vwdoc1.......Present!
Been in them since the early 70's, but I count the Audis as VWs too.  Also count early Porsches too!
too many to list! <g>
 I'm surprised Usenet is still here. AOL and some others dropped it. So I'm
 starting this off by trying to see who's left on here.  none2 you, (fake
 name)  Old VW fanatic, Second car was a rusty bug with no heat.  Owned  a
 bunch of A2 Golfs , 1 Rabbit, A truck diesel , A vanagon diesel that I blew
 to smithereens .  All mostly diesels. Everything used or rusty to some
 extent. Turned of completely by VW series three through five  , and VWs
 corporate and dealer shenanigans.  I'm giving them plenty of slack on the
 New VWs because feedback has been good so far. But not the Corporate plans ,
 or dealer tactics which still suck. I'm down to one 86 VW Golf diesel now .
 I sold the bug in   the garage that was buried last summer.

'64 or 65 Beetle (don't recall which)

Later converted to 12V when I installed the engine from a mid-70's beetle
that had been in a front end collision.

'67 Beetle

'75 Rabbit.  I had one of the first couple of thousand imported.

'75 Rabbit (yeah, another one)

'84 8V Scirocco

'87 16V Scirocco (high mileage, lousy body, quick)

'87 16V Scirocco (low mileage, great body, not as quick)

I still have the last two.

   - Bill

Me :-)

had a old white beetle 70 1200, and a golf 1987. also 3 years ago a 1L polo
Ereg, and another one now as my current ride :-)

'61 Beetle when I got married.  '75 Rabbit until it died.  '90 Golf
Diesel for 3 1/2 years (almost new). Currently '06 Jetta TDI bought new
June '07 (thank heavens for the heated seats!)

Stuart H.

Alberta, Canada

What's AOL? <bg>

I'm here... But I don't count usually!

I'm still mostly lurking, have had at various times:

'84 Rabbit GTI
'84 Scirocco
'89 GTI 16V
'02 GTI 1.8T

also my mom had an '86 Golf which she just sold last year after
driving it as her primary car up until shortly before then.

don't actually own any VWs at the moment because the 1.8T was replaced
with an '88 Porsche 944 when my previous employer decided to make my
position salaried and suddenly I was having a hard time making the
payments.  (there's a reason they're my previous employer.)  I still
have the 944, but my fiancee has an '89 Corrado G60 which is sadly
disassembled in my garage.

I loved the torque of the 1.8T but I think if I were to get another VW
it would probably be an early Scirocco.  Unfortunately I have not been
able to find a decent one for sale, and am not motivated enough to
start searching outside my local area.

nate

Well... more-or-less we have never been without a VW in the family for
the last 25 years or so. 36 if my pre-married days are counted. But,
we have not had a VW as the primary driver for now nearly 20 years.
That interval was served by various "kids' cars" and Campers. As of
now, we have the Eurovan camper, a wonderful vehicle for what it does
and our needs. But it is quite unlikely that we will ever have another
VW as the primary. Example: The last two vehicles we purchased (other
than the Eurovan): my wife's 2001 Saab 9-5 SE wagon, 30 months ago:
18,000 miles on it, $18,000 price. In those 30 months and 30,000
miles, nothing other than tires and maintenance. The alternatives at
the time were a Passat wagon that had similar mileage but was a 2003,
or a C320 Mercedes AWD wagon also with similar mileage and a 2002. The
Saab was $15,000 cheaper and did not want premium fuel as did the
other two.

Or my 2005 Volvo XC70 purchased 20 months (and 45,000 miles) ago with
19,000 miles on it - also needing nothing except tires and
maintenance. Price then was $24,900. The alternatives were a Passat
wagon 4motion, a Tuareg, a Volvo V70AWD and a Mercedes E320 AWD
sedan... again, all but the XC70 demanding premium fuel and a good
deal more money.

We typically keep vehicles to well over 200,000 miles - and I have to
"go" in all kinds of conditions without fail. The Passat wagon just
did not have the weight and feel of the Volvo, nor the same level of
safety features (even though the Volvo drives like a truck as far as
turning radius is concerned). The Mercedes did not have the ground-
clearance (yes, the Volvo goes well off paved roads many times each
year), and the Tuareg was an obscenity when it came to gas mileage -
more-so when the premium requirement was factored in.

