Porsche set to move closer to VW takeover

[DainBramaged]

Porsche will be one step closer to acquiring majority control of Volkswagen on September 2, when its deal to buy 4.9 percent of that company's ordinary shares takes effect.

The VW takeover "will be executed piece by piece," Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking said during an event in the Black Forest on Wednesday evening.

A spokesman for Porsche said the deal closes on that day in early September.

The purchase of another 4.9 percent of VW common shares was necessary before Porsche could proceed with gaining regulatory approval from the European Commission, which required further proof a takeover was indeed intended.

Once Porsche has received the green light from various antitrust authorities, it plans to raise its voting stake in Volkswagen to over 50 percent.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20080710/COPY01/660412087/1128


Maybe someday in the future VDubs will be reliable again.

[soleft]

1. I've had 3 Jettas - no problem

[DainBramaged]

2. VW Admits Sludge Problem

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/vw_sludge.html

August 30, 2004
Volkswagen is warning owners of VW Passats and Audi A4s about an engine sludge problem. The company won't say how many engines it has replaced or repaired so far.

Affected are turbocharged four-cylinder engines on 1998 through 2004 Passats and 1997 to 2004 A4s, Automotive News reported.

Consumers have been complaining about the problem for years. "At just under 36k miles my oil pump blew and the car went crazy," Tim of Grand Blanc, Michigan, said in a complaint to ConsumerAffairs.com earlier this year.

"The oil pump was full of sludge (so they told me) which caused blockage and massive heat build-up, which blew out the turbo. $5000 later I received a call from the service manager who told me that it was ready to be picked up," Tim said. VW refused to pay for the repairs, he said.

It's the latest in a long line of quality problems for VW, which has seen its U.S. market share slip in recent years.

Sludge problems aren't unique to VW. The Center for Auto Safety is asking Chrysler to correct sludge problems and extend the warranty on 2.7-liter V-6 engines in its 1998-2002 model year vehicles. Many consumers have complained of problems in the engine used in the Dodge Durango

"My Dodge Durango oil gauge would show fine one second then terrible the next. If I let it cool it would be ok and then go back to 0 pressure when I got going," said Milet of Mart, Texas, in a complaint to ConsumerAffairs.com. "I showed them all the oil changes I had done and they told me I must have been getting ripped off because I had "sludge" everywhere.

Toyota has had sludge problems in its the 1MZ V-6 and the 5SFE inline 4 engines and faces the prospect of replacing or repairing 3.3 million engines.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Comparative manufacturer failure rates.

# 1. Mazda - 8.04%
# 2. Honda - 8.90%
# 3. Toyota - 15.78%
# 4. Mitsubishi - 17.04%
# 5. Kia - 17.39%
# 6. Subaru - 18.46%
# 7. Nissan - 18.86%
# 8. Lexus - 20.05%
# 9. Mini - 21.90%
# 10. Citroen - 25.98%
# 11. Daewoo - 26.30%
# 12. Hyundai - 26.36%
# 13. Peugeot - 26.59%
# 14. Ford - 26.76%
# 15. Suzuki - 27.20%
# 16. Porsche - 27.48%
# 17. Fiat - 28.49%
# 18. BMW - 28.64%
# 19. Vauxhall - 28.77%
# 20. Mercedes-Benz - 29.90%
# 21. Rover - 30.12%
# 22. Volvo - 31.28%
# 23. Volkswagen - 31.44%
# 24. Jaguar - 32.05%
# 25. Skoda - 32.12%
# 26. Chrysler - 34.90%
# 27. Audi - 36.74%
# 28. Seat - 36.87%
# 29. Renault - 36.87%
# 30. Alfa Romeo - 39.13%
# 31. Saab - 41.59%
# 32. Land Rover - 44.21%
# 33. Jeep - 46.36%

[DainBramaged]

4. Skoda? They still make those??

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. I think they were bought out.

But still making cars.

[DainBramaged]

6. yup, by VW

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[MillieJo]

40. The Skoda - Octavia is a very nice car...

VW have tranformed Skoda, it a competative car make.

[Gold Metal Flake]

18. Hm. Where is GM on that list?

What is the source? The list appears to be European, not US and not global.

[Book Lover]

23. Vauxhall is GM overseas

At least in the UK.

[Gold Metal Flake]

30. Yeah, and Holden in Aus.

Still wondering about the source. No big deal, though. Just curious about similar ranking in the US.

