Golf VII GTI

[Galaxy]

+

Some horrible JPEG compression there.  


220hp, 230 with a performance package, whatever that is.

[AutobahnSHO]

what's with manual gearknobs that look like automatics nowadays?? I saw a Mustang the other day that had 3 pedals and a gearshift knob that looked EXACTLY like that one.

Anyway the wheels on the red one are really hot. 220+hp in a car that small would ROCK.

[Galaxy]

That is a DSG, however a manual is available.

[SVT666]

what's with manual gearknobs that look like automatics nowadays?? I saw a Mustang the other day that had 3 pedals and a gearshift knob that looked EXACTLY like that one.

Anyway the wheels on the red one are really hot. 220+hp in a car that small would ROCK.

That 3rd pedal is a dead pedal...not the clutch.

[Cookie Monster]

That 3rd pedal is a dead pedal...not the clutch.

Maybe the Mustang he was talking about was a manual?

[SVT666]

Maybe the Mustang he was talking about was a manual?

Mustang shift knobs are not like that.  If it was like that, then the owner put an aftermarket knob on it.

[Raza]

Looks great.  Might be one of the last enthusiast cars we ever see.  Cling to this, friends.  Das Ende ist nahe.

[Cookie Monster]

Looks great.  Might be one of the last enthusiast cars we ever see.  Cling to this, friends.  Das Ende ist nahe.

Um, what?

[Raza]

Um, what?

Es bedeutet "das Ende nahe ist" in deutscher Sprache.

Tu nicht so, dass wir nicht unter Beschuss von eco-weenies.

[Madman]

Looks great.  Might be one of the last enthusiast cars we ever see.

Gearheads have been saying this for the last 40 years.  Don't believe it.

[Raza]

Gearheads have been saying this for the last 40 years.  Don't believe it.

I look at the cars we have now and the cars on the horizon and I believe it.  Look at the direction of supercars now.  Supercomputers with automatic transmissions built to look great on a spec sheet instead and sell at an incredibly high price to people who know so little about driving they can't be trusted to drive their own cars.  Even Volkswagen makes it a point to debut their performance models with automatic transmissions.  The MkV R32 was sold in the US as an automatic only when the MkIV was manual only. 

We are a dying breed.

[2o6]

 

[Madman]

1966:  Seatbelts?  Why do we need seatbelts?  People should just learn not to crash into things!  This will be the end of REAL cars!

1975:  Unleaded gasoline?  This will kill performance!  This is the end, I tell you!

1981:  Fuel injection?  What, no carbs?  It's the death of sporty cars!

1985:  Front wheel drive?  Heresy!  No more burnouts?  The end is near!!!!!!

1992:  Airbags?  Remember what I said back in '66 about people not crashing into things?

1997:  Anti-lock brakes?  What, you pussies need help to stop now?  It's the end.  I mean it this time!

2000:  Traction control?  Oh, come on!  The death of performance is upon us!

2008:  Electronic stability control?  Dammit, this is really the end.  No, really.  This time I mean it!!!

[Cookie Monster]

1966:  Seatbelts?  Why do we need seatbelts?  People should just learn not to crash into things!  This will be the end of REAL cars!

1975:  Unleaded gasoline?  This will kill performance!  This is the end, I tell you!

1981:  Fuel injection?  What, no carbs?  It's the death of sporty cars!

1985:  Front wheel drive?  Heresy!  No more burnouts?  The end is near!!!!!!

1992:  Airbags?  Remember what I said back in '66 about people not crashing into things?

1997:  Anti-lock brakes?  What, you pussies need help to stop now?  It's the end.  I mean it this time!

2000:  Traction control?  Oh, come on!  The death of performance is upon us!

2008:  Electronic stability control?  Dammit, this is really the end.  No, really.  This time I mean it!!!

2012: Golf VII GTI debuts with automatic transmission? Well, it was nice knowing you all. The auto enthusiast is dead.

[Raza]

Hey, if you guys are cool with the direction cars are going in now--hybrids, EVs, automatics, high weight, et al--then more power to you.  But the more new cars that come out, the less I'm interested in new cars.  There are a few glimmering bastions of hope, like the FRBRSZ, but by and large the automotive landscape for people who enjoy driving is becoming a smaller and smaller plot of land. 

[MexicoCityM3]

There is an article in last week's economist about how the "love affair" with the automobile is ending in western advanced society. Younger generations care less for the car and see it more as an appliance and necessary evil than ever before. Public transport and other means of urban mobility (like biking) are on the rise. Eco-consciousness is ever rising. People see less need to meet in person when permanently conmected on-line. So on and so forth.

When we complain about things like BMW "abandoning" enthusiasts it is really the company "following" these new trends.

