On Skodas
I got a huge amount of feedback to my blog post last week saying not even Len Brown deserves a Skoda. Many people I respect told me they have a Skoda and love it. I freely admit I based my post on the 1980s caricature of Social credit supporters by Bob Jones as Skoda drivers.
A Skoda dealer e-mailed me this, which I’m happy to reproduce:
Saw your blog in response to Len Brown purchasing a Holden.
After thirteen years selling predominantly mainstream cars, an opportunity arose with the growing yet unique European brand – ŠKODA, and I embraced it…
Yes, ŠKODA is a stylish European marque, from the makers of Audi and VW. But it has a unique value proposition, offering extraordinary bang for the buck – something that a lot of people overlook. These vehicles are, as they say, Simply Clever.
A few facts about ŠKODA you may not know:
- ŠKODA is one of the five oldest automobile companies, producing cars since the early 1900s and now selling close to 1 million cars worldwide each year.
- ŠKODA has become the most successful brand in the history of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). ŠKODA won its third consecutive titles in both the Drivers and Manufacturers categories in 2012, and set a new championship record by winning 27 IRC events in total.
- ŠKODA has just finished sponsoring for the 11th time the Tour De France and the 250 cars clocked up close to 2.8 million km. In fact since 2004, the ŠKODA shuttle fleet has covered almost 28 million kilometres – without breaking down once.
- ŠKODA Yeti triumphed in a survey “Auto Express Driver Power 2013” and is again the “most satisfying car to own in the UK”. Three ŠKODA cars were in the top six: in addition to the Yeti, also the Superb and Octavia were Driver favourites. 46,000 readers of “Auto Express” evaluated 100 models in ten categories.
- ŠKODA Superb was voted ‘2012 Large Car of the Year’ by the AA and NZ Motoring Writers’ Guild.
- Recently a ŠKODA Fabia 1.9 l TDI 74 kW (101 PS), which was built in the year 2000, reached one million kilometers, and it’s still going strong! A testimony to the reliability and endurance of this brand.
It’s no secret that ŠKODA, like many European brands, has risen to the challenge to produce vehicles at a cost very similar to their mainstream and Japanese counterparts without compromising quality.
It is also worth mentioning that ŠKODA New Zealand has an involvement with some inspiring organisations; check them all out at http://www.skoda.co.nz/about-us
Here is what Peter Bromhead had to say recently http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11287139
As I’m sure you are aware by now after reading some of the responses the Skoda has come a long way and we are accustomed to still being the butt of jokes but next time you are in Auckland I would gladly arrange for you to have Skoda to drive for a few days.
I stand corrected.
For those wondering my car is a Honda Civic!