Set up in the late 1800s, Skoda (a Czech Republic based car manufacturer) was one of the oldest car companies in the world. The company and its cars had enjoyed considerable repute in the first half of the 1900s. However, its fortunes turned after the Second World War, when it first came under **** control and was later nationalized by the Czechoslovakian government. By the 1980s, Skoda cars had lost track of the technological advancements in the West, and were widely derided for their poor quality and unreliability. In 1991, Volkswagen acquired a stake in Skoda. Following this, Volkswagen went about systematically transforming Skoda's image and establishing it as a reliable mass market car brand.