On the bright side, I don't see a total dearth of options for enthusiasts. As long as we still have options, I am happy. There are many good cars coming. Examples:

- It seems the VAG MQB platform cars are shaping up pretty good ( Golf, Leon, A3 ). All lighter than the previous generation and definitely a good drive.
- The BMW 1 & 3 series. For all C&D's bitching about EPS and Sporty's (I have to cite all authoritative sources here  ) bitching about turbos, are still great cars to drive. If you ask me, the chassis on these cars is better than ever as an enthusiast. And the auto box too - heresy as that may be.
- The Tobaru, as mentioned here several times
- All "traditional" Porsches are still fantastic cars.
- All MINI's, for all their goofiness, are definitely fun to drive.
- Cadillacs. Yes. Incredibly so but most definitely yes.
- The current breed of american muscle cars are better then ever. Who'd have thought a few years ago Mustangs and Camaros would be pummeling M cars and Porsches around tracks - in Europe!
- Assorted Japanese cars. Infinity Gs (as witnessed here by many), the unbelievable GTR, etc.

Then there is the idea of the "evolving" enthusiast, that one who finds new pleasures in driving. Things like trying to extract the best possible MPG out of your car. That can be fun too. Ok, it will never match a pedal to the medal romp around your favourite mountain road, but on a clogged city highway, I'll take what fun I can get.

[Raza]

There is an article in last week's economist about how the "love affair" with the automobile is ending in western advanced society. Younger generations care less for the car and see it more as an appliance and necessary evil than ever before. Public transport and other means of urban mobility (like biking) are on the rise. Eco-consciousness is ever rising. People see less need to meet in person when permanently conmected on-line. So on and so forth.

When we complain about things like BMW "abandoning" enthusiasts it is really the company "following" these new trends.

On the bright side, I don't see a total dearth of options for enthusiasts. As long as we still have options, I am happy. There are many good cars coming. Examples:

- It seems the VAG MQB platform cars are shaping up pretty good ( Golf, Leon, A3 ). All lighter than the previous generation and definitely a good drive.
- The BMW 1 & 3 series. For all C&D's bitching about EPS and Sporty's (I have to cite all authoritative sources here  ) bitching about turbos, are still great cars to drive. If you ask me, the chassis on these cars is better than ever as an enthusiast. And the auto box too - heresy as that may be.
- The Tobaru, as mentioned here several times
- All "traditional" Porsches are still fantastic cars.
- All MINI's, for all their goofiness, are definitely fun to drive.
- Cadillacs. Yes. Incredibly so but most definitely yes.
- The current breed of american muscle cars are better then ever. Who'd have thought a few years ago Mustangs and Camaros would be pummeling M cars and Porsches around tracks - in Europe!
- Assorted Japanese cars. Infinity Gs (as witnessed here by many), the unbelievable GTR, etc.

Then there is the idea of the "evolving" enthusiast, that one who finds new pleasures in driving. Things like trying to extract the best possible MPG out of your car. That can be fun too. Ok, it will never match a pedal to the medal romp around your favourite mountain road, but on a clogged city highway, I'll take what fun I can get.

I agree with a lot of what you've said, but dwindling options is a sign.  But getting great MPG is never fun!

[AltinD]

I like the C-pillar, it reminds me allot with the Mk IV, but I don' like the 'cut' on the lower rear corner of the rear window. I do like the driver-oriented dash, another reminiscence of the Mk IV. Overall, I have yet to warm up to the design.


PS: Remaining on the VW subject, I saw in flesh the first US-made Passat, and it looks HORRIBLE. Kill it, kill it with fire .... if I want t Camcord, I'd buy a Camcord   

[Raza]

PS: Remaining on the VW subject, I saw in flesh the first US-made Passat, and it looks HORRIBLE. Kill it, kill it with fire .... if I want t Camcord, I'd buy a Camcord   

It's working for them.  My friend was about to buy a Camry, then he and his wife drove the Passat, and they both preferred it and bought that instead.  Japanizing it is getting them more sales.  Midsize sedans aren't really for enthusiasts anyway.  I mourn the loss of a fun Passat, but I understand it.  Sell more Passats, get better Golfs.

[AutobahnSHO]

  But getting great MPG is never fun!

WHAT!?!?!    Miata gets 28mpg at WOT every gear, every light. (up to 50mph. )

Newer ones get probably the same too!...

[Raza]

WHAT!?!?!    Miata gets 28mpg at WOT every gear, every light. (up to 50mph. )

Newer ones get probably the same too!...

Yeah, but 28mpg isn't great.

And that's a lot more than most people get in Miatas.  My friend got like 24-25 (before he started modifying it, I bet it's a lot worse now).

[TurboDan]

There is an article in last week's economist about how the "love affair" with the automobile is ending in western advanced society. Younger generations care less for the car and see it more as an appliance and necessary evil than ever before. Public transport and other means of urban mobility (like biking) are on the rise.

