VW City Golf or Toyota Matrix?

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
> "B A R R Y" > wrote in message
> m...
>> JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
>>> Sounds like you need a lot more flaky women between the ages of 18 and
>>> 23. From observing VWs, that seems to be 99% of the target customers.
>>
>> They'll be the ones passing in the breakdown lane @ 70 MPH, while never
>> missing a word on the cell. <G>
>
> .....while putting on lip gloss.
>
>
Don't forget searching the Ipod for a better song!

All at the same time...

Take your pick

VW Golf (Rabbit) Great car, mediocre reliability
Toyota Matrix (Corolla) Mediocre car, great reliability



"WT" > wrote in message
...
>I have been driving a 1986 VW GTI for the past 10 years, and since she's
> starting to show her 20 years of age, I may soon be looking for a
> replacement. My VW driving and owning experiences have been good,
> although
> certainly not flawless. Here in Canada, VW are offering the 2007 City
> Golf
> for a very reasonable price. It's basically a 4-door A4 Golf, 2.0L
> engine,
> disk brakes on all 4 corners. With options like air conditioning and
> cruise
> control, it prices in around $20K CDN. Pretty good warranty. I like the
> hatchback versatility, and like I said, I have enjoyed driving my GTI.
>
> However, as many of you will know, VW are not necessarily leaders in
> reliability, at least according to the summaries in Consumer Reports and
> other sources. Toyotas seem to rank much better in the reliabilty area.
> (Yes, I know those are statistics, and it is possible to get a
> trouble-free
> VW or a lemon Toyota.) Looking at Toyota's lineup, the Matrix is the
> closest match to the City Golf, in terms of size and configuration. With
> similar options, the Matrix price is comparable, perhaps a bit higher.
> From
> doing some on-line comparisons, here are some pros that I've found for
> each:
>
> VW City Golf -
> ==========
> PROS: better warranty; disk brakes front and rear; anti-lock brakes;
> torque
> peak at low rpm; telescopic steering wheel; wipers are variable and speed
> sensitive; nicer styling (personal opinion);
>
>
> TOYOTA MATRIX
> ==============
> PROS: better fuel economy; higher HP; cargo area has flat floor; better
> reliability history; 16V engine; more usable cargo space;
>
> Opinions, please!
>
>
>

"Built_Well" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> Would you believe in Columbia, Missouri, a good-sized city of
> roughly 100,000 people, there is not a single VW dealership.
> Everybody's here--Mazda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Caddy, Hyundai,
> even Kia--but not Volkswagon.
>
>

Automakers use several criteria to decide where to put dealerships. There
are only 6 VW dealerships in the state of Missouri.

One of the main criteria is market size. For example assuming that
Columbia, MO and the neighboring radius that people would travel to purchase
a car has a population of 300,000.

We'll use conservative numbers for this example and say that 40% of the
population is of a car-buying age, so 300,000 X 40% = 120,000.

Let's say 40% of the population of people who are of car-buying age purchase
new vehicles instead of used vehicles: 120,000 X 40% = 48,000.

Now, let's say that the new car buying population buys a car every 4 years:
48,000 divided by 4 = 12,000

In our example, out of a total population of 300,000, we came up with 12,000
potential new car buyers every year (actual numbers are probably even
lower).

VW's market share in the U.S. is roughly 2.5%, and assuming that market
share applies in every market (it does not), then 15,000 X 2.5% = 300 annual
sales, or 25 per month.

VW probably wants single-line dealerships, and 25 new vehicles per month is
probably not enough for a dealer to invest close to $5 million and get a
decent return on his investment.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Ray O wrote:
> "Built_Well" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> Would you believe in Columbia, Missouri, a good-sized city of
>> roughly 100,000 people, there is not a single VW dealership.
>> Everybody's here--Mazda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Caddy, Hyundai,
>> even Kia--but not Volkswagon.
>>
>>
>
> Automakers use several criteria to decide where to put dealerships. There
> are only 6 VW dealerships in the state of Missouri.
>
> One of the main criteria is market size. For example assuming that
> Columbia, MO and the neighboring radius that people would travel to purchase
> a car has a population of 300,000.
>
> We'll use conservative numbers for this example and say that 40% of the
> population is of a car-buying age, so 300,000 X 40% = 120,000.
>
> Let's say 40% of the population of people who are of car-buying age purchase
> new vehicles instead of used vehicles: 120,000 X 40% = 48,000.
>
> Now, let's say that the new car buying population buys a car every 4 years:
> 48,000 divided by 4 = 12,000
>
> In our example, out of a total population of 300,000, we came up with 12,000
> potential new car buyers every year (actual numbers are probably even
> lower).
>
> VW's market share in the U.S. is roughly 2.5%, and assuming that market
> share applies in every market (it does not), then 15,000 X 2.5% = 300 annual
> sales, or 25 per month.
>
> VW probably wants single-line dealerships, and 25 new vehicles per month is
> probably not enough for a dealer to invest close to $5 million and get a
> decent return on his investment.
=====


Thanks for that expert analysis, as usual, Ray O. :-)

