Are Volkswagens Cool?

[jho-audio]

Keef, Audi A4.. Anyone got a golf gti they want to trade? Maybe a pontiac firefly or geo metro?

 

[PRR]

> control arms and wheel bearings are costing me a small fortune. ... Three lights on my panel died last week... A few weeks ago my sunroof started just opening itself

I mentioned I own Ford tools. And I know how to use them. From 1985 to 1992 I drove a 1967 Cougar; 1992 to 2002 a 1979 ThunderBurd. Did all my own work; even mounting tires on rims. (I can do a better job with two sticks than any tire shop and tire-machine I've found.)

The Falcon-chassis PussyCat ate shocks, brakes, and upper A-arms every 20K. The Burd's shocks lasted 95K and the upper-As about 150K, but the front brakes stuck (not wore) every couple years, and I could not keep rear axle bearings more than 50K, tires not even 40K. Doing a brake-job or a camshaft replacement over a weekend got to be routine. The electricals mostly worked, or needed a small hammer, unless it was a rainy Sunday far from home. In the Burd I carried a complete ignition system and starter (it worked: the car went 238,000 miles on the factory starter, while almost every other non-block part had to be replaced).

Got a new 2002 Honda Accord. Put 56K miles on it now. One failure: the light that tells if the cruise control is not-defeated.

> it is such a pain in the ass to get in behind

I pulled the bulb out at the next stoplight. Grab the button and the whole switch comes out, the bulb jammed in the side.

However the NAPA parts store never saw one, and the Honda dealer says they could order one from Yokohama but they never saw one fail.

The switch has two lamps, one just so you can find the switch in the dark. That's not really a problem. There's the cruise-defeat switch and the moonroof switch in that cluster, and I can tell the difference in the dark. I swapped the good bulb into the status indicator hole.

I've changed oil and filters per schedule, and tires because I like Thunderbird balloon tires not Michelyn feel-an-ant hard-rubber. (Last year's BF Goodrich street T/A tires give fabulous grip in the rain; the Michie Energy tires were hydroplaning at 20K miles.)

So in 4 years I've wasted 20 minutes asking for a lamp, an hour getting new tires.

My only real gripe about the Accord (other than the whole thing, for an ex-BlunderBurd owner, that it is just a sleek backward Beetle, not a Real Car) is the clutch. My lawnmower has a better clutch. My brother's 1942 Plymouth has a clutch 10 times better; my '53 GMC and my '61 Willys 8 times better, and even the dratted Falcon's clutch was better than the Honda's. It is fine if the road is clear: you wind it up to 5,000 RPM and slip your foot off (how long can that go on?). But jerking along in traffic is a real pain in the leg.

 

[CJ]

:razz:

 

[Michael Krusch]

That's not my VW GOLF I, but I once had a very simular car. I paid 800?. Then after 5 years the gear was broken and I bought a VW GOLF II for 500?. Now I own a VW Passat (have paid 1?).
So kid, how much is the price of my next car? :grin:

 

[quadwould]

[quote author="MikoKensington"]I think part of VW's problem is the fact that they have factories making the same car in three parts of the world. I mean Audi ranks pretty high and they use the same engineers, parts and manufacturing.

Golf's, Jetta's and New Beetles come from Germany, Mexico and Brasil. I think most of the problem dubs imported come from Mexico. Who knows? [/quote]

actually all US sold VWs (last time i checked) Are Not from Germany now.

But here in leis one of the main problems fueling the arguments of people like CJ.

hey CJ.. do you have one of the comparison charts for the European car market. hell i would love to see a chart for all US sold cars and All EU sold cars. with 2 comparisons. 1st, with all cars in one list the (problems per 100 cars average) and a 2nd list of the problems per 100 cars separated into US and EU. (to get each continents standings).

a third list that combine the 2 continents results to see overall. ( so if X company has 25 problems per 100 in EU and 75 in US, ther it would show average of 50 over all iun this list)


this would open some eyes...

 

[Guest]

I only started driving at 32
Since then I have had company cars (never owned one myself)...
All from brand new...

VW Mark 3 Golf SE 1.6 - 6 months
VW Mark 4 Golf SE 1.6 - 3 years
Ford Focus Ghia 2.0 - 3 1/2 years
Renault Grand Scenic 1.9tdi - 1 year
and of 2 weeks ago
VW Mark 5 Golf S 1.9tdi

I drive a lot - 40,000+ miles a year - VWs piss on the other cars above...
Just wish I had a armrest in my spanking new golf (2 weeks old and 2.400 miles on the clock - I got it at 1 mile on the clock)

I needed a new car really quickly so called up my local VW garage and asked them to business lease me whatever they had on their forecourt - two days later - I drove it away

 

[SSLtech]

[quote author="uk03878"]I needed a new car really quickly so called up my local VW garage and asked them to business lease me whatever they had on their forecourt - two days later - I drove it away[/quote]
YOu needed it wuickly and you drove it away two days later...? :shock:

Hure in the U Sed car dealership of America, you'd be behind the wheel in 90 seconds, with the shrinking view of the salesman counting twenties in your rear-view mirror!

