Awesome! Design fueled VW’s comeback in the late 1990s, then they lost it (current Passat). This is the kind of character VW needs to be relevant again.

what they lost isn’t design… they lost quality craftsmanship (at least in the electronics) and they cannot compete labor-wise. The cost of their labor forces them to price their vehicles (ie. Passat) where there are simply better options (3 series, IS, G35, etc…)

o0o0o its gonna be tough to pcik between this and the Alfa Brera..though ihave VW roots so i think i would get this…KEEP IT UP VW!

This looks like something out of the movie ‘Cars’.

/still miss my Corrado

Looks good. Too bad VW build quality is continuously horrible.

Very much what I was thinking ed. It’s definitely on heavy on the cartoonish side

look sweet now if only half of vw’s concept video makes it to production.

Mike – very valid points, but I still think design gets some people to overlook the value or ignore what Consumer Reports is saying. Look at the PT Cruiser for a good example (not now, but back in the day).

I like this…

I am constantly hearing about VW having bad quality, but I own two VW,s (2001 and 2003)and I have no issue with either of them.

agreed Zan, my ada has a 99.5 Jetta and my mom an 04 Touareg and neither has any problems.

Zan, SS, either of you care to take a stap at my point about pricing themselves out of the intended vehicle segments?

I like this better than the other illustrations circulating around. Gotta be under 30k to be successful tho. It will obviously share a LOT with the Audi TT, and that has been getting some decent reviews so far.

“The cost of their labor forces them to price their vehicles (ie. Passat) where there are simply better options (3 series, IS, G35, etc…)”

Mike lets take a look at what your saying as far as price.

GTI $20k-24K
jetta 18k – 25k
Passat 25k – 33k

3 series 34k – 45k I have never seen a 3 series on a lot for less than 33k and even then it was a low end version, priced as Id want it im at 39k
G35 32 – 35k fine if you want more of a sports car that gets 15 Miles to the gallon
acura TL 33 – 35k great car, but still at the top of the range
Acura TSX 27 – 30k good car, but less room then a passat

Audi A4 32 – 45k again high end of the range

So as you can see from what I listed while you do have other options you will have to pay a lot more to get the same features. How can you say they are too expensive. VW’s are not crappy cars they are right on the edge of entry level luxury.

Looking at the front of that I feel like I’m looking at the front of a Dodge Charger on acid.

So did VW gives its designers a bunch of hallucagenics and tell them to copy the Charger?

Zan:
http://www.caranddriver.com/roadtests/10247/volkswagen-passat-36.html

Price as tested: $38,265

FUEL ECONOMY
EPA city driving: 19 mpg
EPA highway driving: 28 mpg
C/D-observed: 20 mpg

“Thanks to the highest production costs of any European carmaker, and the strength of the euro, VW, long the people’s car company, is forced to position its offerings at the premium end of their respective segments”

“with a 197-hp, 2.0-liter turbo four and six-speed manual transmission—starts at $23,565. That’s only about two grand less than a Honda Accord LX with a V-6. The starting price for the Passat 3.6—$30,565—is in BMW 3-series territory.”

“LARRY WEBSTER-
I was really digging the Passat. The seats are about the most comfortable perches I’ve sampled in a long time, the dash looks terrific and is fairly easy to use, the exterior looks upscale, and the 5.9-second run to 60 mph definitely had my attention. I was thinking that for 28K VW will have customers beating down its doors. But then I saw the nearly $40,000 as-tested price and couldn’t help wondering what VW was thinking. The Passat’s a great car, but for that kind of money, I’m far more interested in a BMW 3-series or Acura TL. Considering VW’s quality is far from the best, charging top dollar is no way to regain lost market share.”

“DAVE VANDERWERP-
The numbers stack up, but ours had the big motor putting near-Pontiac levels of power to the front wheels—i.e., it wasn’t sports-sedan balanced. A front-drive sedan with a BMW-size price is not what VW needs.”

HERE’S THE THING ABOUT WHAT MAKES A VW, A VW.

YOU DO NOT BUY A VW TO MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR YOURSELF, YOU BUY IT BECAUSE IT IS A DRIVER’S CAR. I OWN A CORRADO AND I WILL BE FOREVER A BRAND LOYALE CUSTOMER. VW, AUDI, LAMBO, BENTLEY, SEAT, SKODA, AND THE HALO BRAND BUGATTI. THEY’RE ALL WINNERS, AND SET THE BENCHMARK FOR THE BEST CARS IN THE WORLD.

NOW THE SCIROCCO

WHEN VW SETS OUT TO BUILD A SPORT COUPE TEN YEARS SINCE THE END OF THE PRODUCTION RUN OF THE CORRADO, ONE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT EVERYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN A DRIVERS CAR, PLEASE LET VW KNOW WHAT YOU WANT IN THAT CAR. THE CORRADO WAS NAMED IN THE “TOP 25 CARS YOU MUST DRIVE BEFORE YOU DIE” LIST FROM THE UK’S INFAMOUS CAR MAGAZINE. NOW I KNOW THE CORRADO PROCEEDED THE SCIRROCO AND WAS A BETTER CAR BECAUSE OF IT, WHICH IS WHY VW PROBABLY HAVE A REAL GEM OF A CAR.
VW’S FOR NORTH AMERICA ARE BUILT IN MEXICO WHERE RUMORS STARTED THAT THE PLANT MANAGEMENT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR BUILDING ‘A LEMON.’ THE MATERIALS, PARTS, AND UNDERPININGS ARE ALL GERMAN. SO WITH ALL THIS TALK OF ELECTRICAL GREMLINS COMING BACK TO THE VW HISTORY BOOK, ONE SHOULD CONSIDER IF A BIAS EXISTS FROM WHERE THE CAR IS MADE, AND IF SO SPEND THE EXTRA CASH AND IMPORT YOUR VW SCIROCCO.
THIS CAR WILL SURELY BE DRIVER ORIENTED WITH THE BEST MATERIALS AND ERGONOMIC SWITCHES. VW’S FUTURE CAN BE CLOSELY RELATED TO IT’S CONCEPT’S INTERIOR STYLING CUES, AND I HAVE NOTHING BUT CONFIDENCE THAT THIS SCIROCCO WILL BE A NICE PLACE TO BE. ALSO A RETRACTABLE HARD TOP AND CONVERTIBLE ARE ON THE DRAWING BOARD TOO. NICE HONEYCOMB GRILL TAKES ITS STYLING FROM THE NEW GTI AND WHEELS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY ARE FROM THE NEW AUDI R8.
I WANT ONE, BECAUSE NOTHING YET COMPARES TO MY VW CORRADO.

