A Horse With No Name

I was mentioning this in another thread, this is the wave of the future, you might as well adjust emotionally now. Think this is quite a good idea actually.

Probably a good many of them will be sadly crushed-the gen 1 cars (2009-2014, everything other than Passat) do not have the Ad Blue/urea and will require extensive modifications to comply. Plus VW needs to warranty the repairs for a set period of time, several years and something like 48,000 miles. So it may well be more economically viable to crush these rather than repair them. At a bare minimum, VW has to cut the unibody below the doors and put a three inch hole in the engine block, they must also certify that the ECU and emissions components have been destroyed. Export is not allowed unless cars have been repaired to spec, and even then VW is required by law to warranty the cars. The crash market for 2012 Jettas parts, or (pick your model) is small enough that I wonder if it won't be more economically viable just to crush intact the majority of cars that come in. Toyota did this with the Tacoma Frame recall. I was working as an electrician and we were building a car wash across from the local Toyota dealer when the Frame buy back was going on. One day I saw five loaded car carriers of Tacomas being hauled out of there. And there were other shipments as well. Interestingly enough, multiple hundreds of cars were also hauled out of there to be crushed during the cash for clunkers thing.... Kind of sad to be crushing decent usable vehicles in any case. Ohh it is gorgeous. MINI needs to follow VW's lead and come up with some new colors. Our 03 Cooper is is Red, thought I would get tired of it, over the years I have quite grown to like it. Would love to get a Fiesta St in the bright green they had....

Agreed. I like the Cruze a bit better. But I actually am thinking VOLT for the next family car. Agree completely, this thing really is MUCH nicer than the new Civic. We looked at the three the last 4 times I bought a car, and then didn't buy it. Agreed on a little over rated. And I am disappointed at how Honda has been cheapening things...it really shows in their products.

That could well be. But there will be people inside the organization fighting that change, and I think that is what is going on. In a few years, it will be Jeeps, Fiats, the odd muscle car, and RAM trucks. and even then, they are putting a lot of money into incentives to keep moving RAM trucks after the sales figure scandal. Methinks the investors are not too happy at this point. More on the trouble with FCA and investors.

I will have to check that out. Manuals are rapidly going the way of the DODO Bird. Local VW dealer I bought the TDI from had one manual GTI on the lot last I checked, local Chevy dealer had one manual Vette, everything else was auto, MINI dealer has two or three manuals last I checked, Subie dealer has zero manuals other than a couple of WRX/STI, Dodge dealer had one Abarth Manual.... ...and I would be wary of buying any Vw product new at the moment, resale on them has tanked with the Diesel scandal. Might work if you were going to keep one for a very long time.... That being said, both the Habanero orange and the Bottle green are nicer than the Silk Blue on the Beetle, which is drop dead gorgeous.

Stone Soul Picnic....a song by the 5th dimension! ...and if we could just get a nice early 1970's Cutlass convertible and a sunny day so I can enjoy this on an original 8 track, methinks I would be very happy.

Probably a corporate heritage thing.

I am impressed honestly with how well you spent your money. This encourages me to shop a little harder for my next car...

This is exciting...meanwhile, Germany is seriously consider banning the sale of internal combustion cars after 2029.

Rolling Stone Magazine

Yes it is...for what he paid for it, should be a reliable car for many years to come. color, condition, manual six speed....I like it! I can see why you like it.

Melting pot.

I think i am going to wind up getting a Volt. That and a BRZ. All wheel drive and the stoutness of minor items such as power window switches, door hinges, et al would probably push me towards an Impreza were I to be buying a normal car. However, i never (or almost never) buy normal cars.

Cow patty....

Considering that they will buy back mine for what I paid for it two years and 50,000 miles later, yes it is.

Not sure what I would do if I were buying a small non sporty car. methinks I would buy a 2017 (Upcoming) Imprezza. Subaru feels much more solid, has AWD, decent fuel economy with the new Direct injection 2.0. Not stellar, but that is where I would put my cash. I do not like the new Cruze. At this point though, I think that I am going to buy a BRZ to replace the MINI Cooper S at some point, and would like to find a clean used Volt to replace the TDI when VW buys it back.

Indeed!

Agree with your comments-I like it the best of the small cars I think, a long with the Jetta. The styling is definitely a ten, especially in comparison to the offerings from Hyundai and a few of the others.

A wonderful car, and more people should make this choice. Mazda does seem to depreciate more quickly than other makes, and the back seat is tight compared to the Corolla and perhaps the Jetta. I also do not trust Mazda in terms of corrosion protection. Living in the rust belt I see a lot of fairly new Mazdas starting to rust out. Still, this thing is almost a ten in my book. Well written review!

A lot of times things can be made to work very well with minimal input. I have worked in the field as an Electrical and refrigeration service tech, and also as a foreman. the installation seems like it needs some teething and troubleshooting, not abandonment.

In any case, lots of very successful Geo thermal installations exist. Perhaps his brothers could be made to work well.

That was Geothermal. FWIW Ball State University invested heavily in Geothermal and it is saving them a boatload of money heating and powering a campus in the snow belt. One bad experience does not invalidate a technology any more than a rusty 73 Vega means that all GM vehicles will disintegrate in six months....

Ditto....curious to see how this came out.

No, the only thing being your brother means is that he obviously got the brains and the looks in the family (ducks from flying wrench flung towards Ohio.). We cannot rely on fossil fuels forever, but I am not sure why we are polarized as much as we are in energy discussions-there will still be lots of fossil fueled vehicles thirty years from now, and fossil fuels will still be widely used thirty years from now. Developing new technology before we run out or have other issues is the rational policy of adults in the room, something both political parties sadly lack.