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Why do people have soft spots for VW's?



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 12th 05, 02:29 AM
Tom Levigne
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Default Why do people have soft spots for VW's?

I have noticed this for over 25 years that some people have a soft spot for
Volkswagens.

Why is this? Because the Germans are smart and worked so hard after the war
to get back on their feet or the cars are unique and functional (they
certainly aren't the most reliable which are Japanese or the best riding or
quietest riding which are American cars) and some older VW's aren't the best
looking cars or maybe people remembering old VW's they had when they were
young or getting laid in a VW bus in college or farvegnugen or something of
a combination of these or what?

Its interesting but maybe no real way to actually put your finger on
this....



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  #2  
Old March 12th 05, 03:07 AM
Rob Guenther
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Because when I drive by the showroom (or go in it) or look around at the
autoshow they are some of the only attainable cars I would actually want to
own.

My short list of cars I could make the payments on:
Golf
GTI
Jetta mk4/5
Passat (base)
Volvo S40 2.4i

Mazda 3 has been deleted due to me actually taking it for a drive and
realizing it offers no improvement over my Golf except being able to fit my
requirement for more rear passenger room.


"Tom Levigne" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>I have noticed this for over 25 years that some people have a soft spot for
>Volkswagens.
>
> Why is this? Because the Germans are smart and worked so hard after the
> war to get back on their feet or the cars are unique and functional (they
> certainly aren't the most reliable which are Japanese or the best riding
> or quietest riding which are American cars) and some older VW's aren't the
> best looking cars or maybe people remembering old VW's they had when they
> were young or getting laid in a VW bus in college or farvegnugen or
> something of a combination of these or what?
>
> Its interesting but maybe no real way to actually put your finger on
> this....
>
>
>



  #3  
Old March 12th 05, 03:22 AM
Mike Smith
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Default

Tom Levigne wrote:
> I have noticed this for over 25 years that some people have a soft spot for
> Volkswagens.
>
> Why is this? Because the Germans are smart and worked so hard after the war
> to get back on their feet or the cars are unique and functional (they
> certainly aren't the most reliable which are Japanese or the best riding or
> quietest riding which are American cars)


These are the only two reasons people buy a car? And as for that last
reason you gave - every single person who's ever been in my Passat has
commented on how well it rides and how solid it feels. Can't speak for
reliability as it's just a baby (2.5 years, 12K miles). German cars,
including VWs, tend to be sporty, taut, solid, and fun - which you can't
necessarily say about Japanese cars (except the ones that are trying to
be like German cars, like the G35) or American cars (except the ones
that really Mercedes or Opels in disguise).

--
Mike Smith
  #4  
Old March 12th 05, 03:34 AM
Bill Leary
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"Tom Levigne" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> I have noticed this for over 25 years that some people have a soft spot for
> Volkswagens.


"Soft" would be the wrong word for my interest.

> Why is this? Because the Germans are smart and worked so hard
> after the war to get back on their feet or the cars are unique and functional
> (they certainly aren't the most reliable which are Japanese or the best riding
> or quietest riding which are American cars) and some older VW's aren't the
> best looking cars or maybe people remembering old VW's they had when
> they were young or getting laid in a VW bus in college or farvegnugen or
> something of a combination of these or what?


The only one in this list that applies to me is "fahrvergnugen"

> Its interesting but maybe no real way to actually put your finger on this....


For me, I know exactly why I own this one (1987 16V Scirocco), and the ones I've
owned before. It is, and they were, a blast to drive.

- Bill


  #5  
Old March 12th 05, 04:52 AM
Nate Nagel
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Bill Leary wrote:

> "Tom Levigne" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
>
>>I have noticed this for over 25 years that some people have a soft spot for
>>Volkswagens.

>
>
> "Soft" would be the wrong word for my interest.
>
>
>>Why is this? Because the Germans are smart and worked so hard
>>after the war to get back on their feet or the cars are unique and functional
>>(they certainly aren't the most reliable which are Japanese or the best riding
>>or quietest riding which are American cars) and some older VW's aren't the
>>best looking cars or maybe people remembering old VW's they had when
>>they were young or getting laid in a VW bus in college or farvegnugen or
>>something of a combination of these or what?

