September 2011 Sales Recap

Despite an uncertain economic outlook, September 2011 auto sales were about 10% better than a year ago and September turned out to be one of the best month of the year so far. As in previous months roughly two-thirds of the brands posted better sales than a year ago while Toyota and Honda continued to see their sales slide. Leading the pack was Maserati with an exceptional 46.3 percent improvement. In the mainstream category Chrysler and its truck division Ram posted improvements of 42 and 36% respectively. Powered by the debut of its much talked about American built Passat, Volkswagen was able to increase its sales by over 35% as well. Backing up its promise of great dealership availability Nissan posted a 28.2% sales increase, on the other hand its luxury division Infiniti only managed to better last year's results by 2.1%. Doing well in the luxury category Audi and BMW both posted 19.% sales improvements while Lexus continued to struggle with an 11.5% drop. Take a look at the chart below to see how all of your favorite automakers did in September.

As in previous months Nissan's LEAF outsold Chevy's Volt 1,031 to 723. While GM narrowed the gap in September the Nissan still enjoys a commendable 7,199 to 3,895 yearly sales lead which is easily confirmed on the street with the LEAF being a more common occurrence on the road than the Volt.

Audi Engine Downsizing and New EPA Fuel Economy Ratings

Engine downsizing has been an industry buzzword for the past few years. The idea behind downsizing is to replace a large naturally aspirated engine with a smaller turbocharged or supercharged engine. At first this concept only applied to mainstream cars but has recently appeared on luxury brands as well. Even Mercedes AMG models are replacing their 6.3 liter naturally aspirated V8s with slightly smaller 5.5 liter twin-turbo V8s. Audi has gone one further with its all new 2012 A6 as the previous V6 model has been replaced with a four cylinder turbo and the V8 option has been dropped in favor of a supercharged V6. These downsized engines have delivered for Audi. Paired with a CVT transmission the A6 2.0T delivers 25 city and 33 highway for 28 combined, numbers rarely seen in the luxury category. The quattro 3.0 TFSI does quite well as well rated at 19 city and 28 highway.


Here are some other notable new ratings. City/highway (combined)

Aston Martin Rapide: 13/19 (15)
Audi A8 W12: 14/21 (16)
Lamborghini Aventador Coupe: 11/17 (13)
Lamborghini Avenador Roadster: 11/17 (13)
Lexus LFA: 11/16 (12)
Volkswagen Passat TDI: 31/43 (35)

New Volkswagen Passat Analysis

There has been a lot of online chatter about the new "Americanized" Volkswagen Passat over the past few days. Built in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the designed for America (also sold in China) Passat is larger in all dimensions than the latest European Passat which itself is just a facelifted version of the 2006-2010 Passat. As with the latest Jetta that also underwent an "Americanization" process, Volkswagen and car fans in general are disappointed with VW abandoning the standard Passat and creating a new version for America. Feeling betrayed Volkswagen owners and fans in particular are the most vocal and feel that the new Passat lacks the features (styling, interior, engine, etc) that make Volkswagens German. While the omission of the 2.0T engine could be described as a step back the media consensus is that the Passat still has a nice interior and sharp handling for a family sedan. While the American Passat doesn't have the greatest styling the same could be said about the refreshed European Passat as well. Overall the new Passat appears to be a solid competitor in the midsize category while playing a different role than the previous Passats. With that in mind let's take a look at why Volkswagen has created a new Passat for America.

While the previous Passat was a near premium sedan (in Germany it's main competitor is the Opel Insignia which is sold in the US as the Buick Regal) with near midsize dimensions it struggled to gain solid sales traction. Stuck trying to compete with mainstream competition (Camry, Accord, Altima, Malibu, Fusion) the Passat's higher price tag had it doomed from the start. Unable to follow the success of the previous generation, the 06-10 Passat saw its sales nosedive over the years as Volkswagen decided to wind down the model and replace it with something more appropriate for the market. In order for VW to meet its ambitious goal of 800,000 yearly sales in the US by 2018 a major presence is required in the midsize segment that is the best selling car category in America. The latest Passat addresses the biggest shortcomings of the last Passat (smaller size and higher price than the competition) in order to increase yearly Passat sales to over 100,000 a year. While the new Passat is a departure from the previous ones, it is a necessary one for VW to become consistently profitable in the United States.

The last generation Passat (introduced in 2005) never broke 50,000 yearly sales as it was too expensive and small against its mainstream competition. Essentially the Passat's problems boiled down to the fact that Volkswagen was unable to convince consumers to pay the extra 5-8,000 for a more premium yet smaller product.

Volkswagen saw its sales drop after 2001 because of an aging lineup and a poor quality reputation.While Volkswagen hopes for 800,000 sales by 2018 a more reasonable goal of 500,000 is possible in that frame with its new American centered lineup. A crossover vehicle would be the next step for Volkswagen to achieve the half-million mark in America.

