Rabbit Upgraded for 2008 MY

[Galaxy]

Coincidentally their move to 'premium-mainstream' shoved profits and sales deep, deep down the shitter.

Well they seem to be improving. In 2006 the VW  stock went up more then 100% and last week their stock price has hit an all time high. They made a pre tax profit of ? 4.2 billion in 2006.

[the Teuton]

That's probably because Porsche is most likely going to buy the rest of the company.

[Galaxy]

That's probably because Porsche is most likely going to buy the rest of the company.

That pushed the stock price but it has nothing to do with the profit. Audi has something to do with that though

All in all VW is in mutch better shape now.

[SJ_GTI]

AutoWeek says it's 3072 lbs:

http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070223/FREE/70216005&SearchID=73275540806376

I am not sure I would take anything they have to say seriously:

The Rabbit is a nice car, but the price could use a trim. The base three-door Rabbit costs $14,990, but the five-door jumps to $17,620. (A grand a door? Seems excessive.)

I like this engine much less than the 2.0-liter turbo, but it wasn?t bad. To get the turbo, you have to go to the GTI, which starts at $22,100. (The five-door GTI?s price only goes up $500. Something weird is going on with the pricing of these cars.)

A simple 5 minute visit to the VW website reveals a much higher standard list of equipment in the 5-door Rabbit compared to the 2-door, hence the price difference. Although reasonably equipped (for an economy car), the 2-door is the "base" model, while getting 4 doors pushes you beyond the base. IMHO the 2-door is still the better deal (assuming you don't want options like heated seats and a sunroof), but you do get extra "Stuff" in the 4-door for your money. In the GTI, the price difference is so small because the equipment levels really are exactly identical.

[SJ_GTI]

Check out TrueDelta.com. It has a handy price/feature comparison for any combination of cars. When accounting for features, the Rabbit appears to be cheaper than a Civic. A Civic DX is about the same price as a 2-door rabbit...but guess which one comes with air condition, 4-wheel disc ABS brakes, traction control, etc...? The only features I could see on a civic that isn't included on the Rabbit are intermittent wipers and vanity mirrors. In fact a 14,990 2-door Rabbit has features about on par with a 16,760 Civic LX Coupe.

So are VW's expensive? Sure, if you are comparing to Ford Focuses and Chevy Cobalts. But compared to other imports its seems reasonable to me.

[TheIntrepid]

Wait wait wait... the Rabbit doesn't have intermittent wipers? My 1990 Camry had that!

[Catman]

The Rabbit is overpriced in my opinion and 20 hp wouldn't make a difference to me.

[Raza]

The Rabbit is overpriced in my opinion and 20 hp wouldn't make a difference to me.

[Catman]

It is nicer than the new C class though.

[SJ_GTI]

Wait wait wait... the Rabbit doesn't have intermittent wipers? My 1990 Camry had that!

The base 2-door Rabbit doesn't have them.

The base 2-door civic doesn't have air conditioning, 4-wheel disc brakes, ABS, traction control, etc...

If intermittent wipers are more important than all of those the Civic is a better deal. 

[The Pirate]

The base 2-door Rabbit doesn't have them.

The base 2-door civic doesn't have air conditioning, 4-wheel disc brakes, ABS, traction control, etc...

If intermittent wipers are more important than all of those the Civic is a better deal. 

I haven't checked the Honda site, but I'm pretty sure the base DX Civic doesn't have intermittent wipers either.  Mine doesn't, and the the "loaded" '02 Protege I drove didn't have them either.

[280Z Turbo]

Heheheheh...

My '76 Datsun has intermittent wipers!

[SJ_GTI]

Heheheheh...

My '76 Datsun has intermittent wipers!

I guess it wasn't clear.

The base Rabbit, with no options, does not have intermittent wipers. The Rabbit does have intermitent wipers in every other variation.

[Tave]

My '86 4runner had intermittent wipers, my 05 Aveo doesn't. What kind of bulls**t is that?

[The Pirate]

Yeah, now that I think about, my freaking '91 Ford Ranger had intermittent wipers, too.  Of course, the wiper operation was a bit sporadic on that truck, so intermittent is in fact a very accurate term.

[TheIntrepid]

My 560SL had them... but then again it was a 560SL.

