Something interested I ran into this morning... that will be weird for VW, Audi, Porsche, and Lambo all to be under one brand... I guess it is the only way they can get the Panamera and Cayenne to be produced in numbers they want. Anyone else have more info?

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/11/...ake-over-audi/

"Porsche may be behind Volkswagen CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder's forced resignation, according to analysts cited by Reuters. "We conclude that his departure could be the result of significant differences on group strategy or resistance to the growing influence of Chairman Dr. Piech and Porsche CEO Dr. (Wendelin) Wiedeking," Goldman Sachs wrote in a research note.

There is speculation Porsche may be trying to secure a third seat on VW's board by raising its stake to just below 30 percent. "A combination of Porsche's shareholding and supervisory board seats, together with Piech's continuing clout at VW, may have forced VW to accept deals on the Cayenne 2 or Panamera production contracts for Porsche that were not 100 percent acceptable to VW operational management," Credit Suisse wrote.

Some analysts say Piech and Wiedeking may be plotting to swap Porsche's stake in Volkswagen for control of Audi. It's unclear what the purpose of such a move would be, but the consensus seems to be that Porsche has something up its sleeve."

 

Ive been saying it for a while, Porsche NEEDS to take over lambo, bugatti, audi, and vw. it will be so good for all those companies to be owned by Porsche.

 

and then they can kill the R8... Pretender to the 911 throne

 

Not sure Porsche would want control of VW. Can't get one off the lot with out something falling off. Saw a new Touareg the other day. The side mirror had fallen out of it's mount

 

Just because you saw one Toureg with one problem does not blanket statement that VW's cannot make it off the lot without falling apart. We have had several VW's and still have a MkIV and MkV GTi...The MkIV is a 337 Stage 3+++ and can still be driven everyday. I think they are remarkable cars.

 

Uh huh... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUcGsNfxArw

 

haha. that is actually a pretty funny video. when my brother was putting on another turbo, he test fit everything and forgot what he actually tightened...first time he started the car, I looked under the front and saw oil just pouring out of the line feeding into the turbo - surprised that didnt happen to us too. although, not Vee Dubs fault there.

 

So who here carries a fire ext as well?

 

I for one would welcome Porsche influence over those brands.

 

I agree with pjalexandre. There is one thing to be brand loyal but VW has horrible reliability, esp. in their electronics. In fact, the first gen Cayenne (made by VW) had the most recall of any recent Porsche. I have friends who bought the first year Cayenne and complained about having to return their car to the dealer all the time b/c of recalls.

My coworker had an older Jetta. He usually warm up the car before he drove to work. One day he started his car, forgot something in the house and by the time he came back out the car interior was on fire. My other coworker also owned a 2003 Passat and had constent electrical problems including engine warning lights that go on for no reason.

Back in college I had a 1995 Jetta GL and the car also had electrical problems, as well as the rear door wouldn't lock and I actually tied the door shut with the rear seat belts!

You may have gotten lucky, but I usually trust JD Power & Associate reliability ratings and my own experience. Hey, I may be very loyal to Porsche, but I am not under any delusion that my car is as reliable as my old Honda...

 

I always find it remarkable that in the USA VW is regarded as a brand notorious for it's bad reliability/buildquality. Over here in Europe you can't pick up a magazine without having to read through pages full of worshipping to VW's supposedly superior buildquality and their interiors are consistently rated 'best in class'...

Vdubya's over here hold their value very well because people think they're the most solid cars ever made, good to see that some know better.

Same thing for BMW really, the Bimmer interiors always get complimented on outstanding fit and finish, the best materials used etc. But many Americans complain about the Bimmer interiors not living up to their price tag. Ahh the wonders of premium branding.

 

Maybe they quality of vehicles they bring over here is different vs. the cars they leave for their home market... VW isn't considered a premium brand here.

I personally had horrible experiences with VW and BMW. I do not argue with you that the interior finish of BMW and VW are excellent (in fact, having owned both, I think the VW may be better). Quality on the other hand, is poor. Maybe it gets underreported in Europe or you guys are willing to put up with more, but cars having electrical problems, shorting out, and catching on fire isn't something I have patience for.

BMWs as well, having owned two of their "top end" models, the M models, I did not expect to have to take my car in almost every other week for little things breaking such as the power window not going up, the A pillar cover falling off on my lap while I was driving, and ultimately, the engine of my M3 dying.

My Honda S2000 may have been slow"er", and has poor interior finish, but I never had one reliability issue the whole 2 years I owned it. Of course, for the overall joy and driving experience, it's hard to compete with the German cars. My S2000 never had the handling, stability, and high speed confidence that my M3 and 996 have.

 

You know... just occured to me this may be the reason why the quality is so different:

Some of the higher volume BMW and VW cars are now made in North America instead of Europe, including VWs in Mexico (i.e. Z3, Z4, X3, X5 and Jettas/Passats).

Maybe that's why the build quality is so different...

 

Our 2001 Pasaat V6 was the worse car we ever owned, my wife got stranded on the Tapaan Zee Bridege and that was it. Next day we had a Honda Accord. VW was a big disappointment with us. We knew alot of people with a Passat that had terrible experience. We wanted to be loyal to VW, but it didn't work out.

 

The link below shows mechanical reliability and ratings from JD Power for all year models of the 911, it's a pretty cool feature:

http://www.edmunds.com/used/2006/por...3/ratings.html