So, VWs for me will continue to be either a niche item (the camper) or
a means to nostalgia. I do not see them being able to overcome so many
years of wretched quality and (relatively) high prices *and* poor fuel
economy anytime soon. If a diesel should ever join the fold in the
future, it will be a Mercedes. But I suspect a hybrid/alternate will
intrude first given how long we keep vehicles and the advances in
related technology.

Sorry for the rant.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

'77 scirocco G60 turbo very fast,  too many mods to mention....
'89 golf manhattan, daily driver indestructable, forgets to rust,
'72 beetle, never let me down, unbelievable strong engine (sold)

SFC

2003 Jetta 1.8T, bought new, currently with 90k
1989 Cabriolet, which I've owned for just over two years now, currently with
150k

The Jetta has been great. The dealer has been pretty good to work with, and
I can't complain about the service (which apparently makes me in limited
company). The Cabriolet can be a bit finicky at times, but I guess that's to
be expected. It's still a joy to drive and I'm looking forward to the
spring/summer again.

I would consider getting rid of both and getting an Eos, except VW has
decided to not offer the manual transmission with well-equipped cars. Want a
regular manual with leather or steering wheel audio controls? Nope, can't
have it. (My Jetta is manual with leather, Monsoon audio, and steering wheel
controls.) I suppose I could be convinced to go with the DSG with paddle
shifters, but the paddle shifters are only available on the V6, which is
priced a bit out of my range at around $39k.

So I suppose I'll keep motoring with what I have for now. I like both cars,
and see no reason to get rid of them just yet...

-Corey

Still into VWs.  Couple of old beetles, one stock, one not.
Eurovan for years and years (the most optimistic car on the planet:  Shape
of a bread box, 109hp, 5cyl, 140mph speedo)
Beck spyder with VW running gear, including 2110cc engine
'07 Passat 2.0T with 6-spd auto-manual tranny, for wife (she likes the size
and pep)

1977 Audi Fox, 4 door, Mars Red, (16 years)
1986 VW Gti, black (10 years)
2007 VW City Golf, 4 door, black  (4 months and counting)

==================================================
I'm surprised Usenet is still here. AOL and some others dropped it. So I'm
starting this off by trying to see who's left on here.  none2 you, (fake
name)  Old VW fanatic, Second car was a rusty bug with no heat.  Owned  a
bunch of A2 Golfs , 1 Rabbit, A truck diesel , A vanagon diesel that I blew
to smithereens .  All mostly diesels. Everything used or rusty to some
extent. Turned of completely by VW series three through five  , and VWs
corporate and dealer shenanigans.  I'm giving them plenty of slack on the
New VWs because feedback has been good so far. But not the Corporate plans ,
or dealer tactics which still suck. I'm down to one 86 VW Golf diesel now .
I sold the bug in   the garage that was buried last summer.

My take as a long time VW family member is that this company has quite a
history. Nonetheless, it was for the people and should remain that way.
The designed look changed but the base watercooled hardware stayed pretty
much the same while the vehicle got heavier. Things had to be upgraded,
reengineered and designed in order to take the punishment. Some things never
changed and therefore I believe were weaknesses in the hardware. The infamous
self-machining manual transmission comes to mind. Why don't they put in
bolt kits when they build it instead of rivets?

I like my III series which is still not as heavy as current models and still
drives more like a II series. I never owned a I series but have been in
quite a few. Yes, they are rail cars to say the least. The best in weight
and power at that time.

The new heavy VWs are nice looking but they are not your DYIer machine.
You would need a decent professional lift since a regular floor jack would
probably damage the car in the long run. The old rabbits and type II golfs
were great DYI vehicles and easy to jack.

Oil might hit US $200 a barrel this year, so those hybrids are looking better
and better. VW designed a 1 liter diesel that was like a 150MPG tandem two
seater but it's not viable on the streets here. Besides it was just a prototype.

Now there are possible 150MPG vehicles recently in the news on Yahoo at least.

VW corporate. LOL! IIRC there was some secret scandals of top management going
on sex tours etc or was that another German company? Siemens comes to mind?
Even old guys need to get laid. VW corporate washes their hands from any
consumer issues. That sucks IMO. They don't even know they are getting
fleeced by their dealerships when it comes to service and recall stuff. Idiots.

