Was: Scirocco stuff , now VWs "vision"

[fahrvegnugen at cox.net (David Utley)]

> 
> From: "C Boyko" <roccit_53@scirocco.cs.uoguelph.ca>
> Date: 2005/06/09 Thu PM 07:50:04 EDT
> To: fahrvegnugen@cox.net
> CC: greggearhead@adelphia.net,  greg.rocco@gmail.com,  scirocco-l@scirocco.org
> Subject: Was: Scirocco stuff , now VWs "vision"
> 
> On 11:27:27 am 06/09/05 David Utley <fahrvegnugen@cox.net> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >  From: "GREG DUNN" <greggearhead@adelphia.net>
> > >  Date: 2005/06/08 Wed PM 08:00:40 EDT
> > I will offer what I know about some of these points...
> > >
> > >  VW had a Concept VW Bus they showed years ago.  Got RAVE reviews
> > >  and people went nuts asking when it was coming out.  Very similar
> > >  reaction to the New Beetle/Concept 1 show intros.  They toyed with
> > >  the public, then never produced it.  This was probably 5+ years
> > ago.
> > Yeah.  They are going to build it, but it will not be until '07 for
> > some reason.  Something about they want to wait until they can modify
> > the new Eurovan platform vs. building it on an aged platform
> > (*shrug*)...
> >
> > >
> > >  Ferdinand Piech is known to be a tyrant of a boss, and suggesting
> > >  his ideas might be wrong or off base has been proven grounds for
> > >  losing your job. That makes for a company that will go wherever
> > >  the owner wants, even if it is wrong.
> > >
> > He left the company IIRC about a year ago.  A man named Piechstrieder
> > (sp?) formerly of BMW is now at the helm.  Piech definitely wanted to
> > go up market, which was dumb.  They only sold 1300 of the Phaeton,
> > which proves how dumb it was.  I doubt they sold that many of them in
> > Germany.
> > I have not seen any real improvement since the new boss took the job
> > on.  I am hopefull there will be some significant changes.  I think the
> > man will do well, BMW is the only German brand in the top ten for
> > customer satisfaction in Germany (in the equivalent to JD Power)...
> > Let us pray...
> > David
> >
> > '83 GTI, Daily Driver...
> > '87 16V, parts car
> > '82 pickup, 2.0 16V, collecting dust...
> >
> Well, I can't comment on the upscale stuff, but would love it if they'd
> make an equivalent to the Miata, something light and sporty. I'd never be
> able to afford it, but I couldn't afford a Scirocco back in 1987 either.
> 
> What I will comment on is the ever increasing amount of plastic on the
> newer VWs. I cannot tell you how many hours I've spent cursing at plastic
> parts on my 99 Beetle. So a few nights ago I got stranded an hour from home
> with only two gears to select from, luckily it's a drive I can do with
> essentially no full stops, so I hobbled home in 3rd and 4rth. I couldn't
> select any other gears. To inspect the problem, I needed tools to remove
> the plastic engine cover, which I did tonight, and guess what holds the
> cable shift mechanism to the tranny? Yep, plastic. Right in the engine bay,
> where it gets hot and fatigued. And in my case,had snapped off. In most
> cases, this could be one of the following, expensive, dangerous, or clutch
> toasting. And a clutch job would not be a whole lot of fun I'm guessing.
> 
> These cars will not age gracefully. 

> Cathy (Yeee haaaaw)
> 
And some folks wonder why I drive a 22-year-old car...  A gnats-hair away from 250K, and still kicking...  Hard.

But I AM biased...  ;-)

Cheers,
  David

'83 GTI, Daily Driver...
'87 16V, parts car
'82 pickup, 2.0 16V, collecting dust...