Well, I've been taking a US-buyer/driver view thus far. If you want to take the European view, it becomes clear that the current crop of American cars really are garbage. They're not really sold over there from what I've noticed, apart from some Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep offerings. They tend to rust like cars did 20 years ago, drink petrol far too thirstily and generally are not highly regarded.

It's like the opposite of beer. Over here lots of 'discerning' people think that imported (often British or European) beers are intrinsically better and somehow more exotic, thus reasonably well regarded. Britain on the other hand has a swelling population of folks who covet American brews. I bleieve that the number one British import these days is Budweiser.

With cars, there's no such 'other man's grass'.

All cars will give you grief. Honda and Toyota will give you the least. They're also the least involving experience generally. For 17-year-old princesses who have never even heard of a dipstick, -and not just because they have a cellphone pressed to their ear 24/7- they're the absolute best car to buy. VWs are more 'involving'. Comes with the turf.

Keith

 

[featherpillow]

Yes and no. They look cool, but build quality is slightly better than an early 70's Audi or Trabant.

 

[tubejay]

I've had nothing but bad experiences with VW's. Constant problems, poor to incompetent service in my area (NE Wisconsin). My mother in law has a 2003 Passat and the F'n thing has something break on it every few months. The latest thing is that it randomly locks or unlocks the doors every five minutes or so. She's spent a small fortune on the damn thing, and repairs are not cheap on those buggers. They look very nice though! I drove that car to Indiana, and all in all thought it was a bland, boring car to drive. It felt like a step down from a Honda Accord of the same vintage. Not a big step down, but not as fun or as smooth as an Accord.

I personally own two Honda Civics right now, and I love the shit out them. One I had since new (1998), and it had a new muffler ($250) at about 60k, and it had the brakes redone at 80k ($400) last year. It has performed pretty perfectly, it's not much fun to drive, but it burns little gas and has gotten the job done well for 7 years. My other civic is a 94 that I bought used in 99. It has had the muffler replaced and that's it. And that was in 2000. It is getting rusty though, so it's starting to look like total crap, but it runs very well. In fact the 94 is quicker and handles better than the 98. Always has. The AC (freon) on that thing is fricking great too.

My parents had an Audio A4 a few years back, and that was a SUPER FUN car to drive. My dad just bought a BMW sedan, I can't recall the model. I drove that to Madison a few weeks ago, and that thing was a shitload of fun to drive too. The handling was superb, and the car was very comfortable. Good gas consumption too for such a zippy car.

I'm of the opinion that there are good cars from all over the world. It really depends on the company and commitment to quality, more than the place of origin. Not all cars are meant to be good either. God knows there were a lot of Metros sold in the US.

 

[Guest]

[quote author="SSLtech"][quote author="uk03878"]I needed a new car really quickly so called up my local VW garage and asked them to business lease me whatever they had on their forecourt - two days later - I drove it away[/quote]
YOu needed it wuickly and you drove it away two days later...? :shock:
Keith[/quote]
The new money laundering laws make it a nightmare to do anything quickly....
You cannot sell shares or buy things, or lease things, take out a mortage without multiple checks (had to show my passport and a council tax bill to sell some shares

 

[Svart]

i have a 91 GTI with 500,000 miles, yes that is half a million miles.

original everything and still runs fine.

 

[featherpillow]

Best car I've ever owned, hands down--Mercedes Benz 190E.
Worst car by a LONG shot--Audi 100. That car was unspeakably crappy.
Somewhere in the middle there--Toyota Camry, Volvo 240.

 

[SSLtech]

Sunday night after Band rehearsal (2 days ago) myself, the Flugel player and the bass trombone player go for a drink and a hang afterwards. I'm in the Boosted Golf, the trombone player recently drove his Jetta VR6 into a wall and has bought a new E90 BMW 325. The Flugel player is in his 2003 Boxster S with sport suspension option. It's a 4-5 mile drive through Winter Park from the rehearsal room to the bar, and our Soprano Cornet player is a Winter Park Police officer... (that's got several of us out of tickets, believe me!)

We decided to open them up a bit and see how they stack up.

1st place went to the Boxster S. Cornering, torque and mid-high 'bite' was just unimpeachable.

2nd place was the Golf. Soft in the corners, and by comparison a little out of breath at higher revs.

