Its late night and have to start college project, doing on volkswagen AG, but there is no info what so ever. Its a marketing project and wanted insight. Is anyone brave enough to write a little history on how Volkswagen started and then became the VW we know today w/its 9 subsidaries?

Also please put insight on how moving VW upscale affects Audi especially, I mean, look at ppl on this board, some consider Passat and A4, i know Peich would not like to hear this. Also where is audi going if vw is goign upscale and RR and bentley going lowerscale, and sporty is not that good bec of lambo and bugatii? WHere are they goign? and Skoda is going W/seat upscale too. Please i know you folks are all smart doing well in life, give me some insight plz!!

include websites to check out !!!!

 

At the top of the page click 'search', then type 'audi history' in the top box. Lots of links there.

 

VWVortex.com
Of course, a google search on "VW history" will turn up some good info too.
And, there's a good book that details how VW regained their marketing presence/market share...follow the link.
And, btw...it's F. Piech, not Peich.<ul><li><a href="http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?isbn=0471403938">Book: Getting the Bugs Out</a></li></ul>

 

I don't really know the answer to your questions, but here's some food for thought:

1. I remember reading, years ago (probably back in the '70s), that it cost GM about $800 more to build a Cadillac Sedan than a Chevrolet Impala. They were esentially the same car. Cadillac just added leather and a few extra luxury gadgets. But the Cadillac sold for about $5,000 more than the Chevy. Good business.

2. Everyone likes "luxury", but not everyone can afford it. So most of the major auto manufacturers are upgrading their mid-scale lines. Toyotas are becoming more like Lexus'. Nissans are becoming more like Infinities. Hondas are becoming more like Acuras. Etc. But the luxo lines usually stay a step or two ahead of the lower lines in terms of luxury and technology. So far, this is the case with VW and Audi. The A4 and Passat, for example, are esentially the same care. The A4 just has a few nice upgrades and costs about $8,000 more.

3. It has been rumored, for a while, that VW intends to spin off Audi. That certainly would explain why VW's are moving upscale. Not sure I believe this, though, as the company would sacrifice some major economies of scale by doing so.

Like I said, just some food for thought. Good luck on your project!

 

thanks for tyring to help, pre 02 guys just thought they were goign to write the whole paper by answering only hisotry....

i guess they just buying off your used cars... losers.

 

Somebody on this board posted a link last week on the press release statiting that VW and Audi would part ways. Not to the full extent, but they will have own (read - 'non-cooperating') engineering departments.

 

The transition from being Auto Union back to just Audi is a little murky. The company was defunct for a time and then came under Mercedes wing and stumbled along while picking up the NSU company after the failure of the very advanced rotary Ro 80 ( you can see the seeds of the 5000 in that car ). VW started purchasing shares in Auto Union in '64. Milestones are first German V8, mass produced Audi Front in '34, the Quattro system, and the first all aluminum production sedan. Check out Horch, DKW, Wanderer and Audi ( the 4 rings ).

VW has an equally unusual beginning that doesn't get mentioned too often in the history books. It seemed that Mussolini wanted a small, cheap, easy to produce car for the masses. Ferdinand Porsche produced several proposals - some of which looked very much like early Beetle designs. When Hitler heard that one the top German race car designers was drawing up plans for the Italians, he redirected Porsche to design a people's car for Germany. Of Porsche didn't start with a clean sheet of paper - he copied Hans Ledwinka's work with Tatra - who made Beetle shaped cars with air cooled engines mounted behind the rear axle. VW made payments for a time after the war, to Tatra for copyright infringement.

I am not sure of finding any truly complete history. Much must be gleaned from many articles, and then pieced together.

NSU Ro80
http://users.du.se/~it95nka/history.html<ul><li><a href="http://www.tatraklub.sk/t87.htm">Tatra 87</a></li></ul>

 

The site has a timeline about Audi's history.
Here is the link.<ul><li><a href="http://www.audiusa.com/about_heritage_timeline/0,,era-10200_,00.html">Check this out</a></li></ul>

 

No prob. Taken a few marketing/policy courses in my day. Pretty interesting stuff. Let me know how it turns out.