Blah: VW Says No BlueSport, Yes to Juke Competitor

[TurboDan]

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/paris-motor-show-2012/vw-bluesport-and-bulli-shelved-now

Production versions of the Volkswagen BlueSport sports car and the Volkswagen Bulli retro MPV concept remain on ice, as the firm instead seeks to increase its presence in fast-growing SUV segments.

Speaking at the Paris motor show, VW’s R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg said VW needs to develop more SUVs, with the supermini-SUV segment – populated by the likes of the Mini Countryman and Nissan Juke – one particular market the firm needs to have a presence in.

The launch of such a model is likely in 2014, Hackenberg hinted. It will be based on VW’s new MQB platform and use the new petrol and diesel engines VW has developed for the architecture.

On the BlueSport, Hackenberg said the car was effectively ready for production, but it will not be in showrooms anytime soon as VW has not been able to make a business case for it.

“The segment is falling if anything,” said Hackenberg. “I don’t want to go to the board now with it as a rejection would kill it off completely. If we can make a business case for it, it can be put into production quite quickly. But if we make the proposal now, it dies."

~

There's more to the article, but this is bad news as far as I'm concerned. I was pretty set on making the BlueSport my next car. Now we're going to get a competitor to crap pointless mini SUVs like the Juke.

At the very least, I'd like to see VW roll the dice on the Scirocco in the US market.

[2o6]

Sales. Juke sells well wherever it goes despite its odd styling.

[Raza]

Boo. 

An enthusiast car stillborn and a dopey crossover greenlit. 

[MexicoCityM3]

More evidence of the shift going on (already happened?) in automotive tastes in the market. Pity.

[Submariner]

Disappointing, but hopefully their Joke competitor won't be as deformed as Nissan's rolling embarrassment, 

[2o6]

Disappointing, but hopefully their Joke competitor won't be as deformed as Nissan's rolling embarrassment, 

Ugly is the appeal of the Juke, and its actually a nice car.

[Payman]

Sales. Juke sells well wherever it goes despite its odd styling.

Nope. Poor sales in Canada.

[Northlands]

Nope. Poor sales in Canada.

I'll say. I've yet to see one here, and this place is relatively car crazy.

[Laconian]

Diesel Jukes seemed surprisingly popular in France.

[AutobahnSHO]

Diesel Jukes seemed surprisingly popular in France.

They're used to ugly cars.
Example: Every car Citroen has ever assembled.

Also, I always knew we were back in Germany when the stores had "normal" shoes in the windows. French have some weird taste in shoes..

[mzziaz]

They're used to ugly cars.
Example: Every car Citroen has ever assembled.

Sigh. This makes you sound really stupid.

[Madman]

At the very least, I'd like to see VW roll the dice on the Scirocco in the US market.

http://autoblopnik.com/2012/09/13/volkswagen-reiterates-plans-not-to-sell-scirocco-in-the-us/


VW reiterates plans not to sell Scirocco in the United States


As Volkswagen announced their 2013 product plans, the German automaker issued a statement reminding American media and buyers that they still have no intention of bringing the Scirocco to the United States.

?2013 marks the sixth year in a row that the Scirocco will not be sold in the United States,? the press release stated. ?In order to celebrate this milestone, we are pleased to announce that once again, we will not be selling the Scirocco in the United States.?

?There?s really no business justification for this decision,? explained Volkswagen of America spokesperson Myron Proudfart. ?The GTI, Jetta GLI, and Beetle Turbo are all meeting sales targets despite their similarities. Our market research indicates that the Scirocco would be a strong seller, and the partial recovery of the US dollar means it would be profitable. However, we?re still not going to bring the Scirocco to the United States, basically because we like to be difficult.?

The official statement from Volkswagen Auto Group said that the Scirocco was being introduced to several new markets in 2013, including India, Mexico, Liberia, Kyrgyzstan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kibatra Pu?aalel, a small primitive island nation in the south Pacific that has no paved roads, no licensed drivers, and no word in the local language for ?automobile?.

?However, we still are not going to sell the Scirocco in the United States,? the statement concluded.

Later the same day, Volkswagen issued a follow-up statement that read, ?Just as a reminder, we still have no plans to sell the Scirocco in the United States.?