Automobiles

[rmplum]

Too bad about the exterior styling on the new Civic Type R, because just in terms of driving, that thing is the business - regardless of the driven wheels (or lack thereof).

[Matthew Strongin]

Trevor, get a WRX or, if you can, STI. I'm three weeks in on my STI and it's the only car I've ever owned that I like more than the WRX wagon I had 15 years ago.

[Too Tall]

In the P car world there exists the equivalent of the Vsalon. It's a buried local secret of sorts. One of the guys is teaching me the drill for refreshing brake pads, fluid flush etc.
There are good people in the car world who drive them and co-conspire with others to have some fun.

If you get a car that is dual purpose for g-dsakes use it for both or what's the point?

[dpcompt]

In the P car world there exists the equivalent of the Vsalon. It's a buried local secret of sorts. One of the guys is teaching me the drill for refreshing brake pads, fluid flush etc.
There are good people in the car world who drive them and co-conspire with others to have some fun.

If you get a car that is dual purpose for g-dsakes use it for both or what's the point?

I used to autocross an '86 Carrera in the late '80's and really enjoyed it. Had the car lowered to "European specs" and went thru some brake pads. Today, my new Cayman is my daily driver, but on weekends I head over to our foothills in Placer, Calaveras, and Amador counties for a little fun. I don't wear out the brakes like I used to, but I still have fun driving.

[Trevor]

Test drove the AllTrack yesterday. Very nice interior (although I'm not a huge fan of tan/beige) and tons of room in the back. Plus the panoramic roof is super cool. The new media center on it was really easy to navigate and looked very modern. Everything looks good on the inside and out. Driving it, it was fine. Didn't feel big or small, no bad blind spots like the 328d. However, it drives like an older wagon. It doesn't have that pick up and go. People said the new 1.8t is totally different feeling than the old 1.8t, but man, it felt sluggish and slow. Nothing like the 2.0t. I even switched between sport/ normal/ offload modes. The biggest thing I felt was the steering in sport. Made parking a bit tougher, so I put it back into normal and that charged things. Driving was fine, nothing better than my A3, just felt slower. Even when my A3 is 5 years older.

I'm generally not one to go into nitpick, but if I can feel a huge difference, I would say the rest of the population will really feel the difference. The AllTrack is out for now. The search continues. Maybe I'll go give a WRX a test drive and/or search for a CPO A4 premium plus.

[GonaSovereign]

Test drove the AllTrack yesterday. Very nice interior (although I'm not a huge fan of tan/beige) and tons of room in the back. Plus the panoramic roof is super cool. The new media center on it was really easy to navigate and looked very modern. Everything looks good on the inside and out. Driving it, it was fine. Didn't feel big or small, no bad blind spots like the 328d. However, it drives like an older wagon. It doesn't have that pick up and go. People said the new 1.8t is totally different feeling than the old 1.8t, but man, it felt sluggish and slow. Nothing like the 2.0t. I even switched between sport/ normal/ offload modes. The biggest thing I felt was the steering in sport. Made parking a bit tougher, so I put it back into normal and that charged things. Driving was fine, nothing better than my A3, just felt slower. Even when my A3 is 5 years older.

I'm generally not one to go into nitpick, but if I can feel a huge difference, I would say the rest of the population will really feel the difference. The AllTrack is out for now. The search continues. Maybe I'll go give a WRX a test drive and/or search for a CPO A4 premium plus.

Too bad, eh? That car with a 2.0 would be pretty nice. I'd like an amalgam of AllTrack and AllRoad. Put the Audi drivetrain in the VW, keep the 6MT, lose the crap plastic on the Audi wheel wells, and away you go.

In a parallel universe Euro spec German cars are available in North America and all these problems go away.

[Blue Jays]

”...lose the crap plastic on the Audi wheel wells...”

Another path is to order the Audi AllRoad wheel wells painted body color. Looks much sharper.

[Saab2000]

Too bad, eh? That car with a 2.0 would be pretty nice. I'd like an amalgam of AllTrack and AllRoad. Put the Audi drivetrain in the VW, keep the 6MT, lose the crap plastic on the Audi wheel wells, and away you go.

In a parallel universe Euro spec German cars are available in North America and all these problems go away.

Yes to the Euro-spec vehicles being available in the US. It's bad enough with Audi but it's even worse with VW. They offer their lines and there are very few other options. It's sort of Honda-like. It is good for the company and makes buying easy but it's frustrating for a customer like myself would would order some premium options on a base level car and leave the rest of the fluff behind.

Not that I wish for the craptastic US cars of the 1970s, but I remember my father ordered our Oldsmobile with an order form and was able to tick the boxes of what he wanted on the car. That's still possible to an extent with Audi and they will build to order (in a 2018 manner) but you can't do it with a VW and it's frustrating.

[rmplum]

Yow! Welcome to Scio Township!

I'll meet you at the Session Room. Do you mind if my 87 year-old mom joins us too?

Wandered over there on Saturday. It was national beer day!

Untitled by Mr. P, on Flickr


Mmmm, anchovies...
Untitled by Mr. P, on Flickr

Car stuff:
My new company car arrives tomorrow:
manual.jpg

chose three pedals over leather and push-button start. Sacrifice.

[Cookietruck]

Test drove the AllTrack yesterday. Very nice interior (although I'm not a huge fan of tan/beige) and tons of room in the back. Plus the panoramic roof is super cool. The new media center on it was really easy to navigate and looked very modern. Everything looks good on the inside and out. Driving it, it was fine. Didn't feel big or small, no bad blind spots like the 328d. However, it drives like an older wagon. It doesn't have that pick up and go. People said the new 1.8t is totally different feeling than the old 1.8t, but man, it felt sluggish and slow. Nothing like the 2.0t. I even switched between sport/ normal/ offload modes. The biggest thing I felt was the steering in sport. Made parking a bit tougher, so I put it back into normal and that charged things. Driving was fine, nothing better than my A3, just felt slower. Even when my A3 is 5 years older.

