Penske Punchbuggy?

http://wot.motortrend.com/6690148/motorsports/new-porsche-head-hints-at-volkswagen-nascar-entry/index.html

he latest entry into America's most popular motorsports series could very well be the first ever from Germany. According to Matthias Muller, the newly appointed CEO of Porsche, Volkswagen Group -- his employer's parent company -- is considering entering NASCAR. Should it follow through, Volkswagen would be just the second foreign automaker to participate in NASCAR. Toyota was first, entering the competition in 2007.

The German automaker will reportedly begin discussions with NASCAR officials once the current season ends in late November. One of the owners that Volkswagen is considering team up with is Roger Penske, who is currently associated with Dodge and has a history of success in the stock car series. Currently, Penske driver Kurt Busch is in 4th place and firmly in the Chase for the Cup, while other regular cup drivers Brad Keselowski and Sam Hornish Jr. are 26th and 27th, respectively.

The factors that would not only enable a NASCAR entry, but also make marketing sense, are Volkswagen's new Chattanooga, Tennessee, assembly plant and the enigmatic "New Midsize Sedan" that will be built there. Whatever it ends up being called, it's the most likely base for a NASCAR entry and also the most likely source of growth for Volkswagen, which has set ambitious sales targets in the coming years.

What do you think? Does it make sense for Volkswagen to enter NASCAR with the New Midsize Sedan, or will the German automaker be wasting its time and money?

in the District I think you'd be hard pressed to find a VW owner to say anything nice about NASCAR. hating on NASCAR is de riguer around these parts, as is owning a Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Audi and the new Mercedes Sonata. The new Jetta is supposed to be slightly more affordable, so maybe their image may better reflect middle America with that development.

If Toyota can do it, I don't see why VW can't. I would have expected Honda to be the next to jump in but, this could be interesting too.

Toyota builds what is essentially a Japanese Chevy. All the smart rednecks have jumped ship and bought themselves a Toyota, since it rides just like a Chevy, but doesn't break down. NASCAR and Toyota is a perfect fit.

VW builds a car that appeals to a completely different demographic. Their product may be a nightmare to work on, but they are involving to drive, and have a certain cachet, that is, well, GERMAN. VW owners despise NASCAR. NASCAR and VW is a horrible idea that must have been conceived by someone drunk on Bud Light in cans.

Bud Light in cans... urrp.

But I agree, VW won't see any inroads into the US market by going NASCAR, they will wind up being the punchline to a joke. The best thing they could do is to field a road race team and possibly a rally team. That rally thing worked well for Subaru, it got their product in the limelight at the X Games etc.

mixed thoughts on this, on the one hand i think its a good move , and will educate people a bit and support the vw - usa manufacturing plant and workers and be great exposure to a "new" market. And I think Nascar is ready for more of them there foreigners cars....

Then again, If they dont do very well right off the bat, it could be disastrous for them. build quality in my opinion has improved a great deal since the mk v platforms(now 70k on our 08 rabbit, only issues to date were rear brake pads wearing out prematurely. knock on wood!), and not doing very well could bring back the late 90's, early 2000's crap can status. Also, with nascar mandatory templates, the only thing that makes the cars look different is the stickers for the most part. id assume theyd use the jetta platform, so maybe not such a stretch , who knows...

Bottom line to me, if they do it, they have to make it a major effort, anything less could seriously back fire...

DO IT!!!

WRC would be better for them especially with mini and the focus RS getting in to the game, Hell before you know it it could be....

SAAB, new 92 Mini Ford, RS Mazda, Speed 3 mabye? VW, GTI

All in the FWD class, i believe that would be a much better move for them.

Actually, I am all for VW fielding cup cars. Have you seen their current crop of slab sided crap? They already fit the NASCAR COT template except for the splitter and spoiler.

I also believe VW should have bought ChryCo instead of Fiat for the reason of VW getting INTO NASCAR. The series is huge in Mexico and so is their manufacturing presence. And since every Mexican eventually moves to the US why not give them a reason to go to the races.

VW doesn't have a pushrod V8 with a carburetor/throttle body injection. Toyota didn't either. Honda is presently tied up in IRL.

iceracer wrote: VW doesn't have a pushrod V8 with a carburetor/throttle body injection. Toyota didn't either. Honda is presently tied up in IRL.

no one currently sells a car or truck with a pushrod engine with a carburetor or throttle body injection.

Ford was the last maker to use production based engines any more- and that was essentially a radically updated 358" version of the '69 and '70 Boss 302 engines that was replaced this year with a new clean sheet of paper design that was built purely to fit into the NASCAR engine template that was developed when Toyota wanted to get into the NASCAR game in the truck series about 10 years ago..

i've reached the point where i don't care who puts cars in NASCAR. the stands are still going to be filled (as much as they are filled any more) with people that are wearing Chevy, Ford, and Dodge hats and shirts- with most of them having the #3 on them somewhere. that's just how it is- that's NASCAR's fanbase.

in the Cup series, the bodies of the cars are identical from the firewall back. well, the shape of the quarter windows are different for each different make.. the upper noses, hoods, and front fender contours are different for each car, too, but they have the same aerodynamic profile as far as a wind tunnel is concerned.

things are a little better in the Nationwide series, but not much. the new cars that have been used a few times this year and will be used full time next year actually have front clips and body lines that more closely resemble the Mustangs, Challengers, Impalas, and Camrys sitting on dealer lots, but they are still pretty much cookie cutter cars beyond that. Chevy wanted them to allow changes to the roofline and quarter panels of the car to bring the Camaro into it and have a good old fashioned pony car war on the tracks, but NASCAR said no and Chevy kept the Impala.