>
>
> The only one in this list that applies to me is "fahrvergnugen"
>
>
>>Its interesting but maybe no real way to actually put your finger on this....

>
>
> For me, I know exactly why I own this one (1987 16V Scirocco), and the ones I've
> owned before. It is, and they were, a blast to drive.
>
> - Bill


Not only that, but with proper care and feeding other than a few known
trouble spots they will last indefinitely, at least the older ones -
which you can't say about a lot of other cars. I sold a 'roccet with
240K+ miles almost exactly a year ago and it was still running strong -
even after having been parked for almost a year. I just had too many
projects going, and I still regret selling it sometimes.

nate


--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel
  #6  
Old March 12th 05, 06:20 AM
Bill Leary
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Default

"Nate Nagel" > wrote in message
...
> Bill Leary wrote:
> >>Its interesting but maybe no real way to actually put your finger on

this....
> >
> > For me, I know exactly why I own this one (1987 16V Scirocco), and the ones

I've
> > owned before. It is, and they were, a blast to drive.

>
> Not only that, but with proper care and feeding other than a few known
> trouble spots they will last indefinitely, at least the older ones -
> which you can't say about a lot of other cars. I sold a 'roccet with
> 240K+ miles almost exactly a year ago and it was still running strong -
> even after having been parked for almost a year. I just had too many
> projects going, and I still regret selling it sometimes.


Mine has 216K on it now, but it's on it's way out. Well, the body is, I should
say. The engine, transmission and suspension components (and a lot of other
parts, I'd been doing an inside-out restoration) are on their way into another
'87 Scirocco that's being restored for me right now. The other one was stripped
of engine, trans. and so forth. My current one, unfortunately, had a fair bit
of rust when I got it, and had already been in both a front end and a side
accident. With the addition of second side accident last October, it would be
just too expensive to fix. On the other hand, 216K on it, bashed to hell, and
it's still a joy to drive.

- Bill


  #7  
Old March 12th 05, 06:22 AM
Mystic
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Default

Tom Levigne wrote:
> I have noticed this for over 25 years that some people have a soft spot for
> Volkswagens.
>
> Why is this? Because the Germans are smart and worked so hard after the war
> to get back on their feet or the cars are unique and functional (they
> certainly aren't the most reliable which are Japanese or the best riding or
> quietest riding which are American cars) and some older VW's aren't the best
> looking cars or maybe people remembering old VW's they had when they were
> young or getting laid in a VW bus in college or farvegnugen or something of
> a combination of these or what?
>
> Its interesting but maybe no real way to actually put your finger on
> this....
>
>
>

hmmm...volkswagon...peoples car.

That says it all. It was built to be be a car for the people. No
frills, Easy to maintain. Most repairs are simple and can be done by
anyone with a little mechanical ability. Why should anyone wonder why
it has been such a success? Anyone who has had major repairs done to
other vehicles would be amazed that the same repair could have been done
by themselves at a fraction of the cost. The volkswagen is/was a
do-it-yourselfer type vehicle.
*MYSTIC*
  #8  
Old March 12th 05, 06:29 AM
Matt B.
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"Tom Levigne" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>I have noticed this for over 25 years that some people have a soft spot for
>Volkswagens.


It's probably the only Euro brand in the US that isn't accompanied with the
impression of exclusivity of a BMW or Mercedes. It's a Euro car that the
masses can own. Sure VW has tried to go up market with the Touareg and
Phaeton of course, but the rest of the model line is affordable. After all,
what BMW or Mercedes can you get for under $25K? None that I know of. But
there's still a plethora of Golfs and Jettas and GTIs under that price. VWs
aren't exactly the "people's car" they once were but they still are plenty
(and favorably) competitive with Mazdas, Hondas, Toyotas, etc.