3rd place was the bimmer. Dale was muttering from day one that he really wished he'd gone for the 330, since the smaller engine was vastly weaker. Lack of low-end torque was simply alien to him in terms of driving habit, and after the 2.8L VR6 it was far, far weaker at the low end. On the positive side, the front-end turn in is far crisper at the front than the VW and at higher revs it breathes much more freely. On the medium twists and mid-rev throttle-floorings though, it was consistently slower than the Golf. At another $8000, the 330 was just too much money though. Resale/residual on the Bimmer makes up for a bit though; one of the best in the biz.

$400 brake job on a civic? YIKES!!! -I finally replaced the Golf brakes on all 4 wheels at 95,000 miles. $120 for new fluid, all pads and 4 rotors. -Could've gone another 100k on the rotors, but at that price it's simply not worth not doing it.

Keith

 

[Greg]

I wouldn't buy a VW, but that's just me... paying too much for too little.

I did however drive a '98 Honda Civic for 7 years. Base model. Standard transmission. I put 120K miles on it. I only had one small problem with the clutch after 80K... something funky with the clutch relay !?! I didn't even change the timing belt until 100K... sheesh I got lucky with that one. People at work always told me if I didn't come in one morning they'd know why. I'd still be driving this car today if Hurricane Katrina wouldn't have put 3 feet of water in it... :evil:

Now it's sitting in front of my parent's house with a fried computer. It stinks like mold and flood water... I miss her !!!

I'm going this afternoon after work to test drive a couple cars.

 

[rodabod]

[quote author="Svart"]i have a 91 GTI with 500,000 miles, yes that is half a million miles.

original everything and still runs fine.[/quote]

Original engine?(!)

Well done. You must be a good owner. GTIs often get a hard time.

I thought 250K was good...

 

[SSLtech]

[quote author="rodabod"]You must be a good owner. GTIs often get a hard time.[/quote]
no kiddin!

Mine gets a regular thrashing. Of course it gets lots of inspection and pampering too, but 'spare the rod and spoil the child' is definately the order of the day. This weekend's mini-gumball rally was just one instance.

Two lines you don't hear in music very often:

"that's the trombonist's new BMW"

and:

"That's the flugel horn player's Porsche"

:green:

 

[Svart]

Hey PRR i have a 67 cougar sitting in my garage getting redone as I have time..

 

[CJ]

Good man. Sequential tail lamps?


Be American, Buy American!
:razz:

What year is that cougar that Clooney and Terantino were driving in From Dusk til Dawn 1?

There was one in Her Majesty's Secet Service also.

OK, I found a shot.
Volkswagens just don't have the torque needed for high speed desert work.
Or the endurance.
I mean, sure, you can rev the snot out of them and stop for oil every 100 miles, but there's nothing like a good ol big block for tearing up the highway.
Plenty of leg room too!

 

[skipwave]

My 2003 Golf TDI is a peach. Though, I did have a headrest replaced, under warranty. 44k and bangin (knock on wood). Kills the Chevy S10, Ford Escort, and Mercury Marquis I drove before it on every level. Of course, that's not a fair comparison since all those had significantly higher mileage when I got them. It's easy to parallel park in the ever present tight spaces in this city.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the regular scheduled maintainence is almost more that I can afford. Maybe I'll sell it for a touring van.

 

[PRR]

> OK, I found a shot.

Damn, that's nostalgic!

Right down to the way the eyelids don't line up with the center grille.

The unoriginal hoodscoop is ugly. IMHO the 1967 Cougar is about the second best styled US car of the 1960s, behind the original Avanti. Kinda amazing that a Ford-Mercury committee could even come near the sole-designer fast-track Avanti. The '49 Merc was degraded, and the Edsel ruined, by post-design committee meddling and cost-cutting. The '67.0 Cougar (and '67.5-'68 which added cheap sidelights) is too holistic to want scoops. The later Cougars were less inspired and I do respect the scoop on the Cougar Eliminator.

There are much prettier shots of Cougars; I have some in the attic. But this looks just like the time my brother and I flew out to Missouri in 20 hours (we were not trying for any speed record, just too cheap to take a motel room).

> Sequential tail lamps?

All the Cougars were sequential till at least mid-1970s.

About 1969 it was transistorized, but first-years models had a slab of fiberboard covered with a motor, cams, switches, and relays. A quality cam-switch will sequence your NIKE missile for 30 years; the FoMoCo units went out of alignment shortly after leaving the factory.

Here's some younger guy being strangled by the entire tail-wire assembly of a '67 Cougar:

This was taken around 1985. Helms no longer had service manuals on paper, but you could get microfilm; hence the slide-viewer.