• Washington Post, Monday, October 5, 2009 10:42 AM

Volkswagen's U.S. CEO, Stefan Jacoby, is steering the company more toward the expectations of middle-class buyers and away from the tastes of young, trendy buyers partial to the iconic Beetle, V. Dion Haynes reports. In repositioning the brand for mass appeal, Max -- the wisecracking Beetle that has been the star of its recent ad campaign -- may be driving off to the sunset.

"There are a lot of great stories and memories" about the Beetle, Jacoby tells Haynes, but "to play a bigger role here, we need to modify and adapt to American consumers' needs."

Jacoby is pinning his hopes on a bigger compact sedan that will be introduced in 2010 and a midsize sedan that will be manufactured the following year at a new plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. "Here, there is more cruising and long-distance driving. In Europe, there are more tiny roads and you drive more actively than in the United States," he says.

Jacoby wants to quadruple companywide U.S. sales to 1 million by 2018; Volkswagen's market share rose to 2% in 2009 from 1.4% in 2008.

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