Goodbye, Jetta! VW Will Axe An Icon

Issue #203

Happy Tuesday!

Would you miss a model if it disappeared? That’s what we’re exploring today, as we discuss VW’s decision to axe the Jetta.

Or, you can continue to read by scrolling down.

Market News

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• Self-driving cars get in the way of emergency responders, and people are fed up. Here’s more.

• GM rates its suppliers on how many workers they swap for robots, raising these expected concerns.

• This buyer is suing Ford because he paid too much for an SUV back when tariffs were causing chaos.

• Ford creates a kill-switch to prevent car theft. Then, it charges a subscription to use it. Here’s how much.

Safety and Recalls

• Kia again recalls the Telluride over a serious risk of fire. Here’s more.

• Nissan recalls the 2026 Leaf over a seatbelt issue that can cause child seats to loosen.

Car Culture

• Here’s every manual car that you can still buy. Which one would you choose?

• This is Aston Martin’s plan for success, and yes, it includes an SUV.

• VW hired sheep to help keep its solar plant clean. Yes, you read that right.

• This is an excellent reminder that the favorite cars from our childhood weren’t necessarily that fast.

• Nissan once offered technologically advanced flagship vehicles with talking computers. You can revisit them here.

Video Of The Week

Check out this TFL Truck video to go through one of the best real-life examples of towing in extreme conditions.

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In The Know

Will The Jetta And The Boxster Disappear?

​Two weeks ago, we covered how Volkswagen was struggling so much that it could disappear. You can read that newsletter here.

Now, the signs are much clearer, and it turns out we weren’t wrong. The entire automotive media is looking at VW and wondering what the right move is to save them.

Some are even creating concepts that could redeem the German automaker, such as this one.

BTW, I never understood the Thing, but that’s just me.

While journalists dreamt up concepts to try and save the company, VW was busy making all the wrong moves, out of desperation. Earlier this year, they officially killed off the last manual-transmission sedan, the Jetta GLI, as you can read here.

Back then, the news made everyone shrug. “Oh, well,” many thought, “budget cuts.”

However, what transpired was much more than that.

Recently, word has spread that Volkswagen is getting ready to end 10 of its vehicles in a lineup that’s too large; there’s no denying that.

But if we dive deep into the candidates for the chopping block, it goes to show the magnitude of Volkswagen’s desperation.

Two of the most noticeable names are the Porsche 718/Boxster and, yes, the Volkswagen Jetta. If the information is true, it’d mean the Jetta would cease to exist after more than 40 years.  

Here are the others that could be disappearing soon, including the Taos, one of VW’s worst-performing SUVs in the US.  

As this data indicates, VW could never bring the Jetta back to pre-pandemic days, when it sold more than 100,000 units. In 2025, it sold half of that as market tastes shifted and, more importantly, the market became much more competitive.

Now, it’s important to note, as this article highlights, that Volkswagen has not confirmed the plan of action. Instead, it was one German newspaper that got hold of the information. However, this newspaper has a good track record of covering the right news.  

Plus, we shouldn’t be surprised. Volkswagen has been vocal about its goal to amplify its cost-cutting efforts by 50,000 jobs, bringing the total to 100,000 jobs. However, as explained here, it won’t close plants yet. 

The consequences of this desperation could change cars forever. It could weaken European industry relative to China and other Asian nations, but it could also light a fire under VW, forcing it to be more flexible and creative. This podcast discusses what the future might hold.

As for automotive fans, the news that the Jetta is no more is no longer about the Jetta itself, but