AND THERE IS NO WAY THIS CAR LOOKS LIKE THE CHALLENGER, ARE YOU ON ACID OR WHAT BUDDY?

KEENLEYSPEED:

Challenger? When did I say it looked like the Challenger? I didn’t. In fact I said it looked like the CHARGER. And I said it twice, so there shouldn’t be any confusion you illiterate hoodlum.
I’ll say it once more. This car looks like an acid-trip induced knock-off of the DODGE CHARGER.

good accept the grill looks ****house

VW has better quality than most of the American cars have so, dont blame on them

My mistake on the Challenger, that is a valid point, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I just don’t see how the Charger comes close to looking like this car.

How could a knock off Charger look like anything VW has to offer, Dodge is playing the big car retro game with that car. The new car is going for the sleek coke bottle shape as designers have speculated with R&D focused primarily on current design trends and suspension characteristics. The Charger is a 4 door, 5 seater, and the ‘09 Scirocco will most likely be a 2+2, 2 door coupe. But you’re right about one thing Alex, it’s definitely a trip to look at, in a good way.

WHAT SHOULD THIS CAR HAVE TO MAKE IT BETTER.
DIFFERENT BUMPER, GILLE, 3D STYLE HEADLIGHTS, MORE OLD-SCHOOL?

With all the 4 or more different variations of the Scirocco on the net, this one has by far the most presence on the road, and that is what VW needs to differentiate themselves as producing a driver focused sleek sport coupe.

#17 and #18.

What’s with all the yelling?

Caps lock, sorry.

Mike,

If the passat is honestly pricing out at 38k then I would have to agree with you. While I do liek the passat there is no way I would take it over a TL. The issue with the 3 series is that its smaller and if your looking for a roomy car then its not really an equal choice, however as a drivers car the 3 series is unmatched.

I would want a maxed out passat to be maybe 33k tops considering Audi is where they match BMW it does not make sense for a VW to be in too high of a price range.

“If the passat is honestly pricing out at 38k”

That number is straight from the C&D article.

The Passat is a great $30K car. At $38K they’re insane in the membrane!! It’s still a front wheel drive VW folks, get any idea that this is a good alternative to the 3 series or Lexus IS350 out of your heads now and save yourself the aggravation later.

I’ve owned a black, VW ‘84 Scirocco since I was 16 years old. It will always be my favourite car no matter what else I’ve bought since then. Having said that, it is a Karmann edition and was made in Germany. The supurb quality was second to none. I’ve been arguing for years that VW needs to re-issue the Scirocco. Any driver worth their salt knowns what they’re capable of doing on the road with one…. Keep the over-all design as it’s quit perfect as it was. I only recommend putting back the round headlights like the ’70s version sported…. If you change it to mimick a mock Euro-racer, that’s all it will be and VW will lose the spirit and essence that makes the Scirocco a driver’s car.

What’s the point of bringing it back if you’re just going to re-cylce the name and trash one hell of a beautifully designed machine… VW has missed the mark on several of it’s new releases. They need a more classic sense of design. Let’s hope they don’t miss the mark with the “new” Scirocco too. If they make it ugly, I won’t buy one… just keep putting $$ into my ‘84 model. So here’s hoping VW get’s it right this time.
Signed,
Original Scirocco Fan

mmmm Always wanted a Scirocco, but had to settle for a Corrado Vr6—and I miss it

I strongly agree with the classic sense of design for this car. It’s a throwback and the original design should be relevant to that Euro spec Scirocco. VW, STICK WITH THE COKE BOTTLE DESIGN SHAPE, AND MAKE THIS CAR A DRIVER’S CAR! DRIVERS WANTED IS GONE, AND SO ARE ALL YOUR DRIVERS, SO BRING THEM BACK WITH A RIDE THAT PERFORMS LIKE A SPORTS CAR WITH PASSAT UNDERPININGS AND KARMAN COACHBUILD IT FOR HECK SAKES. COACHBUILDER KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO MAKE A CAR MORE EMOTIONAL TO DRIVE. I’M NOT STEPPING OUT OF MY CORRADO UNTIL THERE IS A CAR WITH AS MUCH POTENTIAL AS THE ONE I DRIVE. AND STANDARD FEATURES MUST, MUST BE NOT-SO-STANDARD FEATURES ON REGUALAR CARS.
VW – YOU HAVE STEPPED UP AS THE PEOPLES CAR TO WHAT PEOPLE WANT IN THEIR CARS, KEEP USING GREAT MATERIALS AND DESIGN CARS WITH PASSION, CLASSIC ELEMENTS OF STYLE, AND SOME KIND OF COOL ELECTRICAL THING.
IE: GLASS ROOF THAT RETRACTS, TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS OR SOMETHING USEFUL FOR A DRIVER!