Leasing is for financial suckers (with the possible exception of business owners that MAY receive some tax write-off advantages), that often wanna appear to live a higher lifestyle than they can really afford.
The problem with leasing is the old argument that "you only pay for the part of the car depreciation that you use"...What they don't mention is you pay all the VERY HIGH front end depreciation!
with 118K miles logged on my '99 Jetta TDI, i would hardly consider it a slug on the highway. an older Audi Quattro yesterday on Rt. 13, met his stoplight grand prix match in me, on frequent highway stoplight restarts to
65 mph. i had no trouble either staying right with him or leading him out from a dead stop. and this with the 90 hp engine. and with a one stop fuel strategy, i smoked him in the longer ride home... Mike
In particular, no one that's ever owned a 1.5 or 1.6L naturally-aspirated VW diesel would ever call the TDI cars slugs. Torque is where it's at, baby.
Right and guns don't kill people either...
They don't stop as well as cars, get considerablely worse gas mileage, have greater risk of rollover caused by their inherent instability due to height, greatly risk the lives of other motorists in accidents and considerably limit the visibility of other motorists and all for what? Image? Puh-leeze.
WTF are you smoking? Great mileage? That's bullshit.
17mpg for a passenger vehicle using diesel (or gas for that matter) is an abomination. Even it's claimed 23mpg highway is a horrible waste of fuel. Sure, it's "less worse" than a likewise equipped Hummer or Land Rover but it's ludicrous to try calling it "great gas mileage".
Heh, a similar line got me out of a traffic speeding ticket. I said to the judge, '75 mph in a Beetle? On hilly terrain?' (we're talking a 20 year old beater here) 'It couldn't do that even if I threw if off a cliff!'. Not guilty!
I drove cross country (well a good chunk...NY to CO) in a 68 beetle, and after my foot started going numb, I got a large stick, cut it to length, and wedged it between pedal and seat as a "cruise control". I now realize this was VERY dangerous, and a dumb thing to do...but it allowed me to cruise at about 76 for hours on end. 76 was all it would do, and it took a LONG time to get there.
Ahhh...the good old days.
Some day I need to get a car that isn't pathetically slow. I probably wouldn't know what to do! My wife's 2.0 jetta feels like a rocket sled to me!
If you're talking about me specifically, or generalizing me with these "young guys who read car buff mags" (which I am... I read Car and Driver, Motor Tread, and Road and Track, as well as the "Wheels" section in the Toronto Star newspaper) please be aware that I am quite content with my diesel... I KNOW it's a slow car, and I will be the first to point it out to people.... because I know what it is capable of and when to pass and when I just don't have the run up room I still get ahead to destinations faster then my friends who drive bigger more powerful cars then I have... I'd get blown away in a race, but on the street you aren't racing anyone and the diesels do fine. I'd rather have my 6L per 100Kms then a 6 second time to
100pkh."When I read magazines, I am amused by some comments that the writers make. They bitch about poor 0-60 times in a pick-up or mini-van"
I get amusement from this same issue, I find it downright scary that a V6 family sedan is capable of 0-100kph in around 7 seconds and can do over
Exactly! I have a 2003 Jetta TDI GLS and it is the most "balanced" car I have ever driven. Just enough power so there isn't allot of gear shifting and great gas mileage. I have never driven an auto but I LIKE the 5-speed.
That's what I meant. I wasn't comparing the gas mileage of the Toureag TDi to that of a Diesel passenger car.
Sure. But the Jetta doesn't offer AWD of any sort, let-alone a low range transfer case. And it doesn't offer the high driving position or the ground-clearence advantages of the Toureag. Of course there are OTHER options. I'm really interested in the hybrid versions of the Lexus RX and Ford Escape. You guys need to take in the fact that some of us both need and use our SUVs, and a Jetta or Passat simply won't cut it. It's not MY fault that most of them get shitty gas mileage. I can only choose from what's avaliable to me. Steve Grauman
Jim B.
Jim B.
JH wrote:
Not you Rob...Stevie Boy is the obvious example here.
