Automobiles.

[kclofter]

Easy choice:

a) a Smart car http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/

or

b) a Tesla http://www.teslamotors.com

[chrizow]

thoughts on the 2008 Jetta? 

[mean]

I'd hit the GTI first. Second choice would be the TDI Jetta.

[LenexatoKCMO]

I have an '04 Golf that has been pretty bullitproof.  All of the new models are pretty sweet.  I second Mean's recomendation of the GTI - you can't pass up the opportunity to be the only guy on the block with plaid upholstery. 

[chrizow]

I'd hit the GTI first. Second choice would be the TDI Jetta.

no go on the GTI b/c i can't drive a stick and refuse to/don't want to learn...plaid interior is sweet though!

sadly the 08's don't come in a TDI, but they will in 09 (and they're also doing the new Jetta Wagon in a TDI).  i'm going to go with a top tier one i think, hopefully in silver, with some 19s on it. 

my impression is that VW is to cars what Apple is to computers - e.g. you just basically pay the price and that's it.  no good deals to be had.  thoughts?

[LenexatoKCMO]

no go on the GTI b/c i can't drive a stick and refuse to/don't want to learn...plaid interior is sweet though!

The VW/Audi DSG transmission is supposed to be the finest, sportiest auto slush box on the market.

my impression is that VW is to cars what Apple is to computers - e.g. you just basically pay the price and that's it.  no good deals to be had.  thoughts?

When I bought mine, I was able to work the dealer over pretty well - but that was far later in the model cycle and they were pretty hot to get rid of it.  You never know what they will do till you give it a shot though. 

[nota]

no go on the GTI b/c i can't drive a stick and refuse to/don't want to learn...plaid interior is sweet though!

Hilarious!!!

[chrizow]

Hilarious!!!

OMG!

[mean]

no go on the GTI b/c i can't drive a stick and refuse to/don't want to learn...plaid interior is sweet though!

First of all, you should learn to drive a stick. It is the only thing that makes driving worthwhile, and aside from that it is an important skill to have. Never know when you might need to drive someone else's car in an emergency. I would happily teach you, in exchange for beer.

That said, as Lenexa points out, you don't have to get the 6-spd manual. The optional 6-spd Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) is an "automanual" shifter that you can either set to play just like an automatic, or you can shift it manually (without having to manually activate the clutch). It is a highly regarded transmission, much like what you'll find on Forumla 1 racers and the Ferrari Enzo. Zoom!

[LenexatoKCMO]

Plus the GTI owners are a notoriously manual loving crowd, so you may be able to find a dealer with a DSG or two stuck on the lot - always a good opportunity for the buyer. 

[mean]

A salient point!

[chrizow]

definitely good info, thanks...i'll check out the GTIs when i go to the VW lot but i really don't think i want one.  i want either a sedan or a sports wagon.  i wish the volvo V50 wagons were faster...

[Highlander]

definitely good info...i'll check out the GTIs when i go to the VW lot but i really don't think i want one.  i want either a sedan or a sports wagon.  i wish the volvo V50 wagons were faster...

And take Mean up on the stick lessons.....once you learn, you'll never want to go back to an automatic. 

[chrizow]

And take Mean up on the stick lessons.....once you learn, you'll never want to go back to an automatic. 

but then i can't talk on the phone, change cd's, engage in physicality with the ladies, write lists, check blackberry, hold coffee, or gesticulate wildly with my right hand when i'm driving!

i do agree that i should learn how to drive a stick "just in case," but i really have no desire to own a car with a manual transmission.  a lot of people i know have them and love them but when i watch them drive i just don't want it.  i don't understand why i would ever want that.

[LenexatoKCMO]

or a sports wagon. 

The Jetta/Bora wagons should be here shortly, if they aren't already - I don't know if it will be available with the 2.0T. 

[chrizow]

The Jetta/Bora wagons should be here shortly, if they aren't already - I don't know if it will be available with the 2.0T. 

i thought so as well, but the vw site doesn't really mention them - although there is a photo of one.  the jetta wagons rule.  maybe i'll ask a salesperson when i go out to the lot.

any rec's on Baron v. Northtowne v. Molle?

