You mentioned the Quantum. The Passat was intended as the successor to the Quantum. (Which shared the early Audi 5000 chassis)
I believe the B3 Passat was intended to sell to a market segment that wanted a larger automobile to compete with cars in a higher price range. Although the early B3 Passats shared many components with the A2 platform, it is a much larger chassis than the Jetta. It did not share Corrado fenders. The only body panel that was interchangeable with the Corrado was the sunroof. There is much more room in the engine bay, interior, and trunk compared to a Jetta. (Even the rear seats reclined!) There were also many more luxury refinements than the current A2 offerings. Unfortunately, the extra heft from the larger chassis left the 2.0l 16V severely underpowered. The B4 platform wasn't much different but the larger chassis naturally accepted the VR6, plus suspension, and larger brakes with ease. Finally the power to weight ratio was more in line with other cars in its class. The most recent B5 interation of the Passat based on the Audi A4 platform is very well accepted in the marketplace. With this platform, VW successfully achieved its goals with significant market share in the $25-35K market segment. VW is now looking to conquer even bigger car markets with some of the propased new models scheduled for release in the next couple of years. The point is, there will always be customers who will purchase the Jetta. VWAG already has a significant command of this market class. However, there are potential customers out there with larger incomes that don't buy Jettas and Golfs. VWAG wants a piece of that pie too. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Adam Frank Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 10:05 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [A2-16v] the pissant and the jetta. what is the point of the passats? I mean, all VWs have their niche. Rabbits, Quantums, GTi's Jettas, Siroccos, Corrados...ect. but where does the pissat fit in? the Jetta was already a ballsy 4dr car with plenty of trunk space. from my point of view, all I see is a goofy looking jetta with corrado fenders and no visible front grill. for years the pissant has been the one VW i wish would be dropped. can someone please tell me the big differences in this car and whay vw felt it nessesary to make a car that promotes "I spent more on my VW than you did." _______________________________________________ A2-16v mailing list [email protected] http://maillist.myip.org/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v For list archives, see listinfo link above.