[93JC]

The base 2-door Rabbit doesn't have them.

The base 2-door civic doesn't have air conditioning, 4-wheel disc brakes, ABS, traction control, etc...

If intermittent wipers are more important than all of those the Civic is a better deal.?

Believe it or not, I'd much rather have intermittent wipers than A/C, rear disc brakes, ABS and TCS...

[Vinsanity]

Believe it or not, I'd much rather have intermittent wipers than A/C, ...

that's because you guys don't have summer up in Canada :P

[93JC]

We do, just not disgustingly hot. (80s, fahrenheit, usually. Sometimes it just squeaks into the 90s.)

Honestly, I have it in the Spirit, but I rarely use it. Whereas I use intermittent wipers whenever it rains.

[Raza]

We do, just not disgustingly hot. (80s, fahrenheit, usually. Sometimes it just squeaks into the 90s.)

Honestly, I have it in the Spirit, but I rarely use it. Whereas I use intermittent wipers whenever it rains.

When we're talking intermittent wipers, we mean the first multi-speed setting that allows you to change the speed within a single setting, right?  Not rain sensing wipers, right?

If I'm right, they don't really seem like a big deal. 

[Vinsanity]

When we're talking intermittent wipers, we mean the first multi-speed setting that allows you to change the speed within a single setting, right?? Not rain sensing wipers, right?

If I'm right, they don't really seem like a big deal.?

actually, 93JC has a point. we got a light drizzle yesterday, and while I have intermittent wipers, I wish I had the adjustable-variable-delay types like in my old car. I never knew they still made cars without intermittent wipers before this thread

[The Pirate]

Well, I'm confused then, what are intermittent wipers?  I thought they were the adjustable-variable delay type that Vinsanity mentioned.  My car lacks those.

[93JC]

When we're talking intermittent wipers, we mean the first multi-speed setting that allows you to change the speed within a single setting, right?? Not rain sensing wipers, right?

Right. Your average intermittent wiper set-up will have a variable setting that varies the time between wiper swipes between 5 to 20 seconds, then you have a regular 'on-all-the-time' low speed setting, and a high speed setting.

If I'm right, they don't really seem like a big deal. 

Oh trust me, not having them sucks donkey balls. My dad's Dakota doesn't have them, and it's one of the missing features on that truck (in addition to not having enough power, a tighter turning radius, good brakes and taught suspension) that makes me despise it when I drive it (although it isn't bad for what it is: a little work truck). You have no idea how annoying it is to have to reach down every ten seconds to click the wipers on and off in a light rain.

As silly as it seems, intermittent wipers are one feature I don't thing I could bring myself to lvie without. Power windows, power seats, power mirrors, power doors: completely unnecessary. But not having intermittent wipers would drive me up the wall.

[TheIntrepid]

I wish I had a "Mist" feature.

[93JC]

Whoa whoa whoa... 'mist'? A 'mist' feature is typically what you would call the setting that activates the washer fluid pump.

[TheIntrepid]

No no... "mist" in Cavaliers referred to the thing where you just flick the wiper thing and it retracts back to the "off" position after the wipers go up and down once. It's hard to explain, but it's to be used in 'mist' so that you don't have to turn on your wipers and turn them back off.

[93JC]

Never heard of it. Nor would I find any use for it: you could do the same just turning it on and off.

[TheIntrepid]

Hmm I would think the Spirit has it. My girlfriend's car certainly does.

[Raza]

Never heard of it. Nor would I find any use for it: you could do the same just turning it on and off.

The Passat has it.  To activate the wipers, you click up, to use the washer fluid, you pull towards you, and to just send the blades once you click down.

[93JC]

Hmm I would think the Spirit has it.

Nope. Wiper controls are on the turn signal stalk, with a small rotating piece on the end. Push on the end (toward the steering column) to get a few wipes with the washer fluid, rotate away from you to activate intermittent mode at 5 second intervals, keep turning to vary the interval up to 20 (30?) seconds, keep turning to a detent for low-speed always-on, and keep turning to the last detent for high-speed.

That's it.

I suppose you guys have it on another stalk on the right side of the wheel, right? I've noticed most new cars have two (or three!) steering column stalks.