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Built_Well" > wrote in message
.. .
> Ray O wrote:
>> "Built_Well" > wrote in message
>> .. .
>>> Would you believe in Columbia, Missouri, a good-sized city of
>>> roughly 100,000 people, there is not a single VW dealership.
>>> Everybody's here--Mazda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Caddy, Hyundai,
>>> even Kia--but not Volkswagon.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Automakers use several criteria to decide where to put dealerships.
>> There are only 6 VW dealerships in the state of Missouri.
>>
>> One of the main criteria is market size. For example assuming that
>> Columbia, MO and the neighboring radius that people would travel to
>> purchase a car has a population of 300,000.
>>
>> We'll use conservative numbers for this example and say that 40% of the
>> population is of a car-buying age, so 300,000 X 40% = 120,000.
>>
>> Let's say 40% of the population of people who are of car-buying age
>> purchase new vehicles instead of used vehicles: 120,000 X 40% = 48,000.
>>
>> Now, let's say that the new car buying population buys a car every 4
>> years: 48,000 divided by 4 = 12,000
>>
>> In our example, out of a total population of 300,000, we came up with
>> 12,000 potential new car buyers every year (actual numbers are probably
>> even lower).
>>
>> VW's market share in the U.S. is roughly 2.5%, and assuming that market
>> share applies in every market (it does not), then 15,000 X 2.5% = 300
>> annual sales, or 25 per month.
>>
>> VW probably wants single-line dealerships, and 25 new vehicles per month
>> is probably not enough for a dealer to invest close to $5 million and get
>> a decent return on his investment.
> =====
>
>
> Thanks for that expert analysis, as usual, Ray O. :-)
>

You're welcome!

The process for determining where to put a dealership is a little more
refined, but that is the general idea.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Ray O wrote:
> "Built_Well" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> Ray O wrote:
>>> "Built_Well" > wrote in message
>>> .. .
>>>> Would you believe in Columbia, Missouri, a good-sized city of
>>>> roughly 100,000 people, there is not a single VW dealership.
>>>> Everybody's here--Mazda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Caddy, Hyundai,
>>>> even Kia--but not Volkswagon.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Automakers use several criteria to decide where to put dealerships.
>>> There are only 6 VW dealerships in the state of Missouri.
>>>
>>> One of the main criteria is market size. For example assuming that
>>> Columbia, MO and the neighboring radius that people would travel to
>>> purchase a car has a population of 300,000.
>>>
>>> We'll use conservative numbers for this example and say that 40% of the
>>> population is of a car-buying age, so 300,000 X 40% = 120,000.
>>>
>>> Let's say 40% of the population of people who are of car-buying age
>>> purchase new vehicles instead of used vehicles: 120,000 X 40% = 48,000.
>>>
>>> Now, let's say that the new car buying population buys a car every 4
>>> years: 48,000 divided by 4 = 12,000
>>>
>>> In our example, out of a total population of 300,000, we came up with
>>> 12,000 potential new car buyers every year (actual numbers are probably
>>> even lower).
>>>
>>> VW's market share in the U.S. is roughly 2.5%, and assuming that market
>>> share applies in every market (it does not), then 15,000 X 2.5% = 300
>>> annual sales, or 25 per month.
>>>
>>> VW probably wants single-line dealerships, and 25 new vehicles per month
>>> is probably not enough for a dealer to invest close to $5 million and get
>>> a decent return on his investment.
>> =====
>>
>>
>> Thanks for that expert analysis, as usual, Ray O. :-)
>>
>
> You're welcome!
>
> The process for determining where to put a dealership is a little more
> refined, but that is the general idea.
=====

I'm just glad Toyota has a dealership here in Columbia! That's all I
really need.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Ray O wrote:
> VW probably wants single-line dealerships,

most of the VW dealers i know about sell another line of cars, usually audi.

"mike" > wrote in message
...
> Ray O wrote:
>> VW probably wants single-line dealerships,
>
> most of the VW dealers i know about sell another line of cars, usually
> audi.

Multi-line dealerships are more common in smaller markets in order to get a
large enough sales volume to make the dealership profitable. In larger
markets, single-line dealerships are more common than multi-line.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Built_Well wrote:
>
> Would you believe in Columbia, Missouri, a good-sized city of
> roughly 100,000 people, there is not a single VW dealership.
> Everybody's here--Mazda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Caddy, Hyundai,
> even Kia--but not Volkswagon.

Not terribly surprising. In all of Nassau and Suffolk counties (NY), an
area of some 3 million people, there are only 7 VW dealerships that I
know of. That's an average of one for every 400,000 people, or so.

--
Mike Smith

Ray O wrote:
> mike wrote
>
>> Ray O wrote:
>>> VW probably wants single-line dealerships,
>> most of the VW dealers i know about sell another line of cars, usually
>> audi.
>
> Multi-line dealerships are more common in smaller markets in order to get
> a large enough sales volume to make the dealership profitable. In larger
> markets, single-line dealerships are more common than multi-line.
=====

I have to agree with Ray O. In my small market of Columbia, the local
Toyota dealership (Machens) sells new Toyotas and BMWs on the same lot.
They're called "Machens Toyota/BMW." Down the road just a little is their
Ford dealership called Machens Ford.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com