new vw bug problems

My grandfather always had Studebakers. In his late sixties he traded his '49 for a 'new' model. The old man brought it home and opened the hood and had me stare inside. He said, "You know what that is, Johnnie? That's a Supercharger!" Scarey as hell!

Reply to
jjs
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snipped-for-privacy@xyzzy.stafford.net (jjs) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@ip-0-251.sprint-rev.hbci.com:

Really! My grandfather did too.

His first was made in the '20s. His fourth was a black 1947 (I think) Champion that my uncle always was allowed to buy for a good price when it was time to trade it in for a 1953. My uncle kept that car in like new condition into the 60s, and there was talk of its being handed on to me when I got my license, but he got into a bad accident and unfortunately the car was totaled (Uncle Lew made it out of the hospital ok). Gramps drove the '53 till he died age 89 in the mid-60s. I still wasn't old enough to drive, and the Studebaker was sold.

In the meantime I started going out with a girl who drove a 1961 Beetle, but that is the beginning of another story.

Reply to
cloud8

....................It's amazing how many of us old farts there are in this newsgroup. My first driver was my dad's '52 Oldsmobile which attracted a lot more girls than a '53 stude ever would've. Well, at least I finally got my first date when I was 17 and I didn't have to let her drive!

LOL

Reply to
Tim Rogers

Speak for yourself,ya olde pharte.

Reply to
jjs

I'm certainly feeling like an old fart these days. Dr's always told me that my younger wilder days would catch up with me later in life and cause me all sorts of problems. And they were right.

But back to your 1st date. You didn't let her drive but did you let her work your shifter ?

Randy

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Reply to
RSMEINER

...............I was afraid of girls until I was almost thirty.

Reply to
Tim Rogers

Yeah, me too.

Randy

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Reply to
RSMEINER

"Tim Rogers" wrote in news:bt7k93$47uhs$ snipped-for-privacy@ID-46866.news.uni-berlin.de:

My first driver was my dad's '52 Oldsmobile which

Shortly before Gramps died, I was alone in his house, and caught him coming in with a grin on his face. Where were you? I asked. Out driving, he said, Shhh! (He wasn't supposed to.) (To drive or have fun.)

The 53 Stude was radical design, but GM's styling led popular taste another way, and I don't think any 60s eastie girl would've been caught dead in a Studebaker. Gearhead upperclassmen fixed up '49 Fords and early 50s Chevies, and the rich ones had MGBs or Mustangs, and those cars were all babe magnets.

Funny but when my buddy and I drove a VW bus out to California in '69, it seemed like everyone was driving a Studebaker.

Reply to
cloud8

Thats all 1 of my neighbors still drives. Always makes my day to see him come rolling up the road real slow in 1 of them.

Randy

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Reply to
RSMEINER

.................I had a friend in HS who had an Austin Healey 3000 MkIII that the girls loved riding in. I still think of him when I see one of those big Healeys (which isn't very often anymore).

Reply to
Tim Rogers

That's cool as all get out John! He had an R2 or R3 engine, probably a '63 or '64 model (unless he had an earlier Hawk from the late 50's). Got any pix? Studebaker suffered from the same public misperception that they couldn't get out of their own way. A blown Stude was suck the light rays out of the other guy's headlights when passing (and the AMC AMX's were no slouches either)

-ANT

Stop that. To reply change my ISP to @hotmail.com

Reply to
ANT

I'll interject my $0.02 here:

Having a New Beetle 1.8T in the family, I can say that for the money, it is allot of fun to drive, and is quite surprising in regards to it's handling and performance. Thankfully, it's a nice platinum grey colour, not that ugly yellow. I enjoy driving it, and while it isn't an old Beetle, it is still Beetleish in it's own regard. It is a different car, but it's fun to drive nonetheless. I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying one...they are a blast to drive and safe as an ox. I had a buddy who was in a frontal offset collision with a Ford F-150....The Beetle held up very well and there was no damage to the passenger compartment. I plan on buying out the lease on my parent's NB when it is up in 2007.

The other nice thing with the NB is that the novelty wore off fast, so they can be had for relatively little money, compared to a Golf or Jetta, which are the stablemates. Having driven all of the above (Golf, Jetta, and NB) I have to say that the Golf and Jetta are best if you are looking for a primary car. These 2 car much more spacious and practical than the NB, but if you already have something for trips to Home Depot, than the New Beetle will suit you fine. I find that it handles better than the Golf and Jetta, and is definitely less of a cookie-cutter car. I have noticed that even though the car has been around since '98, when I'm driving it, I still see people stopping and looking at the car. And nothing can beat little kids doing "punch buggy" as you drive past. Part of the attention getting of my NB is the color. Being really dark, it accentuates the lines of the car nicely, and makes a statement. I recall bringing the car home from the dealer, two older ladies infront of me at a stoplight looked back and started clapping when I drove off...It's a "feel good" car....

- Pete

- Pete

Reply to
Pete Cressman

..........I just did a 'new beetle +problems' google search at rec.autos.vw.watercooled and got over a thousand hits.

heh heh

Reply to
Tim Rogers

Honda and Toyota aren't perfect either.

Reply to
Pete Cressman

.............They have to be anywhere near 'perfect' to be much much better than a crappy golf/jetta/new beetle.

Reply to
Tim Rogers

Well, say what you want...our WCVWs serve us just fine, and I'm not prepared to get into a pissing match with you over what's better, VW or Honda/Toyota.

Reply to
Pete Cressman

Honda/Toyota.

.................Good idea. You'd get hosed.

Reply to
Tim Rogers

Not likely, but I'll be the bigger person.

Reply to
Pete Cressman

.................Here's an example, bigger person, of what's being said about the NB:

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I was prepared to bestow a four-star rating until I checked some owner comments at

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Ouch.

The same troubles with Beetles kept popping up in negative comment after negative comment. Stalling problems, excessive oil consumption with the

2.0-liter four-cylinder, window switches that break, interior surfaces that wear quickly, dealership and manufacturer indifference. The Web now gives voices to angry consumers and, brother, you can read some at this site.

The consistency of the complaints leads to a probability that the VW Beetle indeed has problems. And those problems, probably spread word-of-mouth before auto writers catch on, might be responsible for a serious dive in VW profits in the past two years. Yes, Beetle sales are down after the initial

1998 retro model caused a rush to showrooms, but so are all company offerings.
Reply to
Tim Rogers

That is also because the product hasn't been redesigned since 1999 when all current models debuted. Next year, North America sees the next generation Golf and Jetta. Intrestingly enough, the Touareg is the #1 selling import SUV.

Reply to
Pete Cressman

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