I bought a new car I could afford the payments on in 2003. The last new car I bought before that was in 1987 and I still use it. I look forward to the day when I am done paying on the car so I can buy a 6 year old diesel truck. Why pay new retail on a vehicle that I use for
6,000 miles a year? Currently a 6 year old truck with low miles (100,000 that is) is about a third of a new truck. A real truck that can pull 10,000 lbs and haul 6 pe>Jim B.
CAR magazine tested out the new 530D at 7.3, but that's still quite quick. I'd like to drive one too, but Audi, MB and BMW have long since made the decision to stop offering powerful diesels in the U.S. Steve Grauman
If you guys are happy driving a car that can't break 10 seconds to 60, that's fine. But I'm used to driving cars that do it in under 7, and any small or medium sized sedan that can't feels VERY slow to me. I've driven more cars in the last 5 years than the vast majority of adults drive in their entire lives, and nobody goes from something quick to something not (like a TDi) without missing the power at least a little. So, J.H., you can kiss my ass. =) Steve Grauman
Ford's Powerstroke equipped F-250 and F-250 series trucks move REALLY well, are quite (as far as diesel trucks go), have amazing torque, get good gas mileage (by truck standards) and last. They can had on the used market for a steal, even fully equipped Lariat models can be had for under $20k. This is the type of Diesel vehicle that truly lives up to realisitic expectations of both performance and economy. Steve Grauman
Sorry, that should be F-250 and F-350.
And that should be *quiet*. Steve Grauman
Well just for fun, how about you list every car you have driven and why in the last 5 years. Also list every car you have owned in your life. I personally drive cars as a neccesity. It used to be fun but I drive over 35,000 miles a year so it is just another job.
My list:
66 Beetle 1977-78 Neighbor lady dropped valve. new head and piston. First car. Flapping running boards and all.67 Beetle. 1978-85 California car 2 years in Ohio does a lot of damage but still solid. No seat back and noisy tranny. $350 Painted
70 Nova. 1978 Stayed in Family for another 10 years. Would not idle. Mechanic said it was messed up. Turn idle screw in the whole way and out 2 turns. Purrs like a kitten. Great beater for $100.66 Squareback 1981-86 Georgia car my buddy bought. Got it after it was rear ended. Straightened back end and painted. Scary to drive with extreme oversteer. Painted
80 Rabbit 1984-94. Death by telephone pole.78 Toyota pickup. 85-97 Traded 67 Beetle for it. Fixed caved in drivers side. Used as a manure truck after I got a new Toyota. Rusted away.
87 Toyota One Ton. First new vehicle. Still in service.84 GTI. 94-04 Replaced dead 80 Rabbit. Stripped from junkyard. Replaced interior, painted, general repairs. 2L Audi engine and other performance work.
2003 Jetta TDI wagon.Most of the cars saw a 100,000 miles or more of additional driving. 87 Toyota has 257k, 84 had 287k, 80 had over 200k, 78 had 160k, 67 had over 200k, 03 has 60k I have driven over 700,000 miles that I can easily account for. It is a job of sorts, both the time doing it and the time keeping up vehicles.
No I cannot brag I have owned a lot of cars or a lot of fast cars. The
67 Beetle and the 84 GTI used to get a lot of positive comments. The Jetta wagon even get positive comments. I just dirve them a lot till I get tired of them. I spend my money on other things like buying tools or fixing up the homestead. Land is a much better investment that daily driver new cars.Oh, cars I have driven.
78 Fox, a few 944s, 914, 67 Karmen Ghia Convertable, Mustang GT convertible, 68 Camero, 67 Fury, 75 Gran Fury, K cars, omni/horizon, 78 Rabbit diesel, M series, C series, 72 Polara CHP with 440 and manual steering. Civic csi, Focus, Cavalier, other rental cars. Dump trucks, box vans, GMC public transportation busses,Ok that was an effort in futility trying to remember cars driven. I have been driving for 27 years. The fast V8s like the M series, the Mustang, the Camero, the Polara are the coolest. The roar of a 4 barrel for the old cars (Mustang and M are FI) is far more fun than a turbo spooling up. Power is just there.
If you had to know, the diesel dump truck and the public transportation busses are not all that quick accelerating.
So what are all these cars that you drive that are sub 7 sec>>Not you Rob...Stevie Boy is the obvious example here.
Jim B.
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