MK5 Golf GTI

General => Random Chat => Topic started by: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 05:40:03 pm

Title: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 05:40:03 pm: Looks like you'll all be driving the Czech Dream Machines soon :grin:

Something I and a few others have known for a long time which is the best badge in VAG :evilgrin:

I particularly like this quote from the VAG CEO

Quote from: Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn
"The Škoda brand stands for driving pleasure, technology, and quality in a first-rate price/performance ratio. That is the core of “Simply Clever“. And with this positioning, Škoda is a strategic spearhead for our Group."

All info here :-

http://www.skoda-auto.com/COM/about/info/news/News/Pages/2011_34_skoda-anniversary_2.aspx

Bring it on :pomppomp: :star: :signLOL:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 06:28:51 pm: soon our plan to take over this forum will be realised, and then we'll take over the world
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.caddicks.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fpinky_and_the_brain.jpg&hash=391f9efcd6ccc3a0cd16faa27c14bbd75d4d236b)
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Hedge on April 19, 2011, 06:30:51 pm: :grin:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Jack Rabbit on April 19, 2011, 06:52:34 pm: ..spearhead? so just the tip not the full shaft then?

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles.sharenator.com%2FBorat_im_frickin_pissed_off-s347x447-132095-535.jpg&hash=4ab9d3fb5bbad3bdac51ee83865fd04a705e79c6)
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 06:56:41 pm: Quote from: Jack Rabbit on April 19, 2011, 06:52:34 pm
..spearhead? so just the tip not the full shaft then?

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles.sharenator.com%2FBorat_im_frickin_pissed_off-s347x447-132095-535.jpg&hash=4ab9d3fb5bbad3bdac51ee83865fd04a705e79c6)

The tip being the best bit as without it the remainder can't do much :P
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: RedRobin on April 19, 2011, 07:15:23 pm: .
Nah, VAG are just finding that they need to make an extra effort to sell more Skoda's for some reason - I wonder why :evilgrin:. It's just marketing.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 07:17:58 pm: yo should look at the dsales figures, Skoda were outperforming the rest with sales i believe if you go model for model.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 07:22:27 pm: Quote from: RedRobin on April 19, 2011, 07:15:23 pm
.
Nah, VAG are just finding that they need to make an extra effort to sell more Skoda's for some reason - I wonder why :evilgrin:. It's just marketing.

Jealousy gets you nowhere RR. :booty: :grin:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Top Cat on April 19, 2011, 09:10:15 pm: Quote from: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 06:28:51 pm
soon our plan to take over this forum will be realised, and then we'll take over the world
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.caddicks.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fpinky_and_the_brain.jpg&hash=391f9efcd6ccc3a0cd16faa27c14bbd75d4d236b)

:signLOL: just reminds me of you and Carl that. :pomppomp:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: dmac1969 on April 19, 2011, 09:49:00 pm: Ive already had 3 Skodas , so I know how good they are. :happy2:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 10:05:54 pm: Quote from: Top Cat on April 19, 2011, 09:10:15 pm
Quote from: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 06:28:51 pm
soon our plan to take over this forum will be realised, and then we'll take over the world
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.caddicks.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fpinky_and_the_brain.jpg&hash=391f9efcd6ccc3a0cd16faa27c14bbd75d4d236b)

:signLOL: just reminds me of you and Carl that. :pomppomp:

Im the short clever one, just want to get that in first before carl starts giving it large :grin:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Hurdy on April 19, 2011, 10:13:43 pm: He did say STRATEGIC spearhead though, which in German during the war basically meant send in loads of men to get killed (strategic spearhead) whilst the important blokes do something else, somewhere else :P
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Greeners on April 19, 2011, 10:17:31 pm: Pinky and the Brain! :signLOL:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: simonp on April 19, 2011, 10:57:46 pm: Quote from: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 07:17:58 pm
yo should look at the dsales figures, Skoda were outperforming the rest with sales i believe if you go model for model.

I don't recall VW or Audi having to knock the VAT off to sell motors...??
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Hedge on April 19, 2011, 11:00:21 pm: Quote from: simonp on April 19, 2011, 10:57:46 pm
Quote from: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 07:17:58 pm
yo should look at the dsales figures, Skoda were outperforming the rest with sales i believe if you go model for model.

I don't recall VW or Audi having to knock the VAT off to sell motors...??

Not quite the full story as it was only Petrols. I know what I'm happy with. :wink:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 11:00:31 pm: Quote from: simonp on April 19, 2011, 10:57:46 pm
Quote from: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 07:17:58 pm
yo should look at the dsales figures, Skoda were outperforming the rest with sales i believe if you go model for model.

I don't recall VW or Audi having to knock the VAT off to sell motors...??

No Skoda do so because all the people who pay the extra for VW & Audi's subsidise Skoda being able to do so. :P :P :grin:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 11:02:38 pm: :grin: :grin: so not only are the GTIs a couple thousand more expensive, with the tax off theres another few thousand to be saved.

expensive badge that my friend :P
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Hedge on April 19, 2011, 11:05:00 pm: They see my winged arrow, they be hating. :laugh:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 11:06:04 pm: As I said in a diff thread recently my new vRS DSG TSi Estate is £22.5k

The same spec Golf GTi is nearly £35k.