Enough ranting for now.

I got a job as a P/A tech in 1981, quit turning wrenches (for Hire) in
2005? during that time I owned:
1979 VW Scirocco S
1984 Audi 5000S
1985 Audi 5000S
1984 Porsche 944
1987 Audi 5000CS quattro
1987 VW Jetta GL
1988 VW Scirocco 16V

I still have the last 3, the jetta odometer broke at 325k+ previous
owner told me, never fixed that, must have 500K? daily driver!!
The turbo quattro i need to fix the broken exhaust studs (pain!!)
The 'rocco is under restoration in my garage. I plan to keep them and
not buy another car again unless I find a german 1992 Jetta? Cheers!!

I got a job as a P/A tech in 1981, quit turning wrenches (for Hire) in
2005? during that time I owned:
1979 VW Scirocco S
1984 Audi 5000S
1985 Audi 5000S
1984 Porsche 944
1987 Audi 5000CS quattro
1987 VW Jetta GL
1988 VW Scirocco 16V

I still have the last 3, the jetta odometer broke at 325k+ previous
owner told me, never fixed that, must have 500K? daily driver!!
The turbo quattro i need to fix the broken exhaust studs (pain!!)
The 'rocco is under restoration in my garage. I plan to keep them and
not buy another car again unless I find a german 1992 Jetta? Cheers!!

 got a job as a P/A tech in 1981, quit turning wrenches (for Hire) in
2005? during that time I owned:
1979 VW Scirocco S
1984 Audi 5000S
1985 Audi 5000S
1984 Porsche 944
1987 Audi 5000CS quattro
1987 VW Jetta GL
1988 VW Scirocco 16V

I still have the last 3, the jetta odometer broke at 325k+ previous
owner told me, never fixed that, must have 500K? daily driver!!
The turbo quattro i need to fix the broken exhaust studs (pain!!)
The 'rocco is under restoration in my garage. I plan to keep them and
not buy another car again unless I find a german 1992 Jetta? Cheers!!

In Cleveland Ohio
1966 Beetle in 1977 floppy fenders, dropped valve before we got it
1967 Beetle in 1978 California car with a few winters on it
1966 Beetle sold
1966 Squareback 1980 Georgia car Friends car, then brothers, then
parents, then another brothers
1970 Nova 1978 winter beater sold to another brother after winter.
Moved to Georgia
1980 Rabbit in 1984
Tradded 67 for 78 Toyota pickup
1987 Toyota pickup in 1986
1984 GTI in 1992?
Hit buck in GTI 2001
2003 Jetta in Dec 2002
Sold GTi 2003

Had VWs all my driving life. Only the Nova had an automatic. Most cars
had a few hundred thousand miles or more before disposal.

Not as many as some others, but:

1971 Super Beetle (written off after an engine fire)
1972 Fastback (scrapped for - what else? - rust)
1986 Jetta (still going strong after 320,000 km)

I've always liked Type 3s, and if VW had been able
to do something about the rust (and exhaust valves
on the injected ones), they would have had a winner.
I only ever see one on the road around here now,
a baby blue Squareback. There used to be others.

Non-VW (sorry!):

1992 Mitsubishi Delica Star Wagon

The Delica is definitely an old-school 4x4, despite
the shift-on-the-fly transfer case, self-locking hubs,
and karaoke input on the stereo. Starting her diesel
on a cold morning has more to do with Caterpillar or
International Harvester...

Laura Halliday VE7LDH     "Non sequitur. Your ACKS are
Grid: CN89mg                    uncoordinated."
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W       - Nomad the Network Engineer

Still here from time to time.  Have moved up in the world with an 06 MKV
GTI DSG and an 07 2.0T Passat.  Still have the 82 convertible and still
hoping to upgrade the Buick-like suspension and replace its anemic
virbrating  1.7 with something better.  And still have a shed full of
parts from 82 convertible #1 and 78 rabbit parts...and some 95 Golf
parts, too.  Sold the Golf last March.  What a great car.

I really prefer usenet to the web forums.  For one thing, I can open and
read the messages much quicker and for another there are very few " how
would my car look with these wheels" posts.

Actually, the Vortex MK I and cabrio forums are pretty good...very
friendly and helpful and similar to this newsgroup.  I can't say the
same for the MKV forum.

Bill