IS-SV

Resembles a collection of recycled body parts. Maybe cost-reduction over everything else was the goal.

speedflex

My Gosh, is VW intentionally becoming the blandest car line there is? I'm not kidding, this looks like one of those generic ad cars that have every distinguishing feature photoshopped out to make it unrecognizable.

C. McHale

Looks far worse than the current Passat. In this silliness to try and attain some lofty sales goal, VW has abandoned the small (but loyal) following they had here in the U.S., in an apparent attempt to appeal to the average consumer, who is already completely happy in their Toyota or Honda.

Fail.

-J-P-L-

Introducing the 2013 VW CC...

1AFCabinUA

The carmy doesn't have the refinement and attention to detail of a current passat or CC. saying otherwise purports ignorance to reality and shows you haven't driven either car.

-J-P-L-

If such attention to detail has been made in the VW's, then why are they among the most unreliable pieces of junk in the industry? I don't care how it drives if all I do is drive it to the shop. I'll take the Camry's refinement any day. There's a reason it sold 68 times more that the Passat last month.

1AFCabinUA

you clearly haven't traveled the world. the passat is a true "world car" and ranks among the top seller in China, eastern and western europe, Russia and south africa. it truly is the "camry of the world". therefore, your calculus is massively, massively flawed. the reason the american populus rejects the current car is because it's priced at nearly $29,000 starting and it's not priced there because it is a worse made car than the Camry. again, go drive the car and then you can make judgements like yours. no one can sit here and say a Camry is more engaging to drive than this car, and neither is the interior higher quality.

look, Calling cars "pieces of junk" invalidates you in my eyes anyhow. I don't know of any new car that is an "unreliable piece of junk" honestly and most industry observers would agree. global manufactures put so much resources and energy into durability and refinement testing that everything out there is bound to last at least 150,000 miles today. Not that it matters, but consumer reports ranks the 2009 passat/cc as 'most improved performer' in reliability surveys.

-J-P-L-

Just edited my sales numbers. The Passat's sales are laughable. VW sold 313 in November. The Camry sold almost 21,000 (it's worst month in years -it's usually closer to 30,000 a month ). About 68 times more than Passat in November!

And yeah, I've driven both cars. The Passat does have a great ride (good balance of comfort and performance ). Problem is, is that Americans like myself put trouble free reliability as a #1 buying criteria. Fact is, VW's rate among the worst. Just look at any reliability data. I worked at a dealer where I would always see fairly new VW's in for repairs a car that young should never need.

1AFCabinUA

laugh all you want, this car is an essential part of VW's current sales in every single market outside of the US. The Passat is crucial, and is highly regarded, well, everywhere.

Trouble free reliability (based on fluctuating annual lists) is a high concern, but the idea that a VW is like buying into a 30 year old soviet tank is the laughable part here. They are modern and well built cars that stand the test of the time.as far as "unnecessary repairs", I could say a lot about the Hyundai Elantra I bought last year, or the Nissan Maxima - cars have issues, they are highly complex, I've come to expect it, at any time in their life.

I lived in Poland for 4 years and the "perception" there is that VWs are high quality cars worthy of the high priced tag - a status symbol even. That perception isn't here in america, but that doesn't make the cars any less good than they are. I seem to recall Passat finishing in one of the top two slots of every comparison test of midsized family sedans of the last ten years. It may not be as trouble free as the Japanese cars, but what it lacks there, it gains in sophistication, driving feel, and overall solidness. Compare a Passat of ten years ago to a Sonata of ten years ago - no comparison whatsoever.

Personally, when i buy a car, it's about the ownership experience. you can thank Toyota for their scheduled free maintenance on VW, who did it two years ago. all I'm trying to say is that purporting a car is "less of a car" because "only 313" were sold means absolutely nothing - zero, zilch, nada. Because when we look at worldwide sales of Passat, we see it's an all star, and when we only look at the actual product..well, Passat is at the front of it's class for basically everything other than "reliability". can you image what would happen when VW gets that one right?

-J-P-L-

I hear ya. Unfortunately for VW, the American market is a whole different ballgame from the rest of the world. We know VW does very well elsewhere. European's love their European cars. No surprise there. This is even true when their cars have reliability issues.

And I didn't mean that VW's are total trash that falls apart (my "junk" comment was a bit of an exaggeration but just a point when comparing to Toyota's superb quality. Most of a VW holds up well, but there's a bunch of little annoyances that need work. Particularly with electronics.

1AFCabinUA

well Ill just add that to imply that european cars only sell due to nationalism and not their inherent product strengths pushing the bounds of reason, me thinks. and vw is huuuge in China/south africa/south america/russia, as I mentioned. So is toyota, so don't get me wrong. I am no hater and respect all cars, but I can't really take blatant fanboyism, etc. (not saying you are, in fact you seem reasonable and nice).

-J-P-L-

What I meant is that Europeans and others like European cars for their attributes, most notably driving dynamics. They place this as a high priority while Americans prioritize other qualities. I wouldn't suggest it's nationalism.

1AFCabinUA

-J-P-L-, I was looking scouring the web after our little chat here and came across some photos I'd like you to see, just to give you an idea of what you pay for with a Passat over the immediate asian competition I didn't even know the car could be optioned out like this before my 'research'!!


Look at the agressively styled front fascia. Looks more upscale/sporty than any Camcord. So too, we have turning bi-xenon lighting, adaptive cornering lamps (turning xenon projectors and sidewards facing halogen reflector), adaptive cruise radar/parking sensors, high-pressure headlamp washers, integrated turn signals in mirror housing (which are heated/power folding), integrated downward facing delayed entry/exit puddle lighting in mirror housing



The engine compartment has a hood strut, intricate weather stripping, a fire/insulation/noise mat, integrated light


Interior has features like pull up shades for rear passengers on windows, a rear sunshade, double stitched leather seating (which incidentally appears to be modled after Ferrari racing seats), real aluminum and wood trim. You can really see the high quality interior trim in these photos, the modern and tastefully restrained interior shapes and conventions. also have dual trip computers, full dash display for radio/vehicle information, and look at that leather - it's as soft as it looks




andlast but not least, the butt to open the trunk, the "logo" pushes inward. the LED lighting looks hopelessly upscale, and the circular LED turn signal rings look like something from a Range Rover. Looks mean at night, just spectacular.


I suppose getting back to the topic, it would be a shame to see these little features go away in the new "american" car. The current car is a wonderful piece of machinery already, and if those pictures were shown to most people, I'm sure they'd think it was a new model! - but it's from 2005 - just a testimate to how restrained classy shapes - not the crazy swoopy lines of the recent Hyundais for example - can stand the test of time and create a timeless look. I know a lot of users are calling the pictures of the new car "bland", but let's just see how it looks when it makes it's real debut - I rarely find that spy photos of cars all buttoned up with bras/covers on them, with small 15" wheels really make a design look good. But with that said, i think the current car is nice enough! sporty, elegant, classy, restrained, proportioned.

Maybe they should just start building it here and lowering the price.