The Passat! (R.I.P.)

[CJ]

Relax, guys. I still have my ES. Platinum, bitches.

[TurboDan]

Lol @ the B5 being a sport sedan. The B5 A... never mind, not the place.

"Sport" is subjective, but the B5 handled very well and was a nimble vehicle for its size and shape. It certainly was on a much different level than the vast majority of mainstream sedans, and very far removed from the feel of a Camcord.

[12,000 RPM]

Laugh all you want.  But it was a tight handling sedan that was fun to drive.

So were my Accords... they are still mainstreamers

[Raza]

So were my Accords... they are still mainstreamers

Doesn't make it any less a sport sedan, just because it's affordable.

[Byteme]

As mentioned in the "What Should Wizard Drive?" thread, I was tired of the ES and planning on selling it and getting something a little different. Sold the ES last Wednesday, went down to Dallas on Friday morning, and spent the rest of Friday and Saturday looking at cars. I looked at over a dozen cars and test drove all but two. Drove several 2000-2002 Lexus GSes (300s and one 400), a Mazda 6, and several Passats. Looked at an Acura TL but didn't drive it due to severe hail damage.

It's a 2008 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T Komfort! It's Graphite Blue on Black, just over 83,000 miles. When I headed down to car shop I was pretty confident I would end up with a GS but at the end of the day, this was the car I liked best. It drives very well, feels solid/well-built, and has pretty much all the toys I wanted as well.

Nice car.   Enjoy it.   

[cawimmer430]

The original Lexus ES250 looked cool. Definitely stood out compared to most of the generic car designs from the early 90s.

The interior on the other hand was just nasty in terms of design IMO.

[cawimmer430]

Relax, guys. I still have my ES. Platinum, bitches.

Your next car better be a 1974 Do...

[MX793]

The original Lexus ES250 looked cool. Definitely stood out compared to most of the generic car designs from the early 90s.

The interior on the other hand was just nasty in terms of design IMO.

It looked a lot like many other Japanese sedans of the late 80s.

[Laconian]

You must like my old Camry then, it's basically the same car.

[Madman]

Welcome to the Passat club! 

"Sport" is subjective, but the B5 handled very well and was a nimble vehicle for its size and shape. It certainly was on a much different level than the vast majority of mainstream sedans, and very far removed from the feel of a Camcord.

Very true.  I'm quite enjoying my B5.5 Passat.  It is very much the working man's Audi A4!

[Raza]

Welcome to the Passat club! 


Very true.  I'm quite enjoying my B5.5 Passat.  It is very much the working man's Audi A4!

When did you get the Passat?  Is there a thread?

[Madman]

When did you get the Passat?  Is there a thread?

Its in the SOTW thread.  Since anything I buy is automatically considered a shed, I saw no need to create a new thread. 

[thewizard16]

Thanks guys! Had the Passat in at my mechanic this week and turns out the tires were actually the incorrect width, which was causing the ridiculous wear on the inner part of the tire. I'd never heard of that happening before and the shop said they hadn't ever seen it on tires installed by a shop, just with individuals that tried to match up tires and wheels that didn't quite belong together. At any rate, there was also a screw in the sidewall of one and a big bolt stuck in another, so I got 4 new tires... Wasn't expecting that expense up front, but these things happen. The good news is everything else got a clean bill of health!

I have also been ordering a few little things for the Passat, the first of which came today. I put clear turn signals on the front of the car to match the lenses used on the mirrors. It's a subtle change but I like it.

Before:


After:






More little things here and there to come, but that's probably it for the exterior, I want to keep it looking as stock as possible, (or a slightly nicer version of stock). I also need to figure out how to get that damn front license plate bracket off and either replace the whole chrome piece or find a way to hide the holes.

[cawimmer430]

It looked a lot like many other Japanese sedans of the late 80s.

True, but these were pretty much only sold in Japan making this one a sort of "exotic".

[cawimmer430]

You must like my old Camry then, it's basically the same car.

Older Camry's have STYLE. I know how weird that sounds, but they do. 

[S204STi]

Did you get it aligned too?  Do that, if you haven't already.  Also, bear in mind that aggressive driving tends to wear the inner shoulders more rapidly.  Not that aggressive driving is bad, just costly.

[thewizard16]

Did you get it aligned too?  Do that, if you haven't already.  Also, bear in mind that aggressive driving tends to wear the inner shoulders more rapidly.  Not that aggressive driving is bad, just costly.

Oh, absolutely. New tires/balance/etc., alignment, general inspection, traced down a couple things they initially found suspicious that fortunately turned out to be something that had either been splashed up or spilled, and that was all it needed right now.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Older Camry's have STYLE. I know how weird that sounds, but they do. 

It could be argued that the peak of the japanese styling was in the mid 80's to mid/late 90's. Almost everything was "cleaner" back then and more cohesive. I think hyundai(granted not japanese, but asian) is one of the few that is currently experiencing their peak in the present.