I'm generally not one to go into nitpick, but if I can feel a huge difference, I would say the rest of the population will really feel the difference. The AllTrack is out for now. The search continues. Maybe I'll go give a WRX a test drive and/or search for a CPO A4 premium plus.

the 1.8t has significant turbo lag? (my wife wants an Alltrac and when I saw they come with a 6 speed I let he know I might be interested)

we have a jetta with a 1.4t, terrible turbo lag. took me quite a while to get used to it.

also, my brother just bought a new Golf R, he got the auto trans. wtf.

[mmoore]

the 1.8t has significant turbo lag? (my wife wants an Alltrac and when I saw they come with a 6 speed I let he know I might be interested)

we have a jetta with a 1.4t, terrible turbo lag. took me quite a while to get used to it.

also, my brother just bought a new Golf R, he got the auto trans. wtf.

turbo lag doesn't exist if your a motorhead and change a few things... namely the downpipe and get a computer flash.

[Blue Jays]

”...get a computer flash...”

Verify how this might impact factory warranty, of course. Some warranties are voided via a reflash.

[Cookietruck]

turbo lag doesn't exist if your a motorhead and change a few things... namely the downpipe and get a computer flash.

i have old cars to mess with, not interested in getting a new car with a nice fat factory warranty and then modifying it. that said, the turbo lag isn't a big deal either, i was just curious on his thoughts on how the car drove and felt.
i had an '86 VW scirocco with a 16v motor with larger cams and a very lightweight flywheel, i just kinda drive the jetta how i had to drive the scirocco and it's fine.

[j44ke]

Test drove the AllTrack yesterday. Very nice interior (although I'm not a huge fan of tan/beige) and tons of room in the back. Plus the panoramic roof is super cool. The new media center on it was really easy to navigate and looked very modern. Everything looks good on the inside and out. Driving it, it was fine. Didn't feel big or small, no bad blind spots like the 328d. However, it drives like an older wagon. It doesn't have that pick up and go. People said the new 1.8t is totally different feeling than the old 1.8t, but man, it felt sluggish and slow. Nothing like the 2.0t. I even switched between sport/ normal/ offload modes. The biggest thing I felt was the steering in sport. Made parking a bit tougher, so I put it back into normal and that charged things. Driving was fine, nothing better than my A3, just felt slower. Even when my A3 is 5 years older.

I'm generally not one to go into nitpick, but if I can feel a huge difference, I would say the rest of the population will really feel the difference. The AllTrack is out for now. The search continues. Maybe I'll go give a WRX a test drive and/or search for a CPO A4 premium plus.

That was our feeling in a nutshell. We went to a dealer ready to buy one, but then we test drove it and were nonplussed. We'd been driving a 2002 VW Golf TDI, and that thing was a scoot compared to the AllTrack. So we bought a Volvo instead. Might as well be comfortable if not fast.

[murphy]

That was our feeling in a nutshell. We went to a dealer ready to buy one, but then we test drove it and were nonplussed. We'd been driving a 2002 VW Golf TDI, and that thing was a scoot compared to the AllTrack. So we bought a Volvo instead. Might as well be comfortable if not fast.

I like the look of the Volvos, but as far as I know manuals have been completely phased out of them which makes me sad.

[rydesteel]

Some VW dealers are set up with APR and other Tuner Companies, from what I've read if it's done at the dealer it doesn't void the warranty. (or maybe they don't tell on you) Most reflashes have a stock setting for when you take it back for service as well. YMMV of course

[j44ke]

I like the look of the Volvos, but as far as I know manuals have been completely phased out of them which makes me sad.

Hours and hours of stop & go traffic while trying to get out of and into the city cured me of that sadness.

[Trevor]

We'd been driving a 2002 VW Golf TDI, and that thing was a scoot compared to the AllTrack.

I actually might agree. I had a 2002 VW Jetta TDI, which I absolutely loved. Timing Belt replaced at 100K at a supposedly reputable garage, and then it failed at 150k. Oooof I miss that car actually...

Last summer my partner went to the Crayola Museum in PA with her nieces and nephews... she brought me home this:

[murphy]

Hours and hours of stop & go traffic while trying to get out of and into the city cured me of that sadness.

Fair. My city in particular isn't bad for traffic (usually), and so I am more than happy to continue with a manual. I get bored with automatics.

[Tom]

Fair. My city in particular isn't bad for traffic (usually), and so I am more than happy to continue with a manual. I get bored with automatics.

I have a Volvo with the manual mode on the automatic and I just wish that would shift as fast as I can with a decent manual. I leave it in automatic for most of the commute with work. Turbo lag is definitely noticeable as in "Holy s--t I'm going to die!" in the automatic mode because I haven't gotten out of my manual transmission driving habits. In manual mode I just keep the RPMs up where when you go the turbo kicks in immediately.

I need to squirrel away 1300 bucks for the Polestar tune available through the dealer. Enough to keep me awake and not so much I lose my license. Plus I have 60,000 miles on it after 7 years so I'm thinking it is good for another 15 if I take care of it. Chipping it from one of the not so sedate suppliers, putting on a new intake, exhaust and a cooler would be stress on the motor that I am sure wouldn't make it last any longer. Not to mention I'd need to take the brakes out of an S90 and put them in there. After a while it adds up.