Best Commercials of Superbowl XLV

Amongst the usual Bud Light and Doritos commercials, Superbowl XLV brought us a heavy dose of automotive commercials not seen in the past few years. The automotive commercials much like the rest of the ads were all over the place ranging from good to not so good to very much not good. So without a further ado here are the five best automotive commercials of Superbowl XLV.

Number 5: Chevrolet Silverado HD
In this ad the Chevrolet Silverado HD is the hero as it saves the day numerous times while demonstrating its heavy-duty capabilities.


Number 4: Chevrolet Camaro
This was the best of the many Chevrolet advertisements during the game. In this ad a couple of guys are in charge of making an ad for the Camaro, they end up with the Camaro being driven by several beautiful women with the last one being a teacher.


Number 3: Kia Optima
It's not every day that something actually lives up to its hype when the word Epic is envolved, but in this case the Kia Epic Ride commercial does quite well.


Number 2: Chrysler 200
In the second Eminem commercial of the night Chrysler does an excellent job of using Detroit imagery (and 8 Mile soundtrack) to portray Motown as a place that can build luxury auotmobiles. Perhaps they should have used the 300C though.


Numer 1: Volkswagen Passat
Volkswagen scores a win in the automotive category, and perhaps overall, with its pint-sized Darth Vader and plenty of "aww" factor.

VW Releases New NMS Sketch

Volkswagen has released a brand new sketch of its upcoming NMS sedan that will be built at its Chattanooga factory that is currently under construction. Volkswagen has recently began to accept applications for factory jobs and the plant is expected to be completed in 2011 with the yet unnamed NMS going on sale in late 2011 as a 2012 model year. It is expected that the NMS will replace the Passat in the Volkswagen lineup. Expect to see familiar VW engines such as the 2.0T, 2.0 TDI, and possibly the 3.6 liter VR6.


New Sketch


Old Sketch

Future American VW Timeline

Vw's American lineup is due for a substantial makeover in the next few years. The biggest change will be the introduction of the Chattanooga built New Midsize Sedan to replace the Passat. VW is planning to complete the Chattanooga factory in 2011 which will make the NMS a 2012 model at the earliest. The folks at Jalopnik have seen the latest sketches of the NMS and say that it will be closer in design to the CC rather than the "4 door Camaro" sketch released earlier. Jalopnik also says that the 1.4 liter twincharger 1.4 TSI engine will finally make it to the states. The Golf and Jetta are the most likely candidates for the twincharged engine.

In other news, the 2013 New Beetle will finally get a complete redesign that is said to bring more rear passenger space. Around the same time period VW will also release the recently shown E-UP electric vehicle. Also coming to the US is the second generation Phaeton, but little information is known about it.

Not mentioned are the next Jetta and Touareg which are expected to debut in a year or two. A sedan or a Fit-like version of the Polo is also expected sometime down the line.

Approximate model year timeline

2011 Phaeton/Jetta
2012 Touareg
2013 NMS/Next generation Beetle/Polo?
2014 E-UP

Figuring out VW's US Strategy

For some time it's been known that the future of VW in America will depend on two new sedan models, the NCS and NMS. The New Compact Sedan is VW's Civic/Corolla "figther" while the New Midsize Sedan would compete with Accord/Camry. Currently the Jetta and Passat fill those roles, even tough neither matches up with the competition perfectly. The Jetta is generally slightly larger than the competition while the Passat is smaller. In both cases the VW sedans are more expensive than the competition. The NCS and NMS are supposed to adress these issues along with catering to American tastes. The NCS will be built at VW's upgraded Mexican facility while the NMS will be built at VW' brand new Chattanooga factory.

Recently The New York Times published an article in which the VW of America CEO Sefan Jacoby said that the NMS will be called the Jetta. Essentially using the Jetta badge on a car that will in spirit replace the Passat. While this appears like a strange decision as it could make the next Jetta be almost a foot longer than the current one, it has merit behind it. The Jetta has been VW's best selling nameplate in recent history and thus is far better known to the consumer. This would give VW's newest product a familiar name. Of course, it would also mean that the NCS can no longer use the Jetta name.

According to VW's official sketches the NMS should look something like this.



Today Inside Line has published some spy shots of a VW sedan which they are calling the Jetta. They are also saying that it's also the NCS, which goes against the Times article. Regardless, the spy shots represent the best visual evidence of an upcoming VW sedan. Size wise the ptototype looks more like the current Jetta than a true mid size sedan (190+ inches long). But spy shots can be deceiving.



More photos here.

In related news, a Detroit Press article has revealed that VW is also planning to build a three row crossover vehicle to compete with the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander and others. The same article also mentions a new New Beetle.