[Raza]

They just used straight lines. I think people just like the styling they grew up seeing. In 30 years, kids today are going to wax nostalgic about the Scion tC and Nissan Juke, no matter how ugly they actually are.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

They just used straight lines. I think people just like the styling they grew up seeing. In 30 years, kids today are going to wax nostalgic about the Scion tC and Nissan Juke, no matter how ugly they actually are.

Even cars without straight lines(rx7,300zx) are in many ways superior to their successors. I think it has more to it than simply being the cars of ones youth.

[hotrodalex]

Even cars without straight lines(rx7,300zx) are in many ways superior to their successors. I think it has more to it than simply being the cars of ones youth.

Nah, I hate most 2005-2013 cars.

[12,000 RPM]

Thread kind of makes me lol.

Lexus has electrical problems. Whaddayadoo? Sell it, buy VOLKSWAGEN

Seriously though, I'm still jelly. If I have any say wifey's next car will be one of these wagons or a Tiguan

[thewizard16]

Thread kind of makes me lol.

Lexus has electrical problems. Whaddayadoo? Sell it, buy VOLKSWAGEN

Seriously though, I'm still jelly. If I have any say wifey's next car will be one of these wagons or a Tiguan

Damn straight. I had bad luck with a car manufactured in a country known for its electrical wizardry/reliability. So I figured what the hell, let's try a car from a country known for quirky/fickle electronics. As long as my pattern of "that shouldn't happen" holds, the Passat will have the most reliable electrical system they've ever made.

In other Passat related news, the head unit I had in the Lexus should be going in tomorrow or Wednesday (I got the incredibly complex looking adapter wired up as to retain steering wheel controls and properly interface with the car to not cause problems) as soon as the antenna adapter arrives, I had a body shop look at it today and they're going to try to take the couple dings out of it, try buffing the hood to fix a hazy area in the clear coat, and replace a piece of bottom door molding on the passenger door that is broken later this week or early next week, and I decided the easiest way to get rid of that front license plate bracket without it looking crappy was to replace the whole grille assembly, so that is also ordered. Should have it totally cleaned up within a week or so and looking good as new.

[cawimmer430]

It could be argued that the peak of the japanese styling was in the mid 80's to mid/late 90's. Almost everything was "cleaner" back then and more cohesive. I think hyundai(granted not japanese, but asian) is one of the few that is currently experiencing their peak in the present.

Those are my thoughts as well. The mid-1980s to the early/mid 1990s was my favorite era of Japanese car design (although many of their JDM cars from the '60s and '70s also looked good).

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

It could be argued that the peak of the japanese styling was in the mid 80's to mid/late 90's. Almost everything was "cleaner" back then and more cohesive. I think hyundai(granted not japanese, but asian) is one of the few that is currently experiencing their peak in the present.

Agreed!

[thewizard16]

Noticed that the car was hard to start after fueling up, and only after fueling up. Looked this up and discovered it was a pretty common problem in the 2.0T caused by the EVAP valve wearing out. Also decided that it was probably idling a little rougher than it was supposed to and had read that when the PCV valves on this engine wear out/get stuck they can cause pressure to build up a bit in the vacuum pump and cause an oil leak there. So, replaced both valves and the post-fueling problem is gone and the idle is lower and smoother. I like problems that I can actually fix!

Got the Kenwood screen installed in the dash, installed a new/nicer back-up camera than I had on the ES, and stainless exhaust tips put on. New grille should go on this week and after some work on the wheels where the finish is wearing in spots and it'll be looking better than new. (Pictures to follow grille + wheels.)

[93JC]

They just used straight lines. I think people just like the styling they grew up seeing. In 30 years, kids today are going to wax nostalgic about the Scion tC and Nissan Juke, no matter how ugly they actually are.

There's still something to be said for '80s-to-early-'90s design. E.g.



I see a car that is 'lean'; low, sleek. It's not festooned with headlights that stretch to the A-pillar or any of the other styling cues used to make otherwise boring appliances look 'stylish' today. There aren't any pointless curves in the sheetmetal. And look at the amount of sheetmetal between the tops of the tires and tops of the fenders. Not a lot there, nowhere near as much as there is now.

Can you honestly say this looks 'better':


?

[2o6]

I think they both look good.

[Raza]

There's still something to be said for '80s-to-early-'90s design. E.g.



I see a car that is 'lean'; low, sleek. It's not festooned with headlights that stretch to the A-pillar or any of the other styling cues used to make otherwise boring appliances look 'stylish' today. There aren't any pointless curves in the sheetmetal. And look at the amount of sheetmetal between the tops of the tires and tops of the fenders. Not a lot there, nowhere near as much as there is now.

Can you honestly say this looks 'better':


?

Better looking than a Hyundai does not mean it's good looking.  Hyundais are pretty fucking ugly right now. 

[Secret Chimp]

So were my Accords... they are still mainstreamers

I dunno WTF your standards are. My 97 was a comparative snooze.