A little tidbit from Autoweek.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080806/FREE/722021876/1065
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Aug. 6, 2008 6:20 a.m. Feedyurhed New Reader
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Aug. 6, 2008 6:24 a.m. Volksroddin Reader
as alway I dont think this car will make it into dealerships. It would be nice if it did,
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Aug. 6, 2008 6:31 a.m. John Brown SuperDork
It may not become a VW but it sounds as if the project has a green light.
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Aug. 6, 2008 10:20 a.m. sachilles New Reader
Miata fighter?
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Aug. 6, 2008 2:18 p.m. PHeller New Reader
It's funny, for the last few decades we've seen almost every realistic full sized sedan concept make it into production, but of the thousands of mini-coupes and roadsters that offer good MPG and good fun, few make it past the drawing board.
I hope that with consumers demanding smaller cars that are both fun and economical, this trend will change.
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Aug. 6, 2008 2:30 p.m. Tim Baxter Online Editor
VW build quality and those looks are going to make it a tough sell for me.
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Aug. 6, 2008 2:42 p.m. EricM Reader
That looks like a Tubby 914. That is not a bad thing.
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Aug. 6, 2008 5:02 p.m. ae86andkp61 New Reader
Oooh coupe!
It would be awesome if a manufacturer built and sold something small, light, sporty, and economical without insisting that it be a convertible.
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Aug. 6, 2008 5:04 p.m. belteshazzar Dork
hey. that idea doesn't suck.
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Aug. 6, 2008 5:10 p.m. GlennS HalfDork
so cool i could justify buying a vw.
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Aug. 6, 2008 8:45 p.m. Volksroddin Reader
Tim Baxter wrote:
VW build quality and those looks are going to make it a tough sell for me.
Yep they just dont build them like they "usetoo"
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Aug. 6, 2008 9:19 p.m. rwdsport New Reader
ae86andkp61, I remeber your post in the last couple of years and it made me think about this. I remeber how u said you wrote to Toyota Japan about reinventing/rereleasing the ae86. How you like you cars light, rwd and practical with a hatch. And while just two years ago thinks looked grim for us, I think this is finally our time.
With the recent fuel crisis, manufacturers are realising what they must do. Both Nissan and Mazda have commited to reducing vehicle weight across the entire drawing board. The Mx5 should be redesigned soon. Honda has been hinting to s2000's sucessor. Toyota/Subaru are promising a relatively light, simple, rwd car. The fit is selling like hotcakes. There was that dodge demon concept, and now VW hinting at this..... The market is hungry for light cars, if they happen to be slightly sporty and practical, better for us (rwd, and high revving naturally aspirated would be nice as well).
Its funny how 6 months can turn the auto industry upside down (Although nothing new, as the people from the 70's must remeber...)
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Aug. 6, 2008 9:21 p.m. rwdsport New Reader
sachilles wrote:
Miata fighter?
Its kind of like infinity challenging BMW. Nothing compares, the miata will always be #1 (I hope
)
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Aug. 6, 2008 10:03 p.m. mattmacklind SuperDork
Stop complaining about VW build quality! i have an 07 Jetta and whoever put it together followed the instructions, the quality of the whole package is a step above its price point.
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Aug. 6, 2008 10:44 p.m. ansonivan New Reader
mattmacklind wrote:
Stop complaining about VW build quality! i have an 07 Jetta and whoever put it together followed the instructions, the quality of the whole package is a step above its price point.
The A5 chassis cars do seem excellent, everyone here is complaining about the A3/A4 B3/B4/B5 cars which were riddled with problems.
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Aug. 7, 2008 9:13 a.m. Wall-e SuperDork
If my Cavalier was built as "well" as my mother in laws 07 Jetta I'd never leave home. It was on the hook before it ever came home from the dealer, and when it did come home, it was without working tail and brake lights. It has been trouble free for the last 3 months though
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Aug. 7, 2008 11:40 a.m. amg_rx7 New Reader
Looks a little like the Honda del Sol but pretty nice overall. Make it mid engine and rear drive and it could be very cool.
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Aug. 7, 2008 11:54 a.m. John Brown SuperDork
Like I said before some of the VW electronics appear to be built by a joint venture between Lucas and AMC.
Most of our electrical failures can be whittled down to bad pin assemblies in wire harness connectors (Lots of fuel pump harness issues) or switches that were built to "lightly".
Personally I have NEVER seen so many UBER high mileage cars that are still serviced at a dealership in my life.
I just did a clutch in a 208K mile 2006 Jetta diesel. It was the OE unit.
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Aug. 7, 2008 12:26 p.m. 924guy HalfDork
As I started reading the article, the story sounded all too familiar, then it hit me, then i read this..
In another development, VW majority shareholder Porsche is said to have shown interest in the new project, opening the way for a possible resurrection of the 914.
I have read elsewhere that Porsche has been actively seeking to add a "entry level" car (think sub 40k)to their lineup, with the possibility of a 914 style car. this certainly fits that rumor, especially given Porsche stake in VW , and cooperative recent efforts (cayanne/toureg & new Tiguan/coming soon Roxter :Audi A-5 platforms..) should be interesting to see how this pans out.... -
Aug. 7, 2008 12:29 p.m. bluej Reader
on the subject of turning around build quality, i was mighty impressed with the cobalt rental i got last weekend on a mini-vaca to Deals Gap. Fit and finish on the interior was much more than i was expecting.
of course that was before we did this to it:
spare tire well makes a good beer cooler as well. just don't touch the positve battery terminal!
to get back on topic re: the vw, it makes me happy in the pants. if they sell them for sub 20k, i'd take a serious look at it.
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Aug. 7, 2008 12:38 p.m. Jensenman SuperDork
Wall-e wrote:
If my Cavalier was built as "well" as my mother in laws 07 Jetta I'd never leave home. It was on the hook before it ever came home from the dealer, and when it did come home, it was without working tail and brake lights. It has been trouble free for the last 3 months though
Yeah, VW has a LOT of quality issues. If that one's gone 90 days without a problem, something's due to happen.
Stand back.
