Is anybody bothered by VW's constant racism and sexism?

Just curious what your thoughts on purchasing vw products? I know we have LOTS of vw fans here. 

There racist and sexist ads, haven't seemed to slow down sales. 

Anybody here would NOT buy a Vw product, due to these? Or it doesn't matter, and you buy the product?  

CUrious from a car enthusiast /sales perspective. 

Volkswagen has apologized for posting a racist video promoting its new Golf 8 on the company's official Instagram page.

The video clip showed an outsized white hand pushing a black man away from a parked VW Golf, before flicking him into a restaurant called Petit Colon, which translates from French as the Little Colonist or Little Settler.

"We posted a racist advertising video on Volkswagen's Instagram channel," the VW brand's head of sales and marketing Jürgen Stackmann and group head of diversity Elke Heitmüller said in an apology posted on social media. "We understand the public outrage at this. Because we're horrified, too," they added. 

 

"On behalf of Volkswagen AG, we apologize to the public at large for this film. And we apologize in particular to those who feel personally hurt by the racist content because of their own history."

The company was founded in 1937 under the Nazi regime and used slave labor from concentration camps to build vehicles in its early years. It is now the world's biggest automaker, delivering nearly 11 million vehicles in 2019. The group makes cars under the VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat and Porsche brands.

 

"We're ashamed of it and cannot explain how it came about. All the more reason for us to make sure we clear this up. And we will make the results and consequences of the investigation public," they added.

Last year, VW apologized after CEO Herbert Diess used the expression "Ebit macht frei," or "Ebit sets you free," at a management event. Ebit is short for earnings before interest and tax and is a measure of company profits. The phrase sounds similar to "Arbeit macht frei," which was inscribed on the gates of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

In 2017, a commercial equating women to used cars angered consumers in China and forced an apology from Audi. The advert, which only aired in China, was produced by the used car division of Volkswagen's joint venture in China. It too was withdrawn.

I don't see commercials anymore since I cut the cable and started streaming my shows, so I don't really have any clue what you're talking about.

In general, ads have never made me interested in a vehicle though.

I have no context of the ads in question, so they are not the reason I would not buy a new VW. 
 

EDIT:Found the ad. Watched part of a video explaining why we should be outraged. Still don't care either way. It's not an add in english, not targeted to the US. Overloaded by outrage culture. 

My previous dealings with VW products are the main reason I refuse to buy a VW.

I think the last VW ad I saw was this one and I don't find it offensive:

Yeah, they should clean that mess up, shame on Volkswagen.  Why can't they be more like this? (no stereotyping here):

Mr_Asa said:

I don't see commercials anymore since I cut the cable and started streaming my shows, so I don't really have any clue what you're talking about.

In general, ads have never made me interested in a vehicle though.

We never had cable. We have one tv - we barely ever watch it. However I listen to AM radio for news and see websites for news and haven't been able to escape it:

I edited the first post with the news article. 

Either way, it's got people talking about it. That's the goal of advertising.

I don't have cable, don't watch TV except for 1 hour a night with the wife.

What? a car company started by Hitler being racist.

I'm outraged by the outrage and further hoping someone will be outraged by my outrage of the outrage

What's the context here? 

I can think of a plethora of other reasons why I wouldn't buy a VW. 

Also most marketing and advertising for these auto manufacturers is done by 3rd parties. Those are the ones you should be mad at. 

Grizz said:

My previous dealings with VW products are the main reason I refuse to buy a VW.

QFT

We owned two water cooled VWs, never again.

Will marketing choices in foreign countries change my mind about what car to buy? No. I'll buy (or not buy) my VAG products used based on their design and condition.

When I first saw this ad, pre-'Dieselgate', it was a turn-off. I thought it was funny, but I did not want to buy the 'feeling' that the marketers were selling. Now, years later, I'm seriously interested in a 'Dieselgate' era TDI.

