Final Word from Thursday, August 27, 2020

Škoda jokes went out of style after Volkswagen bought the company in 1991 and the brand joined the modern age. Remember the one about the guy who wanted a new windshield wiper for his Favorit 136L? "Sounds like a fair trade," said the other guy. Or the one about the customer who bought the top-of-line Škoda? It came with an engine. Škoda Auto is now so successful with its Kamiq, Kodiaq, Karoq and Enyaq models that VW decided to praise away (wegloben) its chairman of the past five years, Bernhard Maier, and to order the new guy, Thomas Schäfer, to take the brand downmarket. When PM Andrej Babiš calls Schäfer on the carpet tomorrow, Schäfer can recount a newfangled Škoda joke. To keep up with the times, Škoda's coming out with the Qovid. It comes in only one version. There's a great design and real value for money, because it's got no engine at all. In covid times, it's the customer's duty to spend the economy back to health and to sit at home on his ass doing so. [ Czech Republic coronavirus covid-19 crisis car automobile ]