As VW continues to release details about their all-new 2011 Jetta, it becomes pretty clear what sort of commitment they’re making to the US market. This marks the very first time that the Jetta has been designed from the ground up for us Yanks, rather than it being based on a Golf chassis, and the top brass were certain to be very clear on this fact. From the size to the price, from the drive train to the styling, nothing has been left untouched to try and make this, the most important vehicle of the  Volkswagen line up in the states, a home run. Volkswagen of America made the case for this car to its parent company in Germany to try and give us Americans what we want: a cheaper price, more room, more options, and of course, that of course that upscale styling.

On June 15th, VW went ahead and lunched its priced posession at Time Square New York. VW also took advantage of several of the large video displays in Times Square. Prior to and during the event, countdown graphics and live video were broadcast. The unveiling was followed by a free performance from someone named Katy Perry who took to the “bonnet stage” and performed. The kids and camera guys seemed pretty excited about her and Chef Mario Batali was also on hand to preform a cooking demonstration.

The high profile public launch shows how serious Volkswagen is to making the new Jetta a sales success. The new car follows VW’s trend of offering high quality design and function at an affordable price of $16000 that’s Ksh 1.3M. The car will be marketed with the new tag line ‘Great. For the price of good’. PSFK spoke with Klaus Bischoff (VW Head of Design) who commented that in his view the Jetta traditionally was a difficult car to resolve from a design perspective. Previously it was a ‘Golf with a trunk’. The 2011 Jetta is based on all new architecture which Klaus noted was a fight within the company to keep pure. The new model aims to offer sophisticated style for the $16,000 base price.

Adopted from www.curiousread.com