The Volkswagen brand has struggled in the US market for decades, often troubled with vehicles priced too high or products that arrived too late in segments that were already crowded, such as three-row SUVs. Generations of US shoppers loved the original Beetle, the counter-culture Microbus, and the pioneering Golf GTI hot hatch, but rekindling that spirit in the US market has been extremely difficult. If business was lagging in the US, Wolfsburg could count on high volume in Europe, South America, and, in later years, China to make up the difference.
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