> Why is this? Because the Germans are smart and worked so hard after the
> war to get back on their feet or the cars are unique and functional


I doubt that's going through any VW buyer's mind. "oh those poor Germans
having to rebuild their country and all that...honey, let's buy a German car
from those poor German's they need the sale sooooo bad".

>(they certainly aren't the most reliable


No but what seems to plague German cars today (VW, Mercedes, and BMW) are
electronic glitches. I'd say that the Japanese still know and do
electronics the best. When it comes to mechanical engineering, the Germans
still do it right, IMHO. Seeing as the engine and transmission and
suspension are the "soul" of a car and all the electronics are somewhat
secondary, I'd say that many people are willing to overlook spotty
electronics in order to get the engine/suspension/transmission that the
Germans do very well.

>or the best riding or quietest riding which are American cars


well that really depends. American cars are *softest* riding, but I don't
think they're the best riding unless you reall count "best" as soft and
"worst" as hard. American cars are cushier, yes, but they tend to pitch a
bit more, sway a bit more, etc. I'd argue that best riding are German ones
because they strike a good balance between smoothing out the big bumps and
keeping the body motion under control.

>and some older VW's aren't the best looking cars


But what older car *is* good looking? By definition most older cars are
"ugly" because they're just old/dated and were styled based on trends at the
time. most any car from the 1970s or 1980s would look out of place on
today's showroom floor.

I'd sum it up that VWs (and German cars in general ) don't do a single thing
perfectly but they do all things at about an 8 or 9 out of 10 scale and
that's why people like them. They're near perfect in every category, have
some flaws or mild compromises in every category, but are rarely terrible in
any one category. Asian and American cars are more polarized from one
category to the next.


  #9  
Old March 12th 05, 06:56 AM
Bill Leary
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"Mystic" > wrote in message
...
> hmmm...volkswagon...peoples car.
>
> That says it all. It was built to be be a car for the people. No
> frills, Easy to maintain. Most repairs are simple and can be done by
> anyone with a little mechanical ability. Why should anyone wonder why
> it has been such a success? Anyone who has had major repairs done to
> other vehicles would be amazed that the same repair could have been done
> by themselves at a fraction of the cost. The volkswagen is/was a
> do-it-yourselfer type vehicle.


This was all more or less true of the classic beetle and it's kin.

From what I've seen of the current (or even not so recent) crop of VW's, it's no
more true of them than of any of their contemporaries.

BUT...

Going back to the OP's point about "soft spot," you may have a point. Even
though it's really no longer true, there may well still be that perception that
they're easier to repair that the average Toyota, Nissan, Lexus or whatever.

When I owned a brand new Rabbit, it was just as expensive to repair as the brand
new Datsun I owned just before it. But I worked on my freshly out of warranty
Rabbit myself more often than I ever worked on my freshly out of warranty
Datsun. And not because it was really any simpler. Economy eventually forced
me into working on the Datsun, and it wasn't any harder to do periodic service
or even minor repairs. It just never occured to me to do it on the Datsun,
whereas it never occurred to me NOT to do it on the Rabbit. Because, I think
now, it was a Volkswagen and I'd just always worked on VW's myself since back
when they really were simpler.

I don't know how much your observation is true of the general public, but it may
have some impact on those of us old enough to remember when tinkering a beetle
really was a simple shade tree mechanic job.

- Bill


  #10  
Old March 12th 05, 03:43 PM
Tom's VR6
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In rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled, Mystic wrote:

>
>hmmm...volkswagon...peoples car.
>
>That says it all. It was built to be be a car for the people. No
>frills, Easy to maintain. Most repairs are simple and can be done by
>anyone with a little mechanical ability. Why should anyone wonder why
>it has been such a success? Anyone who has had major repairs done to
>other vehicles would be amazed that the same repair could have been done
>by themselves at a fraction of the cost. The volkswagen is/was a
>do-it-yourselfer type vehicle.


My experience would cause me to think that *that* theory is long
dead.

 




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