PARENT POURS THE GRAVY! The Crowd Puts Volkswagen Ahead in a Family Cook-Off, and Škoda Is Stuck Behind a Plate of Shrugs

Aprons on, everyone. Tonight's cook-off is a family affair: Volkswagen, the big German head chef, against Škoda, the Czech sous-chef who has spent years quietly winning the customers over. Same kitchen, same ovens, same family recipe book. And barely a day after the pass opened, the crowd is already arguing over whose plate tastes better.

First, the provenance of the ingredients. According to Wikipedia's entry on Škoda Auto, Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, when Volkswagen AG bought the last thirty per cent of the company. The same page says UK owners have rated Škoda at or near the top of customer-satisfaction surveys since the late 1990s, that it was voted the UK's most reliable car brand in 2015, and that in 2017 its profit margin was second only to Porsche among Volkswagen's brands. It also has a bitter note. In the Volkswagen emissions scandal of 2015, more than a million Škoda vehicles worldwide were affected, and Škoda said Volkswagen would pay for the recalls and refits.

Now the judges' table. On Morfi's opinion markets, where people put real money behind their taste, Volkswagen leads with 41% consensus from 8 holders. In second place, not Škoda but "Tie/Neither," with 31% consensus from 5 holders. Also on the ballot: 1 other side. So far 10 traders have put $11,106 behind their palates. The crowd plated the famous badge first, and the second-strongest feeling is that the two dishes taste like one stew.

Pause. Lift the cloche. My opinion, and only my opinion: this verdict is undercooked. The "neither" camp has a point, since these cars share platforms and engineering, but that is exactly why I'd send Škoda's plate to the front. If the stock is the same, I want the chef who serves it with better value and happier owners, which is what that satisfaction record suggests. Backing Volkswagen here feels like paying extra for the restaurant's name on the napkin. The parent may own the kitchen, but in my book the student is cooking better.

What to watch: this market opened less than a day ago, so the sauce is still reducing. Can Škoda's value-and-reliability crowd climb out from behind the shrugging "neither" vote, or will the big badge keep its lead? Join the market on Morfi, back your taste with your own money, and tell this judge which plate deserves the star. Service!