Is it just me or is VW desecrating the beetle?

[dcb]

Maybe it is just me, but using the beetle to sell SUVs and go around womanizing seems like a new low for VW. (in reference to certain new commercials)

I absolutely loved the early diesels, the rabbit/golf handles awesomely for the buck, Air cooled reliable efficient machines dating waaay back, electronic fuel injection in my squareback back in the 70s, even the TDI has it's own following. Cool little Ghias. Cars that FLOAT?!? And run the baja 1000, etc. etc.

They have a tremendous history and lineage, I really hope they pull it together soon, as I hope "detroit" will also.

[ttoyoda]

electronic fuel injection in my squareback back in the 70s,

You had one of these that worked? That is amazing.

Did you do much work on you VWs, or just drive them? Or perhaps the haze of time has made you forget...

The people I knew with a squareback had to cut a hole in the engine hatch cover of the car in the back so that they could put a carburetor on it. The air filter housing came up in the back of the car. All this was because when the FI "computer" got flakey the parts to fix it were huge money in those days.

Then there were the studs for the exhaust header tubes that broke off in the head when you had to change the muffler.. A zero to 60 time of what, 19 seconds? Spark plugs you change by feeling around, since you cannot see them. Wheels that were mounted with bolts not studs, so you had to hold the wheel up with one hand while moving the hub around with the other hand, and then the third hand put the bolts in. That superb windshield washer system that was powered by air from the spare tire, and which would slowly leak all the air out of the spare. And the lack of any significant heat in winter seperated the teutonic men from the boys. It was almost enough to make me swear off wearing leather shorts.

Some masochist has made a slide show to help those poor souls that had to work on these things relive the nightmares. Not for the faint of heart. There is not even room for a dead cat in the engine compartment, since every nook, cranny, and orfice is filled with the filth that collects all over the engine in deep, crusty deposits.

http://www.vwtypethree.com/myvws/rebuild/slide1.html

No, I'm not partial to VWs. Why do you ask?

[dcb]

0 to 60 times is your concern? You aint no ecomodder if it is!

Questions about what I've wrenched on or how clear my memory is? That is way out of line. You haven't a clue. No car is everything to everyone, so just chill the hell out spaz.

[tasdrouille]

Originally Posted by ttoyoda

[...]Wheels that were mounted with bolts not studs, so you had to hold the wheel up with one hand while moving the hub around with the other hand, and then the third hand put the bolts in.[...]

Just put the wheel on with the holes aligned and put the bolts in. How hard can that be? My 99 has bolts too.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by dcb

0 to 60 times is your concern? You aint no ecomodder if it is!

Questions about what I've wrenched on or how clear my memory is? That is way out of line. You haven't a clue. No car is everything to everyone, so just chill the hell out spaz.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! No need to take a tone.

One thing that comes through very clearly in these forums is that few things come through as clearly as you'd like. Ttoyoda's comment struck me as funny and tongue-in-cheek. I doubt he was attacking you or your actual memory.

We're all trying to be friends here.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

Just put the wheel on with the holes aligned and put the bolts in. How hard can that be? My 99 has bolts too.

You're a funny guy. I've got a '45 Farmall whose wheels mount with studs, and the offside wheel has a 165lb counterweight built into it. What I wouldn't give for stud mounting at that point... Thank God those tires can take a lot of abuse.

Just my two bits.

[bhazard]

The festiva has wheel bolts...

[ttoyoda]

Just put the wheel on with the holes aligned and put the bolts in. How hard can that be? My 99 has bolts too.

The hole in the center of the wheel was bigger than the center of the hub. So the wheel would not center in those days. You had to hold it up.

[quote]

0 to 60 times is your concern? You aint no ecomodder if it is!

Questions about what I've wrenched on or how clear my memory is? That is way out of line. You haven't a clue. No car is everything to everyone, so just chill the hell out spaz.

So you do not dispute my technical points on the car. Good! And your memory of the car is clear! Double plus good! And you probably never worked on it, or you would just plainly say so. Either that, or you just had a flashback to the time you TRIED to work on it and that brought about your little moment of rage. So either way, thanks for confirming everything I said. Pity you choose to interpret everything personally, it is not only unprofessional, it will lead you early heart failure. Which would be a pity, because you do have technical skills. I suggest you look for help in correcting that.

[elhigh]

Okay, I'm done. If it were my forum, I'd ask you to take it outside, but whatever.

[SVOboy]

Come on now, I know VWs and their mechanical issues can be polarizing. I've not had good experiences having worked in a shop for a bit, but I know plenty of people who've never had issues and love their cars.

Personally, my CRX is being worked on more often than not, eating at my wallet, and being troublesome. Now, that's my fault and not honda's, but nevertheless, I still love the car.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

The last one got a Corvair engine swap- no more downshifting for hills!

I bet that shocked the heck out of a rev-happy drag racer or two.

If you can find someone here in the states who was bringing them in, VW of Mexico was making the old aircooled up to 2003. Still 1600cc, EFI that had benefitted from eons of advancement, 50hp and 35mpg all day long. No more peashooter exhaust, though. Too bad. That's my favorite part, the happy chirp of the exhaust. Ah well.

[dcb]

Ive rebuilt enough cars to know good engineering when I see it. Aint nobody that works on more machines than me in a 10 mile radius. I've heard enough humor to know it. Mean isn't funny where I come from.

[TheDon]

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

Just put the wheel on with the holes aligned and put the bolts in. How hard can that be? My 99 has bolts too.

wheel bolts rock.. Mercedes does that as well

[azlar]

My '72 Squareback ran great for many years (except for the time I forgot to put the rotor back in the dist after a tuneup). My better half loved the car.

Then I sold it to a buddy of mine. Blew up within a month. He wasn't happy... Obviously not and air-cooled guy.

To drive the original Beetle, you had to wrench on it. A given, but not a biggie since you could pull the engine for a sparkplug change in the morning, with basic handtools. The New one's are for chicks. Cute, reliable, and have a flower vase on the dash.

With proper habits, both get great MPG. I've only been reading the board for a short time, but thought the goal was to promote efficiency, rather than bash certain car models.

Lar

[dremd]

Well; I try and see things on the positive side. VW is selling a small SUV with the Bug rather than a large SUV.

The Bug is their new advertising campaign; it will be used to sell everything.

Just found out that one of their big advertising guys lives about 5 miles from my camp.

[Volones]

Originally Posted by elhigh

You're a funny guy. I've got a '45 Farmall whose wheels mount with studs, and the offside wheel has a 165lb counterweight built into it. What I wouldn't give for stud mounting at that point... Thank God those tires can take a lot of abuse.

Just my two bits.

My '51 Allis WD uses bolts, and a bunch of 'em. Although I don't have your counterweight, I did discover that my tires (only one now) are fluid-filled. Taking them off to patch a hole is one really messy job! I look forward to having the restoration done and brand new DRY tires mounted (less so the work of mounting them )

Vol