Alpha

Didi it come with the VW umbrella hidden in the door somewhere? I thought that was a neat novelty.

Not quite... You don't get a VW Umbrella (there is one to buy...heh), though you do get an umbrella slot in the door.... Something I do use actually. I think I've used the umbrella once...we had to carry in some papers... Other than that...it's Washington...rain? Are you kidding me? :AH-HA_wink:

Howdy everyone...

I did look at the CC, evil temptress she is... In so many ways she's better than the standard Passat... The biggest two problems? She's 10k more or so...and getting in is a bitch... I had to press my head pretty hard against the doorjam getting in. Though the seating position is nicer, the support is better, the accessories are nicer, and the updated display is great. I just wish the roofline was a little more forgiving.

But as is I can't say I'm unhappy with what I got, there are so many standard features in this thing that it's ridiculous. I swear I was still finding features a week after, and those of you who know me...know I do my research...

Though as a note whiteknight, the "carefree" thing...nada... That's '09's and newer...but instead I get a 4 year Bumper-to-Bumper instead of the current 3 year. Probably better for me in the end.

Other than that...

-1 Problem so far...a piece of trim, the fob cover (no key, just a fob in the dash) on the dash fell off...had that fixed for free...and a free carwash to go with it...lol.

-JD Power Initial Quality and Owner Study filled out.

-The sport mode...wow... She feels like a different beast... I know all it is is changing the shift points to higher RPM's, but it makes a world of difference when I'm on twisty, windy, double yellow, 50 MPH highways... The way back from Ocean Shores was a pure delight! Down there, I averaged 29 MPG, on the way back with Sport Mode active for about half of it? 24 MPG... Not too bad either way.

-The handling, pretty suprised... It's the least expensive car I've been in with that good of handling. Comparative to the other German brands...

Only a few of you might remember me, but those who do are likely to remember my Regal. Last February she suffered massive electrical failure and a replacement had to be had immediately.

The list of cars we were considering...

Dodge Charger

Chevy Malibu

Nissan Altima

I could fit in all three (something of a concern if you remember me...lol), though barely for the Malibu... All new, considering my vehicle history, a warranty was definitely needed. The Altima was ok, but I was not a real fan of it... The answer was coming down to economics... The Charger looked good at the time, 36 month 0% with 1.9% after that, and at the time for the V6 we were looking at about 26k...

After nearly buying it, I decided to stop by the local Hyandai dealership to give them a chance at least... (When economics are an issue...you consider them...) While at our local VW-Hyandai dealership...the salesman asked me to try a Jetta...I kinda fit... But who in their right mind puts a piece of hard sharp plastic right where your knee might rest? After that I got the usual: try the beetle...you'll love it. I'm sorry, but cheap reflective plastic door panels and no backseat were not what I was looking for (not to mention...it's a beetle, lol). Next the Tiguan, Routan... And reluctantly I agreed to sit in a Passat... I do have to say, my eyebrow went up as I just watched the driver's seat keep going back...and back... I fit, surprise... The economics of the situation? 31k, 6k rebate, 25k to finance....and 72 month 0%... Heh...I didn't see that coming...

2008 Volkswagen Passat Komfort ('08 hence the rebate)

2.0T

Only options: Ipod Adapter, Rear Side Airbags.

Cobalt Blue with a Black Interior.

The Passat at the tail end of her first real roadtrip, a weekend down at Ocean Shores - click for full size.

The Passat parked in the stall at the Condo I was staying at in Ocean Shores... Parked next to the only other vehicle in the entire lot (it was a weekday trip).

Well, I have to run right now... I know it's not another GM as I wanted the Malibu to be, but the Impala has never seemed to fit and the Malibu is just too tight on my knee. Other than that they were too small or too expensive this time round. It's nice to stop by here again and I'll catch you guys later as I actually do have to be somewhere...

Muahahahahahahahahahahaha...

I do have to say, nothing is quite as bad as when someone else moves the seat forward, you don't notice...and then try to sit while smacking your head on the doorway because for some reason......your rear end had no where to go...lol...

Let me see....

My best friend is getting married on the fourth...so I might have one or two things to do with that.

Pretty much the whole day there...

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?enclav01.wav=enclave

Here comes Seattle and we don't care who we face...they're dead....it's our time baby!

We had the Seahawks who never made the Super Bowl, but have made the Championships several times...we have the Mariners who can go almost all the way, but no entry into the World Series...we have the Super Sonics....who don't quite get their themselves... But hey...we've had the Storm...and they won their national championship...lol. It's time for Seattle to start winning.

