Golf R hits the USA

[DreamensioN]

The Golf R goes on sale in the US in 2012, and TFLcar.com have done a video review of what they think of it.

YouTube - 2012 Volkswagen Golf R review

Interesting that the USA don't get the DSG option, or the Recaro seats.

[nau]

oh wow its $33k lol and he still thinks its pricey

very odd that they dont have DSG as an option ... lets hope that VW can keep up with new demands, at this stage it doesnt look like that they can even manage Aus, with 1 year+ wait for the car...

[pologti18t]

Looks like the USA gets our engine spec as well.

Lack of recaros is a given as they dont have side airbags.

[SilvrFoxX]

They dont get LED lights either.. the US threads are awash at the price and limited options. they get 2 versions the luxury and standard but both get leather in both, they are annoyed they dont get fabric. Seems the yanks also perceive a sunroof as a luxury item which comes with the top spec. As pointed out there is no DSG but also no ACC or 19" teles. but they do get the push button start option.

It is pricey for what you can get in he states apparently it is line ball with an Audi RS4. The US guys are already hitting the dealers and putting down deposits even before the official price is released. I tried to tell them what it has been like to wait even after the release.. they dont believe me what do you say.. but they are complaining already they have to wait 12 months for the release

[break]

oh wow its $33k lol and he still thinks its pricey

It is expensive for the basic model, which is only $48k here.

Over there a full fruit STi/Evo is $33-34k, where they are more $65-70k here

[sabloke]

That's why, after being hit by the R America might go "meh" The Golf is hardly a cult car over there so who cares about the halo model? IMHO VW is making a mistake promoting the R in US. Why not market the Golf as a fuel economy European king instead?

[Treza360]

Depends which model you're talking about. Plenty of cult "Rabbits" over there. Honestly the negativity is getting a bit old. I went down the RSC200 path because I'm not a fan of the newer Golfs and Polos but I don't spend all my time here putting them down. Please lay off it.
Cheers,
Trent

[sabloke]

I made that remark in the light of American market, where many other better established top shelf brands and models are available in the $30-40k range. That's all, didn't intend to be negative at all.
You have to agree the Golf does not have the same following over there as in Europe.

[Treza360]

Yes but there is a strong scene still there just like there is here. Many forums with excellent knowledge and much more crazy mods etc than what happens here. Twin turbo R32s for example.

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f14/jlt-r32-27433.html

Have a look at Jay's thread above for example. If I had the money and time to have the car off the road I'd be doing something like this instead of having fun in the Clio.
In fact in an ideal world I'd have another R32 as a weekend/project car.
Cheers,
Trent

[h100vw]

Waterfest: Audi & VW Car Show - The Volkswagen & Audi Car Show & Motorsport Event

I read a few Yankee mags online, Eurotuner is one of them. There's a lot of shows over there, admittedly not on the scale of GTI International and all the ones on Mainland Europe but to think that they are not very popular isn't very close to the mark.

APR didn't get as big as they are without customers and look at VWVortex as well.

I haven't looked at the pricing structure of the R, so maybe they won't sell many, if they have got it wrong.

Most Americans seem to believe that oil will never run out and still drive cars with big engines. Although that hasn't prevented Hummer sales dropping down a black hole.

Gavin

[sabloke]

America is a very hard market to crack. I know there's a strong VW scene, however if John & Mary Lou Citizen don't start buying vanilla Golfs in seriously large numbers it will remain a fairly small crowd... Think about it, over here the Golf is competing in the $30k range with Commodores and Falcons. I'm talking about the regular punter that buys cars by the kilo with little or no regard for quality and driving prowess. In US is even worst, the crap 2 tonne sedans and 3 tonne trucks are even cheaper than here.

[dave_r]

They don't have to crack anything. Piss poor sales in the USA would still blow AU sales out of the water so of course they're going to push more models over there. The guys on Vortex have been hanging for ages and like a lot of us, we'll pay extra for what they have to have. They'll sell just fine!

Might mean we get some cheaper mod options opening up too

[sabloke]

Are they getting the Mk VI R? In other words a yank orderes his R in 2012, to be delivered some time in 2013, with MK VII only months away from being unleashed in Europe? That is hardly fair...

VW's sales in US in the last few years:


"As can be seen from the chart, Volkswagen has a World-Wide market share of almost 10 percent. However, Volkswagen has a very small market share in North America. This is a concern for the company since the United States is one of the world's largest markets and Volkswagen is fully aware of this. The company is taking on this issue with a few different approaches including providing more affordable and practical cars and introducing technological innovations which would increase the fuel efficiency of its vehicles along with making them more environmentally friendly.

As seen from the figure below, Volkswagen under "other" is fully shadowed by bigger giants such as Toyota or GM."

[AdamD]

As seen from the figure below, Volkswagen under "other" is fully shadowed by bigger giants such as Toyota or GM."

There's no question that VW doesn't dominate the US market. But what does that have to do with their decision to sell the R in the USA?

Let's please keep on-topic and leave the US market generalisations to the General Discussion forum.

[stephen8512]

in that video, the DSG shifter is different? Is this going to be standard for all golf R's from now on?

I still have the old R32 looking one...

Not that im complaining as I think aesthetically it looks better but if theres already been an "upgrade" of sorts on newly built R's from now on, what other updates are there?

sorry for being slightly off topic, but yeah...