[Fumesucker]

19. That's an interesting list.. Do you have a link? n/t

[jmowreader]

33. SAAB is having sludge problems too

I saw a website put up by an independent SAAB mechanic, that says SAAB Sweden claims four percent of the engines in that year range are failing.

I notice many of the engines in question--SAAB four-cylinder, turbo VW and so on--are turbocharged, and they were made when API Service SL oil was the latest thing. Thinking out loud...perhaps API Service SL oil in a turbocharged engine is part of the problem?

[DainBramaged]

37. Here is a great site for API catagories

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/API.html

SM is current all previous classifications are obsolete

For all automotive engines presently in use. Introduced November 30, 2004. SM oils are designed to provide improved oxidation resistance, improved deposit protection, better wear protection, and better low-temperature performance over the life of the oil. Some SM oils may also meet the latest ILSAC specification and/or qualify as Energy Conserving.


My personal recommendation (since 1981) is to ALWAYS use pure synthetic oil in ALL applications. I have NEVER had an engine failure or any sludge of any kind. Mobil 1 or Quaker State are my oils of choice.

[flvegan]

7. Hm. Volkswagons are fairly reliable.

And since Ferdinand Porsche pretty much built Volkswagen it's more like just a homecoming.

[DainBramaged]

9. They aren't reliable, sorry to disagree

http://www.myvwlemon.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true



My VWLemon .com suckers wanted

[flvegan]

10. Good, solid unbiased link there, thanks.

:eyes:

[DainBramaged]

14. Do your own research then

VW has had LEGENDARY service problems for the last decade, and Consumer Reports backs me up.

http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx?contentid=4023544

Best and Worst in Reliability

Least reliable in class by manufacturer

Volkswagen Jetta
Volkswagen Passat (4-cyl.)
Volkswagen Touareg

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. So what you're telling us is...

"buy Toyota."

[tammywammy]

16. Acording to the post above

You should buy Mazda, Honda, Toyota because they're much more reliable than any American made product. ;)

[flvegan]

17. Okay:

From that same article:

Of the 45 least reliable models, 19 were European, 20 were from U.S. manufacturers, 5 were Japanese, and 1 was South Korean. General Motors had 12, Mercedes-Benz had 8, Ford and Nissan each had 5, Chrysler and Volkswagen each had 3, BMW and Jaguar each had 2, while Kia, Land Rover, Porsche, Saab, and Volvo each had 1.

So if we were to say...oh, I don't know, compare VW in this article to American cars, it beats every manufacturer but Chrysler, with whom it tied. Am I reading that right?

[DainBramaged]

25. Your goal has been to post the exact opposite position of anything I post

for months now. believe what you chose to believe. VW's have been horrendous and their sales downturn over the past decade has proven it. I refuse to acknowledge your posts any further.

For the rest of you;

Volkswagen of America Inc. said its sales increased 0.3 percent in June '08 from a year ago, to 23,208 vehicles. It was VW’s best sales month since August 2006.

They had their zero down sign and drive event in May and June, which means (annualized) VW could sell a maximum of about 275,000 cars in the US this year. WOW
:wow:

[flvegan]

27. What? I quoted your same article?

Panties bunched? Check!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. The study you responded to showed they weren't too bad.

Only slightly different then, say, Ford.

Certainly not nearly as reliable as Japanese cars.

[Redstone]

24. Uh, no, my friend. Owned a VW product in the last 15 years (including Audi)?

The quality does NOT go in before the name goes on at VW or Audi.

Redstone

[flvegan]

26. Knowledge of several. I'd not own one

I don't care for them (or Audi). My roomie has a 99 Jetta, two coworkers have newer Jetta's, 3 buds with that new Beetle thing (no idea what years) and 3 folks with A4s. My mileage may well vary, but they've all seemed to have very good luck with their particular cars.

Maybe I'm just biased because VW owns both Lamborghini and Bugatti. Mmmm...Lamborghini...

[Redstone]

28. I hate to have to tell you what the common thread is there...

Jettas and New Beetles have been manufactured in Mexico for quite some time, and have pretty decent build quality.

It's the cars (forgive me the sacrilege!) built by the VW Group in Germany over the last 15 years that have suffered quality problems.

Like the two I owned; the A4 and the Passat that both shredded themselves with two years.

Redstone

[flvegan]

29. Ah

Yeah, I don't know anybody foolish enough to buy a Phaeton or Tuoaeaaeareg (whatever the hell that "suv" thing is. Just the cheap stuff.

