I drove a GTI around San Francisco for a bunch of years and it was the perfect car for that. Small, but nice and nimble.
Haven’t taken any picture other than this one yet. It’s been dark and the thing is already filthy thanks to the snow.
Man them low profile tires would get wrecked on current PA roads. Potholes everywhere!
Love the color you picked. :)
Speaking of which…
“In the course of internal tests, the BMW Group has discovered that a correctly developed software update was mistakenly assigned to certain unsuitable model-versions,” the company said in a statement.
“The BMW Group informed the relevant authorities immediately.”
BMW issued the statement after a report in news weekly Der Spiegel suggested it had installed software that manipulated emissions of harmful gases such as nitrogen oxide, something its management has always denied.
I am always amused when prototypes have no handles. :D
Where we’re going, we don’t NEED handles!
Which is why on my Golf I switch to 17" cheapo alloys in the winter with higher profile winter tires. Our roads, too, are like something out of a bad war movie.
Really? I thought manuals were faster in general? They are more fun, but it does get old in stop and go traffic, which is most of my commute.
Drove it around for 2 hours this morning. I haven’t had a car this fun since my 1990 CRX si (it was brand new and I was 20). I have drove budget/good gas milage cars ever since so it’s been a blast having a sporty car again. It’s so easy to go fast, it’s only a matter of time before I get a ticket.
Oh yeah, modern automatics are all faster and more fuel-efficient (in general) than manuals. That’s one big reason why companies are ditching manuals–it’s hard to compare numbers between the two and manuals drag down both acceleration and MPG numbers. Dual-clutch designs like the DSG were designed to split the difference between traditional slushboxes and manuals, but normal torque converter transmissions like the high-end ZF boxes now are kicking ass and taking names. The computer controls make it so much faster to run up and down the gears than anyone can shift in a manual. So if you get a manual you are pretty much saying, yes, I don’t mind trading off a few tenths 0-60 to have a third pedal and stuff.
Yeah, automatics really have come a long way in terms of both performance and fuel economy. I think the one remaining advantage for the manual tranny, apart from driver preference, is that they’re cheaper to repair.
Cheaper if you don’t rag the clutch all the time! And if I want to tune my car, I have to get a performance clutch, as the stock one won’t take any more torque.
The continuously variable transmission on my Accord works pretty well too.
Theoretically, a CVT should be the most efficient of them all. So far, though, no one has made one that outperforms a true performance automatic. The Honda one is pretty well regarded. They went with a conventional 10 speed in the new Accord with the 2.0 engine for performance reasons.
I have yet to see a performance oriented car with a CVT, though as they keep adding gears, it starts at some point to be fairly moot!
I guess most of my problems with automatics are because more often than not, it’s in a cruising gear so when I hit the gas the RPMs are too low and there is a lag before it realizes what I am trying to do. That problem almost disappears in sport mode, but I should probably learn to start using the paddles to down shift as well.
Let my sister and her college aged kids drive it tonight. She’s much more of a speed demon than I am and got on it right away. She wants one now and got on the VW website as soon as we got home (but since she is a lacrosse mom, now she wants a Sportwagon). My niece and nephew share a cheap manual Golf, and they were also impressed. It was a little too tame looking for the 18 year boy, who commented on how my Civic Hatchback was a better looking car (which I agree it was). The green has been a huge hit all around as well.
You are dead to me, sir!
Nah, it’s a matter of taste, but Honda’s design these days is too Transformer/Akihabara for my tastes. The Type R is like some kid’s toy (though a great piece of machinery), and the regular Civics are too angular and busy for me. I like the boxy Golf! Yeah, I’m boring. Young men who want flash are how Subaru sells STIs, but you have to wear your baseball cap backwards at all times or they repossess your car.
The DSG in drive mode is known for low speed lag; the transmission is optimized for stomping it pretty much. It’s one reason a lot of cars like Audi S4 or the AMG C43 and the like have moved to eight or ten speed torque converters. Torque converter or traditional automatics do better from a dig and adding more gears means the transmission doesn’t have to hunt and peck so much. OTH, a DSG type transmission with paddle shifters supposed to be about as close to a manual in feel as you can get.
My old 2002 Jetta 1.5T is still hanging on. At this point, I’ve stopped putting money into it. The AC compressor died the year before last. The electrical systems are kind of fritzy. The tires are low on tread, but still able to pass inspection.
But I never really put money into it. I had to replace the radiator fan assembly once. Other than that, I have never done anything besides changing the oil every 5k.
It was my first and only new car I ever owned, getting it a year after I graduated when I last car got totaled in an accident.
I kind of want a new car, because the old Jetta is dated… I mean, it’s got a tape deck, which was kind of dated when I got it.
But the thing is still fun as hell to drive. Given its size, the 185hp in the turbocharged engine has a lot of pull. It handles well, it has great acceleration. I’m always happy when I get back in it after driving some other car.
I’m honestly not sure what car I’ll get to replace it… I’m leaning towards a subaru. But that little Jetta has been a damn good car.
The new Jettas are finally on the MQB platform, but to me they’re sort of blah. What Subie would you be looking at? We’ve had a Forester and a WRX. The latter, naturally, was a hell of lot more fun.
My wife and I owned a Golf, our first car as a couple. It was great, although it had a few electrical problems. That said, I’d never buy a VW. I’m sorry they didn’t collapse entirely. Their emissions cover-up was a legit crime against humanity.