U.S. VW plant location

[mel72349]

AutoWeek, March 24.

Volkswagon sources say the company has narrowed the choices to one of the Carolinas or Georgia for a U.S. plant that will build an all-new car starting in 2010 or '11.

VW boss Martin Winterkorn has said the plant's first car likely will be a Passat replacement starting at about $20,000.

VW's plant will build up to 250,000 cars a year.

[DannyRandomState]

Sounds like there will be more jobs avail to those areas.

[Ghia_Roadster]

VW already tried an american plant in PA but it didnt work.

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by bugger

VW already tried an american plant in PA but it didnt work.

It worked, I owned a couple cars produced there. Right now with the dollar down so much it is cheaper to produce cars here than elsewhere and then ship them in. The economy of the 70's and early 80's made it viable then too. By the mid-late '80's the dollar was strong and it was just way too expensive to build cars here. The future of the US economy does not look good, so labor will be relatively cheap and US workers are among the most productive in the world, so it just makes economic sense again. I hope they produce more product that is geared specifically to the US market.

[PostO]

Actually the downfall of the US plant was due to dismal sales because of management failure to keep up with the competition. Honda opened their Marysville, OH, production plant in 1982. Still going strong.

The first "Americanized" Rabbits to come out of Westmoreland were disasters compared to the '77 and prior models that came from Germany. Who was the genius that thought Americans wanted color-keyed interiors? The baby blue Rabbits had light blue dashboards, steering wheels, turn and washer stalks, interior side panels, window cranks, etc, etc. The seats were flat vinyl slabs too. Also, the suspension was softened to satisfy American tastes. Didn't they realize that the reason why the Rabbits were an early success was because it was GERMAN?? Quality was dismal too. Just ask anyone that owned a US made Rabbit.

If VW managed it right, there would still be a factory in PA today. But to quote bugger... "...it didn't work."

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by PostO

...Quality was dismal too. Just ask anyone that owned a US made Rabbit....

I owned 2 and my mom owned 1--they were just as "good" as any other small car of the day and definately better than the small domestics. Seriously, you can't ignore the macroeconomic reasons behind not continuing with the PA plant and why it makes sense to come back now.

Oh, and BTW, one of my Rabbits was "baby blue" and it did not have a blue interior, it had a black interior and the other Rabbit I had was black and had a tan interior--so, you are way off on that stuff.

[Toad]

Wherever they decide to open it. I'm gonna get my ass down there and make them give me a job. I cant think of anything better than assembling new v-dubs.

[PostO]

Originally Posted by wawalker

Oh, and BTW, one of my Rabbits was "baby blue" and it did not have a blue interior, it had a black interior and the other Rabbit I had was black and had a tan interior--so, you are way off on that stuff.

I guess I'm not so way off afterall... 1979 Westmoreland Rabbit


OK, the wiper stalk appears black (it could be the angle), but the rest of the interior is light blue. Check out the lack of bolsters on those seats. The German Rabbits were much better.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/79rabbit.php

EDIT: The wiper stalk is blue!

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by PostO

I guess I'm not so way off afterall... 1979 Westmoreland Rabbit...

Well, I owned a 1980 and a 1981 Westmoreland built Rabbit(both in the early to mid 80's) that both did not have matching exterior and interior colors. True, what you say existed, existed, but it was not all that there was to choose from--so it is unfair to damn them all. Also, what you need to understand is that matching color schemes were common not just at VW. The first car I drove regularly at 16 was a '76 Chevy Impala that was light blue w/ a dark blue vinyl interior, I remember my dad having a late 70's Aspen that was red with a red interior and he also had an early 80's diesel Lynx that was red over red. We laugh at 70's clothes now, but they were fine and even liked by many in their time. What you see in your VW brochure was perfectly acceptable and common in their timeframe, pretty much any car made in the 70's and most of the 80's would not match up quality-wise, style-wise, safety-wise (and many other ways) to what we have today. So, apply some historical perspective to your thoughts--that's all I'm saying.

[PostO]

Originally Posted by wawalker

Also, what you need to understand is that matching color schemes were common not just at VW. We laugh at 70's clothes now, but they were fine and even liked by many in their time.

VW Rabbits prior to 1979 did not have matching interior color schemes. I recall Road and Track Magazine and others criticizing VW for going that route and "Americanizing" the Rabbit. Acceptable to some, but a step backward for VW by breaking away from the original teutonic formula of the early imported Rabbits. Why not buy a Pinto, Lynx, Impala or Aspen instead of a Rabbit?

What you see in your VW brochure was perfectly acceptable and common in their timeframe, pretty much any car made in the 70's and most of the 80's would not match up quality-wise, style-wise, safety-wise (and many other ways) to what we have today. So, apply some historical perspective to your thoughts--that's all I'm saying.

My thoughts were comparing the offerings of the day, not today. VW mismanagement spelled doom for the PA plant. I'm sure today's management will not repeat the same mistake.

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by PostO

... Why not buy a Pinto...instead of a Rabbit?

Because my Rabbit didn't blow up when I was rear-ended by a 3/4 ton Ford pickup crushing it to the rear axle?

...VW mismanagement spelled doom for the PA plant. I'm sure today's management will not repeat the same mistake.

I can't be as certain of that as you--look at VW's attempt to enter the luxury car market? They make tons of mistakes all the time and have never quite been in tune with the US market--I don't expect much from them.

...My thoughts were comparing the offerings of the day, not today. ...

You were comparing the Westmorelands to the earlier German-made ones--nothing in your previous post indicates otherwise.

[PostO]

Originally Posted by wawalker

Because my Rabbit didn't blow up when I was rear-ended by a 3/4 ton Ford pickup crushing it to the rear axle?

True. But my point was if VW insisted on softening the Rabbit to satisfy American tastes, then consumers had other options.

I can't be as certain of that as you--look at VW's attempt to enter the luxury car market? They make tons of mistakes all the time and have never quite been in tune with the US market--I don't expect much from them.

I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. After all, the Puebla plant has been producing VWs that kept to the original "German" recipe, unlike the early Westmoreland products.

You were comparing the Westmorelands to the earlier German-made ones--nothing in your previous post indicates otherwise.

Um... yeah. That was my intent all along, keeping the historical perspective to the mid to late 70's German Rabbits, versus the late 70's Westmorelands. It was you that started to compare that era's cars to the modern day...
"What you see in your VW brochure was perfectly acceptable and common in their timeframe, pretty much any car made in the 70's and most of the 80's would not match up quality-wise, style-wise, safety-wise (and many other ways) to what we have today."

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by PostO

...Um... yeah. That was my intent all along, keeping the historical perspective to the mid to late 70's German Rabbits, versus the late 70's Westmorelands. It was you that started to compare that era's cars to the modern day.....

Well, one thing I have definately learned on the "internets" is that it is easy to not get your point across. I was defending the Westmoreland Rabbits as decent cars that compared well to other small cars of the day, while you wanted to bash them for blue over blue color schemes, flat seats and soft suspension which really were very common and perfectly acceptable in their day, but we are going round and round. So, I will agree that it is a generally accepted fact that the German Rabbits were better than the PA ones. "Americanization" was a good idea to appeal to a larger audience--the vast majority of potential buyers would perceive a sporty ride as harsh--most people do not consider a small econobox a sporty car. I believe that if they had left them "teutonic" that less of them would have sold. You are looking at it from an enthusiast's point of view and that puts you in a small minority--especially to the average Rabbit owner back in their day.

Now back on topic:

I think that northern Ohio on the west side of Cleveland would be ideal. There are plenty of displaced experienced former domestic autoworkers and facilities ready to be utilized.