Back when Car Talk (with Click and Clack aka the Magliozzi brothers) were still on the radio, I heard them talk about the disadvantages of having any front-end collision in a VW van. The gist of their rant was that you never want to use your own legs as a front bumper.
I love VW vans of all vintages.
I love road trips.
I just don’t have a good answer for how to make them a lot safer.
Well, there’s your problem!
Get a new one, with the engine in the front.
Its a similar issue with ultralight aircraft, with an engine in the back. In a collision, that engine is going to come forward, using the pilots body as a buffer.
So, like every other pre-teen boy of my era I too had a Countach poster on my wall. However, they were and still are terrible cars.
And speaking of terrible things from the 80’s…The Wraith was wonderfully awful. I always wondered why they only used Detroit muscle cars in that move. Had no idea the car was actually a Dodge - makes so much sense now.
Sounds about like 80’s heartthrobs.
I had a BMW M1 poster, without any idea at all whether it was a good car or not; just that it was beautiful.
I had a mechanic like that, and they are precious beyond rubies. However, I’m pretty sure he will back me up on this: if you have reached the recommended mileage, change the timing chain. When it breaks, it’s too late.
While this is true,a timing chain is unlikely to break under normal use unlike a belt. For an almost 20 year old car, it’s likely to keep on chugging so I agree with his mechanic. No need to replace that which is not broken.
My personal experience is based on my 4 banger Infiniti that I bought new off the showroom floor in 2000 and finally sold 18 years and 325,000 miles later. Thing still drove like new. Amazing what preventive maintenance and regular oil changes will do to an engine.
The 80s had some great cars for sure. Lots of great cars in the nascent “hot hatch” class, some great American muscle like the ‘87 Buick GNX and Firebird Turbo V6, and legendary supercars like the Countach and Testarossa. Of course there was no end to the parade of crap as well and there’s a good reason the 80s are called “the malaise era”, but it wasn’t all bad.
I had completely forgotten the Grand National! [slaps forehead]
One of the best parts of the TV show Life was when Charlie bought the souped-up GNX!
And then… there were the '70s. What a weird time.
I never cease to be amazed by the affection in which VW vehicles are held. I had a one year old first generation VW Golf (Rabbit?) which decided to shatter its gearbox the first time I drove it (fortunately repaired under warranty.) Subsequently it required a (very expensive) cylinder head gasket replacement on four occasions. The throttle cable was connected to the carburettor with a split pin rather than a solid piece of metal so I always carried a spare as every few weeks the split pin would weaken and come off. At the same time my brother in law had a VW called (I think) a K70? It was a model famous for disastrous electrical malfunctions having apparently been designed by a toddler.
People who buy the current VW range should be wary when their 3 year warranty expires as there are plenty of customers who face £7,000 engine replacement bills after the timing belt fails or is incorrectly fitted .
OK, the Beetle/Bug was generally reliable which is a reputation they still trade on today, but despite having criminally fooled the world with their diesel emissions cheating software they still sell cars by the millions. And of course the first VWs were created at the request of Hitler. What a pedigree.
You can place most of the blame for that squarely on the K-car concept. Every one of those cars were irredeemable crap.
What’s that you say? (1971 StarStreak Motor home @ The California Automobile Museum)
party in the back.
I am on my third overall VW (first was a '98 Jetta GLX, second was a 2010 Golf TDI, third is a 2013 Golf TDI).
They are great cars, in my experience, and reliable and fun to drive. They feel well-made and well thought out. I have no love for the corporation as such, but I have found them to be great cars. Not perfect, my current car has a couple of minor odd things going on, but the worst thing over the past 7 years has been flat tires, alternator belt, battery. About what you’d expect, really.
Now, I haven’t heard the same anecdotal evidence about the Tiguan. That’s a car that is relatively new–VW has been building Jettas and Golfs for decades.
