Volkswagen Just Put Porsche on the Chopping Block

[00:01] gas-powered Boxster and Cameo are still staring at the Executioner right now. These are three names actually enthusiasts recognize, all reportedly of Volkswagen Group. And all three are just collateral damage in a cost-cutting

[00:15] previous automotive bloodbaths look like a light trim. Buried inside Volkswagen announcement is a plan to kill up to half of their entire model lineup by 2030 and slash the number of trims and

[00:27] options you can even choose from by 75%. This is the biggest automotive extinction event in a decade. And the list of what is allegedly getting axed reads like a greatest hits of the cars actual enthusiasts like. So, let's talk

[00:40] about who is on the chopping block, why the excuses do not add up, and why this is somehow both completely predictable and still incredibly stupid. Like, of the year. And hey guys, real quick, the giveaway for the Shelby and Supra

[00:53] and the $100,000 has ended. And well, the winners are being picked right now. But, we're coming back bigger and better and better. So, click the link in the pin first comment because like Rocky who won the GT-R, like Greg who won the

[01:06] 100K, you can sign up to be notified and get 100 free entries once it goes live. So, click the link down below, go put in your email, and I can't wait to show you what we have cooking. All right, back to the show. Here is the setup. Volkswagen

[01:19] Group is not just trimming fat, they're cutting annual production capacity from 10 million vehicles down to 9 million. And they're doing it under the banner of portfolio. [music] Reducing complexity is corporate speak

[01:32] for we make more money selling you fewer choices. And according to a leaked list from a German newspaper, 10 specific nameplates are on their initial death list. Volkswagen's own communications team will not confirm or deny it, which

[01:45] is PR language basically meaning yes, but legal told us that we can't say it stings the most for anyone who has ever needed an actual affordable car that does not drive like a punishment. The Jetta is reportedly done. No next

[01:59] generation, same fate for the Taos crossover, but nobody's losing sleep over that one. The Jetta has been around for almost 40 years. It has been the default first car, first lease, first real grown-up purchase for an entire

[02:11] generation of people who could not or would not spend $45,000 on a crossover just to commute to a job that they hate. And the excuse being floated is that sedans are not popular anymore. Except Honda and Toyota are out here making

[02:24] bank on a Civic and the Corolla. Proof sedans still sell fine when the company actually bothers to market them. Volkswagen specifically did not. I mean, just think about it. When was the last time you saw an actual advertisement for

[02:37] a Jetta or GLI? Volkswagen spent years pouring marketing dollars into the ID.Buzz and the ID.4, vehicles that by their own admission were not moving units, while the car that people were actually loyal [music] to basically got

[02:50] zero attention. No merch, no campaigns, nothing. It was like watching a budget behind a dish nobody orders, while the thing that keeps the lights on gets no mention on the menu at all. The GLI in particular deserves better than

[03:03] this. I mean, you are talking about a genuinely reliable turbo engine, a dampers, a stereo that does not sound like a tin can, heated and ventilated leather, and a manual transmission option, all for around 35,000 bucks.

[03:18] money than a lot of vehicles costing twice as much. And the plan is to just let it quietly die because the Golf is apparently getting shifted to Mexican production instead and might just absorb whatever segment is left. But, the

[03:31] compared [music] to what Porsche is apparently preparing to do. The Taycan is reportedly getting killed after its current generation with no direct [music] replacement. This is the car that legitimate EV skeptics pointed at

[03:44] and said, "Okay, this one actually drives like a Porsche should. It's not just a fast appliance. It is a real chassis feel, real weight distribution, expect from the badge. And Volkswagen Group's answer is just to fold it into

[03:57] [music] and Panamera platforms, which anyone who has driven both of these cars will tell you produces a worse version of each. You do not get a better car by averaging two great ones together. You get a compromise nobody has asked for.

[04:11] combustion engine is also reportedly circling the drain. Fine, that one is except I do really like the look of them. But here is the part that should actually make you angry if you care even a little bit about sports cars. Porsche

[04:25] spent last September very publicly promising that the gas powered 718, meaning the Boxster and the Cayman, would be making a comeback. They stood "That is the plan. Bring back the engines, keep the purists happy, prove

[04:38] that Porsche has not completely lost the plot." And now, according to that same leaked list, that promise is quietly getting walked back. No gas Boxster, no gas Cayman, the two-door sports cars that actual driving enthusiasts have

[04:51] happen. And here's the part that makes my blood boil a little. The electric version of the 718 are apparently still moving forward. The same program that has already been delayed multiple times because they are trying to shove EV guts

[05:04] for them. That project keeps getting funded while the combustion version, the one people actually show up and buy on day one, gets quietly shelved. Porsche something people do not want while canceling the thing that people do. And

[05:19] then, they are just sitting there calling it strategy. I mean, compared to that, what is happening over at Audi barely even registers. The Audi Q5 Sportback and the electric Q6 E-Tron Sportback are reportedly on the chopping

[05:31] block and genuinely good riddance. I mean, those exist purely so Audi could charge you more for a car with worse visibility and less trunk space. Nobody's going to write a sad song about the Sportback lineup. Interestingly, the

[05:45] the Taycan, is apparently sticking around even though the Taycan itself is not, which tells you exactly how much internal logic is actually behind these decisions. There is no carefully engineered master plan behind any of

[05:59] flagging whichever car has the worst margin this quarter, regardless of whether it makes sense next to the car sitting right beside it on the platform. The Škoda Fabia is reportedly getting cut, too, even though the Volkswagen

[06:12] Polo and SEAT Ibiza that share its guts were not mentioned, which in its own is kind of strange. I mean, emission regulations in Europe have made small, cheap combustion engine hatchbacks almost impossible to build profitably.

[06:24] So, this one at least has an actual technical explanation behind it instead of just vibes. And then you have the Cupra Raval, a car that has barely gone on sale anywhere, apparently already being killed off after a single

[06:37] generation before the market even has had a chance to render a verdict. Usually a company waits to see if a new nameplate flops before pulling the plug. about how panicked this whole restructuring is than any single line

[06:50] item on the list. Notice who is conspicuously absent from all of this. mentioned anywhere in the leaked cuts because those two brands are in some of the fattest profit margins in the entire portfolio, and nobody upstairs is

[07:03] [music] touching them. Funny how the division making the most money per unit while the divisions that actually sold cars to regular people in real volume are the first ones to get cut. Even Bugatti is out of the picture for now,

[07:16] having severed ties with the group entirely after Porsche sold off its stake. So, step back and take a look at the actual pattern here. The cars [music] the efficient, reasonably sized, genuinely well-engineered options. The

[07:29] cars sticking around are the bigger, heavier, more expensive crossovers and [music] you are better for the planet because a percentage of them come with a plug. You cannot claim to care about sustainability while systematically

[07:42] eliminating every lightweight fuel efficient passenger car in your lineup crossovers. What is really driving this is which line items look best on a shareholders deck. The CEO himself has more or less said as much that being

[07:56] popular with customers matters less now than protecting the profit margin on each individual sale. If a manual GLI, a Taycan, or a gas engine boxer came in was ever put on your list, this is the year to stop waiting cuz that leaked

[08:09] list just put a clock on all three. So, which one of these cuts proves Drop it in the comments because I have got some strong opinions and I guarantee the algorithm is going to bring me some more strong opinions right back.

[08:22] the end of the year with us. Check out some of these Ideal videos. I'm Brad. This is Ideal and promise me one thing, keep living the Ideal lifestyle.