Doug DeMuro
👤 PersonAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Yeah, that's an interesting question. The brands that we know, I think it was just Volkswagen and Audi.
Yeah, that's an interesting question. The brands that we know, I think it was just Volkswagen and Audi.
Audi had been a separate company. And it's also important contextually here to make one really important point about PS and Audi. At that time, Audi was a joke. Audi was not what it is now. Now you view Audi as a legitimate competitor to Mercedes and BMW. Back then, it was more like how Saab would have been treated. It was an absolute second or third tier brand that no one could possibly...
Audi had been a separate company. And it's also important contextually here to make one really important point about PS and Audi. At that time, Audi was a joke. Audi was not what it is now. Now you view Audi as a legitimate competitor to Mercedes and BMW. Back then, it was more like how Saab would have been treated. It was an absolute second or third tier brand that no one could possibly...
It was not a brand that was desirable at that time.
It was not a brand that was desirable at that time.
Was the Audi 5000 the thing that kind of saved them and brought them back? On the contrary, actually. That car was the one that had the famous scandal in the United States where the 60 Minutes found that it unintended acceleration where it would accelerate, which turned out to kind of be unfounded. But their reputation was like severely, severely damaged by that. But that was this era.
Was the Audi 5000 the thing that kind of saved them and brought them back? On the contrary, actually. That car was the one that had the famous scandal in the United States where the 60 Minutes found that it unintended acceleration where it would accelerate, which turned out to kind of be unfounded. But their reputation was like severely, severely damaged by that. But that was this era.
That was this era. Audi needed to turn around. Volkswagen's got Audi. They're like, we don't know what the hell to do with this thing. We got BMW and Mercedes. They're killing it.
That was this era. Audi needed to turn around. Volkswagen's got Audi. They're like, we don't know what the hell to do with this thing. We got BMW and Mercedes. They're killing it.
He develops this reputation of being this just iron-fisted, like, I can only, when you say I can only imagine how upset he was when they made the decision to end the family involvement. He has this rep of being like incredibly angry and everything must be to his standard. And so I can only imagine how angry he was.
He develops this reputation of being this just iron-fisted, like, I can only, when you say I can only imagine how upset he was when they made the decision to end the family involvement. He has this rep of being like incredibly angry and everything must be to his standard. And so I can only imagine how angry he was.
He had a lot of kids. He was that typical, you know, how you think of like a German industrialist. Around this time, Volkswagen started really growing.
He had a lot of kids. He was that typical, you know, how you think of like a German industrialist. Around this time, Volkswagen started really growing.
gaining a lot of brands so in the late 90s they bought lamborghini um they owned two europe only brands one for like spain and one for like eastern europe and they repurchased the bugatti the rights to the bugatti name which had gone to an italian company um and they brought it back to france where it was like initially existing yeah restarted i mean
gaining a lot of brands so in the late 90s they bought lamborghini um they owned two europe only brands one for like spain and one for like eastern europe and they repurchased the bugatti the rights to the bugatti name which had gone to an italian company um and they brought it back to france where it was like initially existing yeah restarted i mean
And by the way, that's like uncontested. In the car world, Ferdinand Pietsch is looked at as like exactly what you're saying. The guy. Everybody knows his impact. Everybody knows how effective he was.
And by the way, that's like uncontested. In the car world, Ferdinand Pietsch is looked at as like exactly what you're saying. The guy. Everybody knows his impact. Everybody knows how effective he was.