[LenexatoKCMO]

I have mostly dealt with Baron - just because they are the only one remotely handy to my home-work corridor.  They have a bad rep for being over priced and hard to deal with but I have generally had the opposite experience - knock on wood.  I have to go in for my 40k tune up here in a week or two so I better go stock up on KY - though I think they have been cutting their service charges some. 

[Beermo]

but then i can't talk on the phone, change cd's, engage in physicality with the ladies, write lists, check blackberry, hold coffee, or gesticulate wildly with my right hand when i'm driving!

i do agree that i should learn how to drive a stick "just in case," but i really have no desire to own a car with a manual transmission.  a lot of people i know have them and love them but when i watch them drive i just don't want it.  i don't understand why i would ever want that.

if you drive an econobox that has a little, bitty motor in it i can see why you don't want a stick. same can be said for driving a luxury car.

if you drive a car with some hi-po in it you wouldn't want anything but a stick. i drive a chevy pickup with a 496 vortec motor and a 6 speed ZF manual tranny. it's just plain 'ol fun driving it. lots of fun a matter of fact. i added an 8-ball to the shifter and also have a smaller 8-ball steering wheel turner that you usually find on tractors. my truck is a blast to drive.



the reason it's a blast to drive is it has a stick and more motor than should be legal. it will pretty much outrun anything on the road. there are exceptions, but it will get up and go and go and go some more and you can physically feel and hear the power. that power sucks you in.

driving should be a fun experience. not a chore that you hate. when you have a vehicle that is fun to drive, you're having too much fun to be multi-tasking. besides if you want to do office work in your car, stay at the office. if you want to have sex in your car, get a room instead. when you're in your car, drive and have fun.

zoom, zoom, zoom!

[mean]

but then i can't talk on the phone, change cd's, engage in physicality with the ladies, write lists, check blackberry, hold coffee, or gesticulate wildly with my right hand when i'm driving!

Hah! Actually you can, just wait to shift or do it on the highway.*

*Not recommended.

i do agree that i should learn how to drive a stick "just in case," but i really have no desire to own a car with a manual transmission.  a lot of people i know have them and love them but when i watch them drive i just don't want it.  i don't understand why i would ever want that.

Well, I used to feel the same way. It was actually my wife who forced my hand, because just before we got married my car at the time (a rusty 1970 Cutlass w/ Rocket 350...ahhh) died permanently and unceremoniously during a traffic stop on 291, and all we had was her little manual Ford Festiva. I whined and complained and shook my fist, but in the end it came down to learning to drive the thing or not going to work, as we hadn't the funds at the time for even a most crappy used automatic (due in part to the excessive speeding ticket garnered at the scene of the Cutlass's death). I grudgingly agreed to learn, with the caveat that as soon as we had the money, her Festiva was going to the scrap yard in favor of a car with an acceptable transmission. So she taught me, and despite the vague emasculation I experienced at being taught how to drive a stick by a girl, it was kind of like drinking good beer for the first time. An epiphany!

There's all kinds of beer out there, it's a massive industry; but most people who drink it don't appreciate it. They probably don't even realize you can appreciate it, beyond the fact that it gets you drunk, and they assume that anything "better" than what they're used to is a frivolity enjoyed by a small sect of strange people with names like "Horatio". Certainly drinking better beer can't increase the pleasure of drinking beer, because the only pleasure in it is the fact that it gets you to your destination (drunkenness) and all beer does that equally well. Right? Wrong! The journey to intoxication (or work)* can, in fact, be the best part.

*Both at the same time not recommended.

Also, there is a 4-door GTI. Just sayin.

That said, there's nothing wrong with the Jetta wagons, though if I were going that route I'd probably hit up an A4 Avant with the V6. Yum.

[chrizow]

excellent info.

lenexa - i've heard the same thing about Baron.  i guess they feel they can do that since they have the largest selection and are in a more affluent part of town (or at least it's near two affluent parts of town, plaza/mission hills/nejoco and sojoco).  if they give me a hard time i'll go check out northtowne.