2011 sales: 22,835 Passat's low numbers hide a huge potential for growth. Possessed of a familiar name, designed for American buyers, and built in a new Tennessee plant, the Passat is spearheading Volkswagen's growth ambitions in the U.S. Keys to its success will be VW's ability to update the car as quickly as the market demands, and to strengthen its dealers to handle a higher volume of sales. Oh, and a new campaign as clever as those Beetle ads of the 1960s wouldn't hurt either.
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