricated, leaking grease onto the front facia on warm days...fixed w/out drama) but who knows) in real life.
They already offer carefree maintenance, so a warranty...say 10 years/100K on the powertrain/powertrain related electrics....would give hesitant buyers more confidence.