I doubt even the most hardened dedicated VW nut can show me what makes a golf £12k more expensive :stupid:

But long may it continue. :grin:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: simonp on April 19, 2011, 11:06:40 pm: No GTI badges on my wagon.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Janner_Sy on April 19, 2011, 11:07:28 pm: In summary

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fk97%2Fteflontom%2Fskodakissqm3.gif&hash=7ed1388ef94189dbfbe383f9570358dd2436193f)
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 11:09:11 pm: (https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fk97%2Fteflontom%2Fskodakissqm3.gif&hash=7ed1388ef94189dbfbe383f9570358dd2436193f)

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fk97%2Fteflontom%2Fskodakissqm3.gif&hash=7ed1388ef94189dbfbe383f9570358dd2436193f)

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fk97%2Fteflontom%2Fskodakissqm3.gif&hash=7ed1388ef94189dbfbe383f9570358dd2436193f)
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: simonp on April 19, 2011, 11:11:52 pm: Some people like Rolex, others are happy with Bolex. Each to their own... :evilgrin:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Greeners on April 19, 2011, 11:26:26 pm: :indifferent:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Hedge on April 19, 2011, 11:29:45 pm: :signLOL:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: simonp on April 19, 2011, 11:30:46 pm: I agree, the Skoda love on here is quite tiresome.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 11:37:15 pm: Some people are soooooo touchy :love: :evilgrin:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: ub7rm on April 20, 2011, 08:08:33 am: I'm no Skoda hater - I think for VFM they are the best out there. All the VAG build quality / technology without the snob tax and some genuinely innovative products of their own (though I'm sure carefully monitored by VW). The transformation of Skoda is pretty amazing considering that Seat had the same chance but they don't seem to have done so well from getting to suckle from the VW teat. Well done Skoda :congrats:

I love VFM in pretty much everything else apart from cars. In that respect I am a little bit of a badge snob so would still tend to go for the GTI badge (note GTI badge, not because its VW but because its a GTI). When I'm looking for a sensible family wagon I would look at Skoda as well as the rest.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: QD MBE on April 20, 2011, 08:24:40 am: I would quite happily have a Skoda, if they made a Golf sized Hatch. The Labia (Polo) is too small, and Octavia - styling looks to big, and saloon car like.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: RedRobin on April 20, 2011, 08:45:35 am: Quote from: QD on April 20, 2011, 08:24:40 am

I would quite happily have a Skoda, if they made a Golf sized Hatch. The Labia (Polo) is too small, and Octavia - styling looks to big, and saloon car like.

....There's no doubt that Skoda's are excellent VFM but I love the VW and GTI badges because of the long established culture and tradition as well as the Mk5 product. I couldn't agree more about the Octavia styling - It's exactly why it doesn't appeal. And that's the point: The bottom line, just as with ladies, is the 'appeal' - Something not always definable. We might think we choose to buy a car based on VFM and badges and practicality etc but it's not actually such a rational decision. What about simply how a car sounds for example?

The only Skoda which appeals to me is the Yeti which Saint Steve was considering and wish he'd bought one so I could closely inspect it. :happy2:
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: cmdrfire on April 20, 2011, 12:30:09 pm: Quote from: vRS Carl on April 19, 2011, 05:40:03 pm

Quote from: Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn
"The Škoda brand stands for driving pleasure, technology, and quality in a first-rate price/performance ratio. That is the core of “Simply Clever“. And with this positioning, Škoda is a strategic spearhead for our Group."

Professor Doctor? That's an awesome title, only bettered by Lord Professor.

On a related note, Skoda's got a proud history and is older than VW by some margin; and were known for their luxury vehicles before the War and subsequent subsumation into first the Reich and then the USSR. Kudos to Skoda, always had a little soft spot for the Czech company that could...

...unlike SEAT, which is Spanish and therefore a) impoverished and b) lazy.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Richn83 on April 20, 2011, 12:35:57 pm: Skoda the word means Pity in Czech and is named after mr Skoda (Pity) I used to date a Czech bird they absolutely love Skodas in the Czech republic. I would think the Spear head is going to be more of a financial one rather than a technological lead there isnt much profit margin in having 10 billion different models with lots of different spec options and all the latest gadgets with high R&D costs Audi. but if you can sell lots of similar cars with small option list to lots of people for good money with tech that R&D has already been covered then you can make a very good GM% Seat should be doing the same but people only want the hot versions with lower margins.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: cmdrfire on April 20, 2011, 12:49:21 pm: VW AG's great strength is they can leverage their wealth of brands such that the staggering costs of R&D (the A5 platform which underpins the Mk5/6 Golf, A3, Leon etc cost 0.5B euro) can be amortized across a whole range of cars, enabling companies like Skoda and Seat to put out highly competitive well-equipped vehicles at a very reasonable cost which they would not be able to do otherwise. Ford is doing the same thing with the new Focus platform, which is not only behind the new "Global Focus", but also in thirteen other vehicles. The problem is of course product differentiation, and this is where GM failed, and which VW is in danger of (because how different is a high spec Golf from an A3 these days?).
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: Richn83 on April 20, 2011, 12:56:02 pm: Answer not very! Only think Audi have is use of haldex on more vehicles and a longer option list! At least Seat and Skoda have body type limitations.
Title: Re: Skoda to Spearhead VAG
Post by: h4rdy on April 20, 2011, 07:13:50 pm: Quote from: Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn
"The Škoda brand stands for driving pleasure, technology, and quality in a first-rate price/performance ratio. That is the core of “Simply Clever“. And with this positioning, Škoda is a strategic spearhead for our Group."

Sounds like someone is decorating their house before they sell it! :signLOL: