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If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or 70's...
Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have...
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
(Not to mention hitchhiking to town as a young kid!)
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.
No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there were no law suits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame, but us. Remember accidents?
We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms ... we had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them.
Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it?
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment..... Some students weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.....Horrors. Tests were not adjusted for any reason.
Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
And you're one of them.
Congratulations!
Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.
I drove to work this morning and zipped around the streets of Seattle thinking about how much more fun this car is than my Accord was. *yawn*
Over 20k and no problems.
1/2 tank at a time.
The snow tires are nice, next time I will probably go for the Blizzak beating "green diamond" snow tires, though.
One thing I do like about the Jetta is that the heater works pretty quickly compared to some other cars I've owned.
Anyone ever replace their antenna on a 96?
The only problem I have been having with my Jetta lately is keeping it below 100mph on the open roads from MD to DC. Hit it today while I was on the cell phone (hands-free, of course) and didn't even realize it. Surprising.
that said, even my 1.8T "gurgles" a little bit sometimes. i LOVE it. i like knowing that my car is ON. some of these cars today are like golf carts, you try to start it because you can't tell if it is running.
unless the steering wheel is shaking off, i wouldn't worry. VW's are many things - smooth idling cars (when compared to an Accord/Camry) is not how i would describe them though.
When my best friend's kids are in my car (they are 3 and 4) they know the rules. No food, no drinks in cups that aren't spill proof. No way!
The biggest difference I know between a GL and GLS is that the GL doesn't get an armrest and gets cloth rather than valour seats as standard. Anything else different between a 1.8T GL and 1.8T GLS?
Vocus: How do you clean your dash? My car shall be cleaned tomorrow, I swear my life on it!
I was going to clean my car tonight, but it rained here in MD. I did get the stain out temporarily, and it doesn't smell. I will clean it more thoroughly this weekend.
The "1.8T" badge will be on the back as well. You can get the dealer to switch the alloy wheels for you for about $400 from what I have heard, and you might also be able to add the center armrest. What you can't add is the sunroof though.
Does anyone know if the new restyled Jetta that is supposed to makes it's debut in 2004 will have the same 2.0 engine as in the current line up of VW's?
"1. An all-new 2.0l 16v 4-cylinder turbo with 180hp. This engine is based on the current 2.0l but completely new. It will reportedly be ULEV or better certified. This is the only engine currently signed off on and is currently slated to be the base engine in all Golf V/Jetta V models.
2. 240hp 24v 3.2l VR6 - Rumors suggest this is a very expensive engine to produce and since it would have to have 4motion as standard equipment, would command a premium price. Since the 3.2l VR6 will be used in the Touareg and next generation Passat, volume increases from those two models could help defray costs, but right now it is expensive, maybe too much so. For now it is still supposed to be offered in North American Golf V/Jetta V models with 4motion as standard equipment.
3. 1.9l 100hp PD TDI - Volkswagen is committed to getting TDI engines back into all of their model lineup. The 1.9l 100hp PD TDI will get VWoA through till 2006 when new diesel fuel regulations bring cleaner burning fuel here. After 2006 (and considering the proposed diesel fuel reg changes happen) VWoA could bring over any TDI engine offered in Europe and opens the door for some really great potential TDI offerings here in the future.
4. The wierd potential - VW is working on a new V-10 gasoline engine that will spawn a new inline-5 engine as well. Additionally, there is talk of a turbocharged inline-5 being worked on for the future. Could either of these engines make it here? Maybe... if the 3.2l VR6 proves to be too expensive we could see an inline-5 turbo with 4motion instead. However, we could see a normally aspirated inline-5 (without turbo) as a base engine. Who knows - we'll be watching this one carefully."
