Have there been any sources confirming Volkswagen's position? The TF Wiki page on licensed vehicles cites a TF Archive forum post wherein someone claimed to have contacted Porsche's licensing department and got the 'war machines' response, but they didn't cite VW. This article claims that there was actually no solid information from Volkswagen either way, and that there isn't any evidence for the Volkswagen 'war toys' claim. This kind of reminds me of how
If Volkswagen really were initially opposed, they likely changed their minds after seeing that an association with the Transformers franchise was beneficial for General Motors and that other manufacturers (Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari) were jumping on board.