VDub or VDumb? Volkswagen spices things up

Until recently, I have applauded Volkswagen's effort to expose the tuner crowd for their ridiculousness. VW's "UnPimp the auto" campaign depicts the frivolity of the tuner fad and attempts to sway the target buyer by focusing on the simplicity that has come to define the GTI. I say until recently because it has only been a month or so since I saw what I believed to be a hypocritical product strategy by VW. This article questions whether strategy and product are complementary at Volkswagen and asks the question, does VW need to unpimp the Fahrenheit GTI and import the GTI 30 edition?

The "UnPimp the auto" ad campaign for the Volkswagen GTI has been controversially received, but irrespective of its perceived success, has made an impact. The ads have generated a buzz for the vehicle and have been viewed widely on the web. For proof of their popularity, I looked at Youtube and found that one of the commercials from the series is the third most viewed clip of all time in the Autos & Vehicles category with over 2.9 million views to date.

The series of ads, three in all, poke fun at the tuner crowd and are designed to show how the GTI is a product of engineering and essentially the better alternative. The commercials have two characters that, in their own words, are "representing Deutschland" and "holding it down on the engineering tip." The commercials follow a similar theme; the main characters mockingly introduce a non-descript, un-cool owner and his tricked out car directly to the audience, then the two characters unapologetically destroy the owner's vehicle and introduce the GTI. The pimped out vehicles featured in the commercials are all hatchbacks, have non-traditional loud color schemes, and are fitted with superficial accessories. Also, to further the divide between the vehicles and increase the idea of the engineering simplicity of VW, the commercials are set in a stoic white lab, with the main characters dressed in white lab coats, and feature a white GTI.

As all carmakers generally do, Volkswagen introduced a special edition GTI to the US market in February. But they chose to construct a different edition for the US and European market, and as it normally happens, the Europeans kept the better model for themselves. The US received the Fahrenheit GTI and the Europeans got the GTI Edition 30. I am not only disappointed by VW's decision to introduce the Fahrenheit model instead of the Edition 30 because I think the latter is just cooler, but also because I find their introduction of the Fahrenheit model to be hypocritical and ironically similar to the cars destroyed in the "Unpimp the auto" ad campaign.

First, lets look at the Edition 30. This model derives its name and commemorates the 30 years the GTI has been in production and signifies the additional 30 horsepower, which pumps the base total horsepower to a whopping 230. In addition to the extra power, it visually distinguishes itself from the run of the mill GTI, most notably by its unique sport seats, which are a combination of leather and plaid cloth, and the 18 inch "Pescara" wheels.

The Fahrenheit edition gets its name from its racy color. And it is uncanny how the Fahrenheit's distinguishing characteristics resemble the goofy/juvenile vehicles "that suck" in the VW commercials. The "improvements" to this edition are all superficial and just tacky. The Fahrenheit is available in one exterior color, orange and it comes equipped with matching orange interior accents for the moldings and orange stitching throughout the interior upholstery. The Fahrenheit also has the loud wheels and body cladding that appears to be similar to the add-ons lampooned in its own commercials.

I believe VW really missed with the Fahrenheit GTI and will not be surprised if/when the dealerships begin discounting the 1200 models in the US to move the metal from the showrooms. The Edition 30 should be the upscale end to the GTI model range and it is a shame that this special edition will not make it to our shores.Maybe we will see VW pull themselves out of this ironic mess by admitting the mistake and doing a commercial where they "Unpimp the Fahreneheit GTI." But I doubt any executive would ever have that much humility!