The young people who believe this are the young people whose apartments in ultra-high-rent cities like NYC and San Francisco are subsidized by their parents. Once the gravy train ends and they come back to Earth and move some place practical (meaning out of Manhattan) they might find pleasure in driving again.

There are also those whose lives aren't subsidized my mommy and daddy who live 4-roomies-to-a-1-bedroom-apartment and are content "roughing it" in the "big city" on their own. They won't be roughing it forever.

My generation of people in their 20s got messed up by living the high life in beautiful suburbs and wanting new adventures away from their cushy childhood homes. In a couple years, they'll all be crawling back after they realize being an urban hipster is a miserable existence.

There are also very, very few people who truly care about global warming and emissions to the point where it would actually stop them from owning a car.

[Northlands]

Nice car, but Raza's right.

[2o6]

The young people who believe this are the young people whose apartments in ultra-high-rent cities like NYC and San Francisco are subsidized by their parents. Once the gravy train ends and they come back to Earth and move some place practical (meaning out of Manhattan) they might find pleasure in driving again.

There are also those whose lives aren't subsidized my mommy and daddy who live 4-roomies-to-a-1-bedroom-apartment and are content "roughing it" in the "big city" on their own. They won't be roughing it forever.

My generation of people in their 20s got messed up by living the high life in beautiful suburbs and wanting new adventures away from their cushy childhood homes. In a couple years, they'll all be crawling back after they realize being an urban hipster is a miserable existence.

There are also very, very few people who truly care about global warming and emissions to the point where it would actually stop them from owning a car.

Probably because unemployment is at an all time high, and so is car ownership.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah, but 28mpg isn't great.

And that's a lot more than most people get in Miatas.  My friend got like 24-25 (before he started modifying it, I bet it's a lot worse now).

Pfft I could milk way more than that. And most people don't know how to drive.    

[Raza]

Pfft I could milk way more than that. And most people don't know how to drive.    

He does run low 14s on "low boost" setting, though.  There's also a high boost setting.  So it's one fast NA MX-5.  He drives a Mazda2 daily. 

[TurboDan]

Probably because unemployment is at an all time high, and so is car ownership.

That's part of it. But a bigger part is the percentage of people in their 20s who came from families who had shitloads of money during the tech bubbles and such. Kids like Raza and I learned to appreciate decent cars during that period (my dad rocked an SC400 during bubble times, etc.) and eventually broke away to make our own success stories. Others rebelled and wanted to become Occupy Wall Street losers and live the "slum life" in big cities without a dollar to their name.

I'll take my Land Rover in my family's small home on a barrier island over no whip and a life in a postage stamp apartment in NYC or a nice neighborhood in Philly. I'm sure Raza's cool with his Z4 in his condo. 

[Soup DeVille]

1966:  Seatbelts?  Why do we need seatbelts?  People should just learn not to crash into things!  This will be the end of REAL cars!

1975:  Unleaded gasoline?  This will kill performance!  This is the end, I tell you!

1981:  Fuel injection?  What, no carbs?  It's the death of sporty cars!

1985:  Front wheel drive?  Heresy!  No more burnouts?  The end is near!!!!!!

1992:  Airbags?  Remember what I said back in '66 about people not crashing into things?

1997:  Anti-lock brakes?  What, you pussies need help to stop now?  It's the end.  I mean it this time!

2000:  Traction control?  Oh, come on!  The death of performance is upon us!

2008:  Electronic stability control?  Dammit, this is really the end.  No, really.  This time I mean it!!!

For the record, my '75 Eldo had as available options, both airbags and anti-lock brakes.

But, the owner's manual was still sketchy about things like safety (it suggests, among other things, that standing children be kept in the back seat area- if possible that is)

[MX793]

For the record, my '75 Eldo had as available options, both airbags and anti-lock brakes.

But, the owner's manual was still sketchy about things like safety (it suggests, among other things, that standing children be kept in the back seat area- if possible that is)

Ah, the good ole days, when 2-doors had sufficient standing room in the back.

[2o6]

That's part of it. But a bigger part is the percentage of people in their 20s who came from families who had shitloads of money during the tech bubbles and such. Kids like Raza and I learned to appreciate decent cars during that period (my dad rocked an SC400 during bubble times, etc.) and eventually broke away to make our own success stories. Others rebelled and wanted to become Occupy Wall Street losers and live the "slum life" in big cities without a dollar to their name.

I'll take my Land Rover in my family's property on a barrier island over no whip and a life in a postage stamp apartment in NYC or a nice neighborhood in Philly. I'm sure Raza's cool with his Z4 in his condo. 

Most people in their 20's didn't come from money.....