If you look at the fuel economy numbers on a Jetta TDI, for example, the MT is rated at 49 mpg highway, while the AT is 45 mpg. The same is true for acceleration. Although an automatic is not necessarily slow any more, the manual tranny in the same car WILL be faster. If anybody can find a way to email this guy, let me know. ;-)
manual: 42
automatic: 34
If the car you want even comes with a standard transmission the automatic will probably cost you $800 to $900 more, says Joe Cashen, director of pricing for Carsdirect.com. In most cases, you'll get that back when you go to sell the car.
I've had salesmen tell me this too and I can't help but laugh directly in their faces. You're telling me to spend more NOW (plus financing charges) so the car will be worth more later and I'll have less fun driving it. how is that a good thing? spend more money, have less fun, sell the car for a bit more money but still with a higher net loss.
If you have to look hard for the car you want in stick form, it's probably going to actually cost you money in the long run, he says. If a car company doesn't make many cars of a particular model with a standard transmission it's probably because they know they can't sell them that way.
Funny thing is, there are ALWAYS people who want a car with the equipment you have. When I sold my 91 Stanza 5 speed every caller in the two weeks I had it for sale wanted my car expressly because it had the stick. They all complained about how hard it is to find cars with stick anymore.
And if very few people want to buy that new family sedan or SUV with stick-shift, you think you're going to do better finding a buyer when you need to sell it? Good luck.
An emphatic YES.
The funniest thing...I'm so tired of shifting in San Diego's ever increasingly bad traffic that I'm contemplating if my next car offers a 5 speed automatic, I may defect. Age and laziness has caught up me while the 5 speed autos in the Bimmer and g35 both provide enough fun for me to accept the loss of engine control.
Of course, it won't be a VW I buy with it...
Tools:
1. Set a ramps
2. 10mm socket wrench
3. 19mm wrench
4. T20 torx
5. 76mm x 14 oil filter wrench (I think that's the right one).
6. Flat head screwdriver
7. Oil pan
8. Plastic bag
Instructions:
A. Drive car onto ramp
B. open hood. Remove oil dipstick (orange thingy)
C. Use flat head screwdriver to pop the caps of the engine cover. Use 10mm socket wrench to remove the nuts. and remove cover
D. Underneath, use the T-20 torx to remove 10 screws that hold the belly pan. Remove bellypan
E. Use the 19mm wrench to remove the oil drain plug.
F. Up top again...remove oil cap to let the air in to help it drain better.
g. Use the oil filter wrench to loosen the filter cap
h. Use plastic bag to grab the filter assembly and then turn the bag inside-out to contain the mess.
i. Separate the filter from the stem.
j. Replace the two O-rings. and put filter on the stem and place into the housing and tighten.
k. After the oil drain, screw the drain plug back...you know the rest
Well, you probably wouldn't hear from the folks who want an auto, now would you? ;^)
And the new base engine is supposedly a 2.0 DOHC 16V engine good for 134hp, according to Vortex. The Jetta V will be here for the 05 model year, from what I have heard, and it supposedly will look like a mini Passat.
I have a friend who has a stick-shift 01 car, and he said he's getting tired of shifting gears now. I think the increase in traffic all over makes some people feel like this. Others don't mind though.
You could add the sunroof too if you wanted to, but alot of people are leary of doing so. I did this in my 99 Protege, and it did lower resale value according to Carmax, because of potential for leaks. I don't see why, as the aftermarket roof was covered for life, where a factory roof would only be covered on the car's basic warranty.
"Exactly 2 weeks ago I had a coil pack failure on my 2001.5 Passat with 18k miles. Since then it has been sitting at the dealership waiting for back ordered parts. In order to get the ball rolling on a possible recall due to the severity of the failure (severe loss of power, stranded on the roadside, etc.) it's imperative that each and every one who has experienced this problem contact the NHTSA at their toll free # ( 1-888-327-4236) and talk to a live person. When enough people have registered their complaints then and only then will they investigate and if necessary force a recall. The recall procedure will allow us to get replacements for all 4 coil packs and not just the ones that fail and this will also force VW to do the right thing and extend the warranty on this part beyond what they are willing to do at this time. Do the right thing and contact NHTSA immediately. They can and will investigate and will pressure VW to issue a recall".