Do you know what is NOT illegal in Washington? Heh...This shocked a lot of us up here.

LMAO... I didn't actually think you'd bring up Enumclaw!

The worst part is that I know someone from Enumclaw and he is so very embarassed about the whole incident, in fact he knows where the farm is (one of those things that everyone nearby knows about and tries to ignore).

So tell me, is "West Coast" another sub-language of the english language similar to "Minnesotan," "Deep South," "Austrailian" and "Bostonian"?

Hey, hey, hey...don't lump me in with them. California has their own language unto themselves... Unfortunately, PACNorWest is more known for having a lack of an accent. We're different in that we don't have one...lol.

And Satty manages to come up with another use of the term AI... Personally I was thinking more like....you know...Artificial Intelligence...the actual concept.

Sorry, I read too much Slashdot....

And here I was thinking, "Wow, a discussion on artificial intelligence on Cheers and Gears...."

Yet again... When I started playing online computer games 11 years ago..I needed a handle... Well, I'm not to horribly creative and figured I'd just start using "Alpha" and figure out something else later... Now even my real life friends know the name, and a few that I play games with call me by it occasionally (horribly scary...lol). Much less, back then...you didn't encounter too many other "Alpha's"...

But in case you guys ever end up at another board or game and notice: Alpha352... That would be me as well. Alpha + 352 the name of a gaming clan I was a member of and led for 5 years: 352nd Infantrie Division.

For me it's been bottled for three reasons: taste, container ease of use, and easy temperature control.

I used to put tap water in the fridge (I don't know why, but warm water makes me sick to my stomach...makes doing things away from civilization hard..lol)...but the problem is the plastic in most of the containers taints the taste of the water...

You can't be quite so general Croc...I don't know about you...but I'm on the San Juan plate. =)

And considering the plate under the Pacific Ocean is pushing against us and diving under the West Coast....the chances of SoCal floating away are nil...though we may be saying hi to some of those more nothern in about 500 million years or so.

True, but it's hard to find neighbors he can compare his collections to...

You know...I never quite got into the blogsphere as a participant...I do certainly read a couple...

-Fastlane occasionally

-Hennessey's Office 12 Blog

-InsideGoogle

...and a few others less often.

But I never quite got used to the idea of posting what I'm doing and thinking that often. But, if I were going to become a blogger, I'd go all the way...I own a domain with free wordpress software pre-installed.

1. Bottled Water

2. Bottled Water

3. Bottled Water

4. Bottled Water

5. Bottled Water

And the list goes on...occasionally I'll have milk if a meal warrants it and if it's desperately cold out...hot chocolate is appropriate...otherwise...water.

So . . . what kind of self-absorbed, materialistic douchebag are you?

The kind who fits in better with the neanderthal rednecks of the midwest.

He's more shotgun and cars on cinder blocks rather than cell phones and BMWs...

:P

Here's a perspective... -Most of the older guys are saying be hip and get an Impala SS... -Most of the younger guys are saying "screw the image" and get the Buick - it's a better car. And both still present their positions as though they are exceptions to the rule. I'm starting to think that the Buick really is for the younger guys, it is starting to have a pretty hip image (have you ever driven a Buick around HS-College aged kids? I'm always getting comments on how cool my Regal is...it's the adults that give me crap about it being an old person's car). And cars like the Impala SS are more appealing to the older generations who remember the hayday or at least lived with the cars around for a while.

Alpha, only if they're hardwood.

lol ocn...

And NOS, I don't know how much more "around" I will be....I just plan on keeping this on my daily news list of favorites and I might just be around some more. :AH-HA_wink:

As for a bit of news, back in November my computer that had been faithfully serving me for over 4 years finally gave out. The motherboard refused to load an operating system. I looked at the cost of replacing the motherboard, and in turn the processor, which also required new ram.....and the cost was getting pretty high... Instead I bought a dell. *hangs head in shame* Dell XPS 400 with 19" LCD - which has given me some serious trials with the software they've installed. I think that even after buying one myself, I am going to need to recommend that people stay away if they can afford to.

I imagine that a bundle of sticks could do a bit of damage as well.......

#76: It's the other guy's fault in the accident since he wasn't on his cell and properly multi-tasking.

#77: Road Rage isn't considered anything short of an actual firefight on the freeway.

#78: You just slept through that 7.0 earthquake, because only 8.0 is worth noting.

Just wanted to offer proof that its not me.

[post="67940"][/post]

That's proof of nothing Satty... I could do the same thing with firing up my laptop or any of the other 3 computers in the house and logging in... Different IP and they could be online at the same time. :)