2001 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg 1.8lturbo, Tornado Red,5-speed Manual,bbs Wheels on 2040-cars

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VW makes $23K on every Porsche sold, more than Bentley or Lamborghini

It's a good time to be in the luxury car business. In Volkswagen Group's financial report for the 2013 fiscal year, it is revealed that that Porsche enjoyed an operating margin of 18 percent. That means the Stuttgart brand made on average about $23,200 per car sold, according to BusinessWeek. Bentley wasn't far behind, and Audi (which was combined with Lamborghini) posted a 10.1 percent margin. This compares to only around 2.9 percent for the Volkswagen brand.
"Luxury brands are on fire," said Dave Sullivan, an industry analyst at AutoPacific. He said that the average profit margin is between six and eight percent. Brands like Porsche and Bentley have the benefit of competing in rarefied markets. Buyers looking at one their vehicles have fewer models to shop against and don't care as much about price. They can also charge more for options, which further boosts income, according to BusinessWeek.
In a way, we should be more impressed by the continued success from Audi. Its models generally have direct competitors in every segment from the other premium automakers. Plus, their buyers aren't the captains of industry who are shopping for a Bentley. Still, the Four Rings is leading rivals in sales so far this year.

VW delays new Phaeton flagship sedan

The Bugatti Veyron was a crusade begun by former Volkswagen Group CEO Ferdinand Piech. Even though the old patriarch is no longer with the company and the astonishing coupe is rumored to have never made a cash profit, everyone understands why the car remained in the family and why a successor is on the way. The same can't be said for the VW Phaeton, another one of Piech's pursuits. Thirteen years after the budget brand introduced the now 89,650-euro ($101,000) luxury sedan that competes with other in-house products, no one knows why it lives. Since VW made roughly 4,000 of them last year, the news that it's being delayed won't affect many people. The next-generation Phaeton developed on the MLB platform is apparently ready to go right now, but Bloomberg reports that the bosses have demanded lower production and material costs before it gets a final green light. At the moment the Phaeton is put together by hand by white-gloved technicians, which might sound like a great place to start counting pennies, but again, those technicians only built 4,000 sedans last year. That's fewer than the Eos, which is being retired for slow sales, and VW sold 3,411 Eos models in the US alone last year. Recent hire Herbert Diess is the VW exec in charge of the cost-cutting push. The Phaeton is a grain of sand - but a very important one - on the beach he's meant to conquer: Diess plans to raise VW brand profit to more than six percent by 2018 at the same time there's a group-wide push to save $5.5 billion. That number would more than double the brand's current 2.7-percent profit for 2015 so far, that current number being about half the profit over at struggling French maker PSA Peugeot-Citroen. The new Phaeton's on-sale date had been reported as 2017 or 2018 earlier this year. It isn't clear how long the sedan will be pushed back because of the production changes.

2015 VW Golf SportWagen priced from $21,395*

Now known as the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen in the US, the long-roof version of the platform gets larger for its new generation in 2015, but it also sheds up to 137 pounds and cuts some money off the price of some models. The base now begins at $21,395, plus $820 destination on all versions, when they arrive at dealers in April. Volkswagen claims that with all of the extra standard content, buyers actually save $700 compared to the previous-gen Jetta SportWagen, despite its lower $20,995 starting price. The S trim is the least expensive model and comes with a five-speed manual and 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 170 horsepower. Paying an extra $1,100 adds a six-speed automatic. The SE for $26,995 gets the auto as standard and also includes a panoramic sunroof, front foglights, push-button start and a rearview camera. The top SEL for $29,345 further features chrome roof rails, navigation, a 12-way power driver's seat and more. In addition to the gas engine, buyers can choose the 2.0-liter TDI with 150 hp and 236 pound-feet of torque, and VW quotes EPA estimates of up to 43 miles per gallon highway fuel economy for it. All of the trims with the oil burner come with a six-speed manual, but a six-speed DSG is a $1,100 extra. The base TDI S trim starts at $24,595, which is nearly $2,000 less than the last-gen Jetta SportWagen with a diesel, and buyers also get standard push-button start and a rearview camera. The SE and SEL trims offer similar upgrades as their gasoline counterparts and ring up for $27,995 and $30,345, respectively. Of course, many buyers want extra tech for their cars, and VW is offering two packages of options for the SE and SEL trims with either engine. One adds collision warning, automatic post-collision braking and front and rear parking sensors for $695. The Lighting Package includes adaptive Bi-Xenon headlights, LED running lights and LED interior lighting for $995. VOLKSWAGEN ANNOUNCES PRICING OF 2015 GOLF SPORTWAGEN ? New TDI® S model reduces base Clean Diesel pricing by almost $2,000 ? Newly available driver assistance technology includes Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Post-Collision Braking System ? Larger interior than outgoing Jetta SportWagen rivals compact SUVs for size ? Car will be offered with 1.8-liter turbocharged TSI® gasoline and 2.0-liter TDI Clean Diesel engines ?