[Redstone]

31. It's pronounced "Twar-egg." Not "Toor-egg" as they say at the VW dealers.

It makes me wince that they'll name a vehicle after a group of people, then not bother to pronounce the grop's name correctly.

And hey, there's a Phaeton on a local used-car lot for $26K, that sold new TWO YEARS AGO for 67 grand! What do you suppose the people at VW have been smoking?

Redstone

[Javaman]

8. does this mean we can kiss the 232 mpg VW????

I hope not.

[flvegan]

11. Probably not, and the 3.6L 415hp Beetle will be fun!

[tammywammy]

13. I love my Beetle, 42 mpg :)

No problems really either.

[dysfunctional press]

20. ours only gets 25 mpg...

but it's a 2-litre turbo.

it goes fast.

[tammywammy]

22. Mine's a TDI

;) I loves me some torque.

[Redstone]

21. No, no, Porsche, save yourself while you still can! Just keep being the insanely

profitable company that you've been, and don't saddle yourselves with the burden of VW, with its legendary flops like the Phaeton and W8 Passats, and black-hole financial vortexes like the Veyron!

(Not to mention the 1999 A4 and the 2002 Passat I so idiotically bought, both of which spontaneously detonated within two years.)

Redstone

[ForrestGump]

32. I would've thought a Porsche could overtake a VW with ease

I also thought VW used to be part of Porsche. The original "People's Cars" were designed by Ferdinand Porsche, right?

[jmowreader]

35. They were, but Porsche never owned VW until now

Porsche designed the KdF-wagen for the German government. Then the war came, and the factory made military vehicles. After the war, the British Army helped get the factory put back together again so the Germans would be able to make enough money to pay their war reparations.

[Xithras]

36. VW was designed by Ferdinand. The Porsche company by his son.

The VW Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche and was eventually selected to become Hitler's "peoples car". Ferdinand actually designed the car long before Hitler became involved though, and had tried to unsuccessfully shop his design around to other manufacturers including Mercedes. Nobody was interested in his "cheap peoples car" concept until the Nazi's came along. After WWII, the Volkswagen factory was reopened as an independent company to help rebuild the German economy.

The Porsche car company that Ferdinand founded was technically just a design and concept company...he never actually built any production cars. He designed concepts and sold them off with varying levels of success.

The Porsche we know today was founded after WWII by Ferry Porsche, Ferdinand's son. While Ferdinand was imprisoned for war crimes (which he was never convicted, and later exonerated of) his son Ferry went back to Austria and came up with the idea of actually building sports cars. He designed the first Porsche 356 himself and started manufacturing it under a new Porsche factory name. Ferdinand, the guy who designed the Beetle, never had anything to do with the Porsche company we know today. Ferry, the guy who built Porsche, never had anything to do with VW (other than purchasing parts from them for some of his early models).

[AlCzervik]

34. i have a vw and i've had no issues with it all, it's full of audi parts and vw parts.

works just fine for me and it gets good gas mileage plus it's adorable, my favorite car i've ever owned and i've had a fair number of cars.

[jmowreader]

38. As long as we're talking shit about car companies...

I want to know the name of the communist shit twinkletoed cocksucker who decided the battery in every car in the fucking world should be buried so deep you've almost got to pull the engine to get it out, no matter how big the car is. We have wrapped at least fifty new vehicles this year, and the only one you could extract the battery from in less than two hours was the dump truck.

We wrapped a Silverado and needed to recharge the battery after we were done wrapping it because the battery died after it was parked in our building for a week. We couldn't even find the battery terminals.

Whoever decided this is The Way To Build Cars needs to be washing them instead.

[DainBramaged]

41. Weight transfer and crash protection

Many new cars and trucks place the battery under the rear passenger seat or in the trunk.

[jmowreader]

42. I like batteries in the trunk...

and as for under the back seat? I drove a Bug for a lot of years; "under the back seat" is where the battery is SUPPOSED to go!

But in the front behind everything else? No.

[opiate69]

39. we love our VW..

although, it's 36 years old, so it's not really relevant to the new generation..

[jmowreader]

43. 411, right?

Helpful household hint: a transmission jack is just super for dropping the engine out of that car. The engine in your car weighs about twice what the engine in a Bug does, so BE CAREFUL with it!

[opiate69]

44. Nope.. Type 3 Variant (aka Squareback)

Thanks for the tip on dropping the engine though... we have another one in our driveway which we're planning on dropping the engine out of.