Date:         Mon, 1 Jan 2001 22:29:19 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: New beetle?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

VW stuck its neck out and
>brought out a car with every bit of verve, fun, style and a bit of a
>tweek-in-the-nose-to-the-establishment like the original. And look who is
>now following VW...Chrysler with its pseudo-pie wagon and Ford with its
>retro-Tbird.
>


The Japanese, mainly Nissan,  began to build retrocars in the earliest 90s,
so beating VW by some years (Nissan S-Cargo, Pao etc).

The New Beetle is not an improved version of the aircooled Beetle. It bears
no genuine relationship to the Bug, shares not one part and doesn't really
even resemble one except in the vaguest possible way.

Australian magazine "Wheels", which doesn't like any of the current
VW-designed cars (ie transverse-engined; the Audi-based VWs they seem to
like better) because all of them understeer excessively, making them no fun
for driving enthiusiasts. According to them the fun ended with the demise
of the Golf/Scirocco Mk 1. They consider the New Beetle to be a cynical
exercise in marketing.

The only "fun" a New Beetle can really engender is for those who Like To Be
Seen, to be the center of attention, while cruising the long straight
boulevardes. Find a bend and the car falls over. Also the 2.0 versions are
coarse and underpowered compared to the Japanese competition. I can quote
the magazine if you like ... no, I haven't myself driven a watercooled VW
younger than my old 74 Passat (Audi 80 fastback) and 75 Golf L 1100 and my
mother's really tight-handling 110hp 75 Scirocco TS 1500 (admittedly
Bilsteined).

I don't dislike late VWs because they're watercooled, otherwise I wouldn't
have a watercooled Vanagon. I just prefer cars which handle, but the
post80s VWs (Vanagons excepted) just don't. And the Australian-market cars
handle a lot better than the soft US versions.

VW was once the benchmark of small-car handling, but lost the plot well and
truly.

And Chrysler...well, the Prowler was supposed to be something, but now I
hear that Mercedes has canned the Plymouth nameplate...yes, apparently
Plymouth is gone the way of Desoto. Silly ol' Chrysler, letting itself be
taken over (merger ha!!).




<*
      >:   )
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Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
VW & mollusc nut
1984 VW Caravelle (currently SVX engine; waiting for a Porsche trans)
1985 Mitsubishi Galant Sigma 2.0 (FWD), for sale
1986 CE80 Toyota Corolla 1.8DX diesel (extaxi)
1989 CE96 Toyota Corolla 1.8DX diesel wagon
1989 CT170 Toyota Corona Select 2.0 diesel (taxi)