I'm wondering if it's a complacency thing with the UK and VW.
VW sales in Europe in general are pretty poor by recent standards. I've just got back from Spain and the country is on it's arse and talking to other guests in the hotel it seems like that's a common thread throughout Europe.
We in the UK like to moan as it's our national pastime but we don't have it anywhere near as bad as lots of Europe in many aspects and VW sales are very strong in the UK thanks to our funny attitude to cars where we like to buy something with a 'safe' image that means the cars will be respectable enough for our neighbours to not think we've just fallen on hard times but also not so flash as to make the neighbours jealous. In short we've become a nation of accountants!
(added to that, could any accountants on here drop me a PM if they can give my college leaver son some career advice pretty please)And VW fits the bill here perfectly with their conservative but sturdy image which was basically built on the back of the mk2 Golf and us boring Brits are so slow at realising as a nation that VW is a very different company to the one that built the mk2 Golf.
And VW now is massive. Still a family run affair but HUGE!
So a few whinging Poms in one of their strongest Euro markets isn't going to move them in the slightest as they attempt to conquer China with their automotive 4th Reich (yes, there is a reason the alloy wheels on some modern VWs look like certain insignia and war medals!!!).
The only way VW will notice that little RHD country getting the arse will be if customers boycott en masse. And us Brits like to whinge but not act. That's why we've never had a revolution, why we put up with WW1 and why we won't take VW on now.
And VW are well aware of this.
Paul Harris the owner of VW Driver magazine made an interesting point in the magazine last month and it was one I'd already noticed too.
VW do loads of 'specials' for the big Worthersee GTI show. One year they brought the W12 Golf over to GTI International which falls a month or two after Worthersee. But since then none of the show cars have been brought over to show off to GTI enthusiasts at Inters which in itself is quite a big and very respectable show that has been going for nearly as long as the GTI itself. It's not as if the cars aren't already built or that in global terms the show is that far from Germany.
It's because VW know they don't have to be bothered. So they're not.
Different story in the USA where they'll happily take a loss to make a sale at the moment...
Rant no.2 of the day over.
Can anyone tell I've not slept for three days?