There may be perhaps no way to FORCE an automobile manufacturer to do what you are suggesting except the threat' of going public and having the press realize what is going on. Since virtually ALL of the manufacturers have similar problems, you should realize that this is almost a fruitless effort.
The difference is this.... HONDA has involantarraly replaced ignitors on 1000s of vehicles without fanfare. Honda enjoys a reputation for reliability opted to spend the $$ instead of have the bad publicity. I bet you did not even KNOW that Honda has done this in the past. This is the way Honda likes it to stay.
As for Ferd, Chebby, Dodge...etc., one would have to complain very loudly just to be heard. I guess they choose not to spend the $$ up front and instead approach each customer separately. This seems to be the BAU for these companies. (Buisness As Usual)
When it comes to VW... I would suspect that they allready KNOW there is (was) a problem and have taken steps to get more reliable ignigtors. The problem is NOT that VW is ignoring the problem.
Consider that VW must find a vendor that can manufacture enough ignitors to supply the assemply line as well as the current fleet on the road. It may take many months to manufacture that many ignitors. Until then, the only logical answer is to try to keep the current fleet on the road using the very limited supply of ignitors that currently exist. NO ACTION TAKEN BY YOU OR ANYONE ELSE CAN INCREASE THE PRODUCTION SCHEDULES.
Again, VW knows all too well that this is the situation and obviously wants to keep this 'hush hush' until the parts are available to satisfy all the customers. VW is not intentionally trying to drive customers away. They are doing what they feel is best given the situation.
All of the above is pretty obvious to any educated person that is familear with building and delivering an automobile parts to 1000s of customers.
OK. The rest of the posters are not educated enough to share your opinions.
Vocus is right.
NHTSA will open an investigation when a number of complaints will reach some predetermined number.
Here is an example. The Focus owners loudly complained about "taking the right turn and lost power" fuel pump problem.(3,000+ complaints)
Guess what.
The govt is going to test the cars at the ohio facility to see if this really IS a problem. (it can't possibly NOT be a problem.) ya know, if you're in ohio, you can "rent" your car to the government for testing. I guess they advertised this in the columbus dispatch...
I am not suggesting that there is NOT a problem. I am saying that VW is doing what they can and folks should realize that.
I can GAURANTEE you that there will never be a "recall" on this issue because it is not a safety issue... perhaps a TSB. (Technical Service Bulliten) will be issued. (But I suspect one allrady exists.)
I wonder if anyone has reviewed the TSBs that exist on the 1.8L T engine? They are available online to anyone with a subscription on the NHTSA site.
As for your example of the Ferd Focus... I allready covered the BAU mentality of Ferd. They must be FORCED into acklowledging there should be a TSB.
BTW...I am not stating opionions, I am stating FACTS. There is nothing to share, this is the way the world works. One may choose to ignore the facts, but should not consider them 'opionions'.
What kind of mentality would have the government spending our hard earned tax money on investigating someting we allready know exists? Let the NHTSA spend our $$ on somting else more useful that may save lives. It is not up to the govenment to protect those that choose to purchase a durn Ferd ;-)
Abosolutely wrong.
Ford after the Firestone fiasco is being very quick on issuing recalls and TSB's.
On the other hand it's Honda, Toyota and now VW who have to be "forced".
Good luck.
I know that VW can't make the supplier build and test thousands of parts at once. But you know what? That's their problem, not mine. Just like I told the dealer, if any of my coils go again, I will not be back to get my car until ALL the coils are replaced. I don't care if it takes them 3 months to get them all, that's their problem and not mine. I would think the supplier would have known of a coil problem upon testing anyway, right?
Justin is right, the car loses power without warning except for a blinking engine light. This can happen at any time, any place. Mine lost power on a city street, turning from a side road onto an access road. Thank God no one was there, because I could have gotten into an accident.
Remember what our hero does for a living before his new endeavor?