I wouldn't know as I haven't seen a V.W. commercial in the better part of a year; really dried up after the emissions issue - perhaps you could post a link.

V.W.'s are attractive to me as I like small, light, simple cars, have zero need to show off, and the clean styling is big plus.  But, quality is critically important to me and although there's no shortage of people that say their V.W. has been excellent, the objective math from C.R., J.D. Powers, etc. put them close to the absolute bottom so no.

RX Reven' said:

I wouldn't know as I haven't seen a V.W. commercial in the better part of a year; really dried up after the emissions issue - perhaps you could post a link.

V.W.'s are attractive to me as I like small, light, simple cars, have need to show off, and the clean styling is big plus.  But, quality is critically important to me and although there's no shortage of people that say their V.W. has been excellent, the objective math from C.R., J.D. Powers, etc. put them close to the absolute bottom so no.

I just posted the body of the news article. Sorry I don't have a link to the actual ad. 

In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :

You sir, have me outraged!

Edit: this post was done for humor since tone is undetectable from text

With context or not. The imagery is hurtful to the psyche, especially the ad stated in the article. A lot of people especially decision makers don't think on the level in which they can see it being taken as hurtful. Or maybe they've been privilege enough to not notice hurtful imagery because they've never been affected by racism or sexism. But, for those who can see these things and those who experience them it obvious.

You learn to recognize them in the most normal aspects of life. No, you do not get used to it. You realize that it's so ingrained in our culture as a whole (humanity) that those who are not affected don't even know they're doing it.

But hey, I'm just a young black male in America. I love my country, much like a child who still loves an abusive parent. That's the best metaphor I can use to describe how it is growing up in America as a black dude.

Take it how you want. 

mr2s2000elise said:

RX Reven' said:

I wouldn't know as I haven't seen a V.W. commercial in the better part of a year; really dried up after the emissions issue - perhaps you could post a link.

V.W.'s are attractive to me as I like small, light, simple cars, have need to show off, and the clean styling is big plus.  But, quality is critically important to me and although there's no shortage of people that say their V.W. has been excellent, the objective math from C.R., J.D. Powers, etc. put them close to the absolute bottom so no.

I just posted the body of the news article. Sorry I don't have a link to the actual ad. 

Thanks for copying my post - I meant to say "have zero need to show off" but forgot the zero leaving me with "have need to show off"...bhahaha, epic.

bludroptop said:

Yeah, they should clean that mess up, shame on Volkswagen.  Why can't they be more like this? (no stereotyping here):

 

More like Kia trying to relate to young urban-culture vs a race. Unless a viewer correlates urban with a specific race lol. 

In reply to yupididit :

I'll agree with that assessment of the Kia ad. They are targeting a demographic of younger urban buyers to get them to take interest in the vehicle.

I regularly see my  skinny, white, Jewish 16yo son from suburban Massachusetts trying to emulate that urban culture style. It's not unusual to see him dressed with a hoodie, hat, work boots and jacket or something similar to the red hoodie like the hamsters on the left. He even does the pseudo boxing stance like one of them. 

He's not the only one, I see his friends and teammates dress the same way.

In reply to yupididit :

Thanks for speaking up.

This is me caring and being outraged: 

and that's all I got. People really just want to be angry about something all the time now. I don't understand why the need to look for things to be angry about. 

I've never noticed VW being sexist or racist at all. They seem to show CELs to everybody equally. 

It's ok. Workout equipment is racist now:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/having-peloton-during-pandemic-saved-me-more-i-ride-more-ncna1210671

"This is where the race issue becomes most apparent, because Black instructors offer rides filled with typically "Black" music (rap, Caribbean or hip-hop) while white instructors offer ones with mostly "white" music (rock, pop and heavy metal) — though the thought that white people don't work out to rap or hip-hop music and Black people don't use rock or pop music to fuel their sessions in 2020 is laughable."

Really? 

In reply to ShawnG :

I knew it! Thats why I get tired so quickly. Its racist!