VW PassatA new Chrysler commercial for its Dodge Charger R/T takes the Volkswagen Passat to task while poking a little fun at the Chattanooga-made midsize sedan.
On a dark city street, a metallic silver car is ready to roar ahead when a narrator says “Here it is. The 470- horsepower, Hemi V-8, butt-kicking, Motley Crue-blasting Volkswagen Passat. No, just kidding. It’s a Charger.”
Chrysler and VW are foreign-owned auto companies whose U.S. sales are going in different directions as evidenced by August’s numbers. Chrysler Group, a unit of Italy’s Fiat SpA, on Wednesday showed a 20 percent gain in August over a year ago while German-owned VW Group sales fell 2 percent.
Sales at the flagship Volkswagen brand were down 12.8 percent in the month, offsetting gains by the VW Group’s Audi and Porsche luxury models.
Sales of Chrysler’s Jeep brand, including its fleet of sport utility vehicles, rose 49 percent in August over a year ago. VW’s aging SUV lines, the Tiguan and Touareg, reported declines of 27 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.