# VW Jetta Stinks, Selling Like Hot Cakes



## tagheuer (Jun 10, 2004)

yeah, the Mazdas are nice cars but the front end design is awful.

And there cars do lack refinement, the plastics and interior seem cheap. The fabric on the seats is really busy, and the engines and transmissions a little buzzy.

They are nice cars, but nothing special.

Mazda has always been on the fringe, a marginal player in the big picture.

They have not done anything particular special or impressive, unless you count the oil consuming rotary engine in the RX7/RX8.

There is a REASON why no one else chose that motor....:rofl:


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## chivas (Aug 31, 2002)

tagheuer said:


> yeah, the Mazdas are nice cars but the front end design is awful.
> 
> And there cars do lack refinement, the plastics and interior seem cheap. The fabric on the seats is really busy, and the engines and transmissions a little buzzy.
> 
> ...


because nobody seems to think outside the box.


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## eazy (Aug 20, 2002)

blueguydotcom said:


> How is that a good price though? My 2010 Mazda3 Grand Touring hatchback 2.5 had a sticker of 23k and i got it for 19k. The Mazda3 has xenons, independent rear suspension, power seats, leather, seat heaters, great handling, solid reliability (much better in my first 19 months than any BMW or VW/Audi product we've owned). Really I don't see how the Jetta at 22k is competing in the same space as a Mazda3. :dunno:


Mazda has a lack of production capacity they can not build enough Mazda 3's. Mazda just began to break ground on a new plant in Mexico which will build the 2 and the 3. The 2012 Mazda 3 is going to be even better once the SKY engines come online.

In other mazda news Mazda is going to get ride of the Happy face grill. The tribute replace which is called the Cx-5 will be the first mazda to introduce its new design language.


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## hpowders (Jun 3, 2005)

For those of you Jetta shopping, you have my deepest sympathies.


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## chivas (Aug 31, 2002)

hpowders said:


> For those of you Jetta shopping, you get an automatic BAN.


*fixed*


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

mdog said:


> Answer in bold.


Um so the hatchback thing, eh...the Mazda3 sedan is even cheaper for better content, better build quality and far better driving dynamics than the Jetta so that makes the value prop on the Jetta even worse.

I loved my BMWs but they were quite unreliable (my last one was lemoned). I'm most likely going back to BMW when this Mazda leaves me in 2012 (I miss RWD) but for the cost, it's tough to find a brand new car with the same handling, reliability and content. And yes, the Mazdaspeed3 offers even better performance, handling and utility for a pretty darn low price too.


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## Chris90 (Apr 7, 2003)

LuvThatSam said:


> I just can't get use to the facelift of the new Mazda3 Hatchback. I love the older ones, but the newer ones are meh...


The Mazda 3 is butt ugly. THat might turn off a few buyers.

I sat in a GTI and a Jetta Sportwagen - you could tell the drop in quality from the GTI. Then the quality drops further from Sportwagen to new Jetta?


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## skywolf (Sep 1, 2009)

As someone who owns an 09 and has driven an 11, yea it sucks. To really get the FULL picture of just how much it sucks, you need to get the two together. It's not so much big things, it's all the little things you no longer get. Hell, even the drivers door sucks, its got a little nub that sticks out. Sigh..

A co-worker of mine is looking at a new car and he has mentioned the Jetta. I steered him towards the Elantra, but unfortunately.. nobody is offering any good incentives and used car prices are right below new. I told him to wait until Sept-Nov to buy.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

mullman said:


> I personally don't care for the new cheaper made-in-the-usa (Chattanooga, TN) Jetta, but for the price and what it is competing against, it is fine.
> My 1988 Jetta was only slightly cheaper than the 2011 (TN) model.


Your 1988 Jetta was probably built in Mexico. Most Jettas sold in the US were built in Mexico. Debbie's 1992 Jetta GL was. GLIs like my '91 were assembled in Germany.

US market Jettas are still built in Mexico. The TN plant is for the new US-only Passat.


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## e60lover (Dec 28, 2005)

MK5 Jetta > Mk6 anyday


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## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

Americans care about cheap cars and numbers on paper (trunk space, horsepower, fuel consumption). Not so much the intangible stuff like how the dash feels, the quality of the plastics, the feel of the knobs and switch gear. So lower the price by cutting corners where your average buyer won't notice or care, and increase the sale volume.


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## mujjuman (Feb 2, 2009)

It's not that bad. It's really nice and handles pretty well for what it is. The one I drove wasn't a base model though.


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## Michael Schott (Dec 7, 2007)

Americans now have a VW that competes in price with the Toyota Corolla and similar cars. The German engineering perception helps to sell the car. The previous generations did not do well because even though they were better cars they could not compete $ to $ in the marketplace.


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## eazy (Aug 20, 2002)

AzNMpower32 said:


> Americans care about cheap cars and numbers on paper (trunk space, horsepower, fuel consumption). Not so much the intangible stuff like how the dash feels, the quality of the plastics, the feel of the knobs and switch gear. So lower the price by cutting corners where your average buyer won't notice or care, and increase the sale volume.


Not always true look at nissan in 2002 -2005 nissan did a lot of cost cutting with the altima and the maxima. Yes nissan altima had a huges sales increase in 2002 but they were taken a hit with PR battles since the reliability was taking a hit. Nissan fix some of the issues with the 2005 altima. 2004-2006 Maxima had the sames issues until nissan fixed it in 2007.

Yes the MK 6 will have a nice sales increase but in a couple years they will take a hit when people realize that the jetta is a POS. VW did not learn their lesson 30 years ago.

Americans care more about reliability than the europeans.


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## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

As long as they hit their sales goal of 800.000 cars a year by 2018, they'll be satisfied.


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## eazy (Aug 20, 2002)

Other cars in the Compact car class besides the Jetta are selling like hotcakes as well. Cars like the elantra, Focus, Cruze had a huge increase in sales compare to 2010. The Chevy Cruze was the best selling car in June 2011. Now the Civic and the Corolla had a decrease due to low inventory.

On a side note 20% of VW***8217;s june 2011 sales were diesels.

http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html


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