A couple of days ago, Volkswagen launched a Europe-wide online marketing campaign for the all-new Passat B8. Frankly, it's not that amusing, which shouldn't surprise anybody who's met a real-life Passat owner.
The idea behind most of the commercials is that the new Passat is a car for the businessman who works hard, never cheats and loves his family. There's also a huge mansion in most of the videos. It almost seems like all they want to do is show how pretty the Passat looks with an R-line body kit and stroke the ego of the people who pay €50,000 for their big sedan/wagon.
In one of the ads, the daughter of that fictional businessman is trying to sneak out in the middle of the night to see her boyfriend who has just arrived on his black Vespa. Oh to be young and in love!
Unfortunately, for her, the Passat is fitted with Volkswagen's Front Assist plus system, which has Pedestrian Detection.
Is the new Passat a car for those who would never let their daughters out at night? Of course it is, because nobody who pays extra for safety sensors on a car would ever allow his/her flesh and blood to ride on a scooter. And letting her see a boy in those shorts is also a very bad idea.
The new Passat has been eagerly awaited by its fans for many years. Like the Golf, it's built on the new MQB platform, which helps it become lighter and more agile than its predecessor. No less than 10 different engines will be available in Europe, ranging from basic 1.6-liter diesels to a plug-in hybrid system and a twin-turbo 2.0 TDI making 240 HP.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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