Volkswagen released their “New” Beetle for the 1998 model year with lots of fanfare and flowery marketing from the biggest European auto manufacturer. Ironically, the New Beetle was built on the chassis that killed the old Beetle — the front-wheel-drive Golf. Today’s example started as a simple 1.8T powered 5-speed, but now it has a […]
The world is filled with yawn inducing boring stuff. Just look at your nearest Toyondaordmotorstallanis dealer. The stuff you see in the showrooms is an insult to the 7 year old version of yourself who dared to dream about driving someday. It is boring, safe, comfortable, and gives you this false sense of security about arriving at your destination without stopping to diagnose a strange noise or soldering a coil pack harness on Christmas eve (true story from this past Xmas). These safe and sensible cars are fine for the zombified masses who wear name brands like RFID ear tags and read the fine print before signing mortgage docs — but readers of this rag know better. We know the feeling of success and relief when reaching your destination. And we understand that swapping a modern 1.8T Audi/VW engine into a vintage Caddy is a thing of beauty. Find this 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup Sportruck offered for $7000 in Machester, VT via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
The Passat has been Volkswagen’s large family sedan option for many years and it is typically been based on a platform shared with the Golf and built in Mexico, but the B5 generation Volkswagen Passat was built on a Germany built platform shared with the Audi A4/A6 from 1997 through 2005. This means that it […]
The B5 generation Volkswagen Passat was launched in 1997 for the US market but was restyled midway through the 2001 model year and re-released as the B5.5. Regardless of generation, it seems that the Passat generates a love-it/hate-it reaction in former and current owners alike. Some despise it for seemingly endless eletro-mechanical gremlins while others […]
It was nice this weekend to sleep an extra hour courtesy of the additional hour shoved down our throats by the US Department of Transportation (yes, the US D.O.T. is in charge of standardizing time zones since the Uniform Time Act of 1966). As we transition back into Standard Time, we’d like to take this […]
Q is most definitely for quattro – that’s right, with a lowercase q since we are referring to the all wheel drive system and not the vehicle of the same name in which it debuted. That car would be the Quattro, colloquially known as the Ur-Quattro or UrQ for short. The car below is a few […]
The 337 Edition of the Mk4 Golf (1997-2006) was sold for the 25th Anniversary of the launch of the VW GTi, which if I did the math correctly was in 1976. The 337 was a throwback to an internal designation for the GTi when it was first launched and the special edition consisted of Reflex […]
The B5 generation Passat is 20 years old. Let that sink into your head. This car isn’t a spring chicken, but it doesn’t look like an artifact from a bygone era or something that your grandfather would drive. Yes, this next one is a bit scratched up, and the rear windows don’t work, but it […]
The cars that become collector cars in the future aren’t always the fastest and most bodacious handling cars from the current era. Just look at all the ill-handling and slow Porsches, Mercedes-Benzes and Austin-Healeys that have become the darling of collectors — nobody cares if their 60s car is fast on a track, they want […]
Today’s third Syncro de Mayo entry is not a vintage Vanagon or a sweet Mk 2 Golf Country, but it does have VW’s syncro all-wheel drive system which was later known as 4Motion. Those earlier syncro Golfs and Vanagons have become expensive due to the uniqueness of their drive systems, so we’ll have to dig into the early 2000s to find something appropriately cheap and ready for your 4×4 adventures. This B5.5 Passat is the unicorn of Passats — it has all of the right pieces — 6-speed, 4Motion, and 1.8T 4-banger. You might wonder why anyone would want the smallest engine in the family (versus the 2.8V6, or 4.0W8) but it is the lightest of all engines and easily more powerful than the V6 with the addition of a simple ECU chip and with some intake/exhaust and a small turbo upgrade it’ll blow the doors off the W8 as well. Trust me, get the 1.8T and feed it premium fuel and synthetic oil, you won’t regret it. Find this 2004 Volkswagen Passat GLS 4Motion offered for $2800 in Sacramento, CA via craigslist. Tip from Michael.