Alot of truth in that statement. One of the reasons Volkswagen moved much of it's manufacturing here to the US (and produces the cars it sells in the U.S. IN the United States) is the cheaper labor costs of U.S. workers vs. their German counter-parts. That move shaved @$6k from the cost of an average Passat, for example.
The PROBLEM is that Volkswagen didn't invest ANY of that savings into improved interiors or technologies like their Japanese rivals do, and Volkswagen is having reliability problems which are generating negative reviews.
Anytime I was in Brussels, Germany or Netherlands I had a Mazda or Volkswagen Turbo-Diesel. I'll tell you that there is a marked difference between the VW's made here and sold here, vs. the ones sold in Europe.
I'll take a German built Passat TDI over it's US brother any day of the week.
I had a diesel Passat wagon in Europe for a week a few weeks ago. 6MT. It was a great car.
The US Passat and Jetta are US-market-only cars that are redesigned and de-contented vs. Euro versions to compete against Toyota, Nissan, and such.