New Cars 2012: VW Beetle

In 1994, Volkswagen debuted its retrocool Concept 1 to much fanfare. After just three short calendar years, the car was headed to production as a the Volkswagen "VW New Beetle". Unlike the cult classic that bore its namesake, this new compact car bore a traditional F/F drivetrain, whereas the original piece was built on a rear engine, rear-drive platform. Also, unlike the cult classic, Volkswagen knew they could make a huge profit on this car based on image alone. During the late 1990s, and early 2000s, the retro boom was really beginning to take off, and the introduction of the New Beetle brought "retro-cool" to the masses. Sure, you had the legendary Porsche 993 available as a used car, but that wasn't exactly affordable.
Shortly after the New Beetle was launched, Chrysler saw need to jump into the fray with its own little hatchback, and like the Beetle, their PT Cruiser worked. All good trends must come to an end, right? Well.. the PT Cruiser died a slow and agonizing death; it was put out to pasture nearly ten years too late, as far as I'm concerned. The Volkswagen Beetle along with its convertible stablemate, however, have remained a staple in VW's North American lineup since it's original introduction nearly twenty years ago. With the arrival of the hardtop Beetle, one can only hope that the convertible is right around the corner. After all, despite the hardtop having "male variants" (ala Turbo), VW suspects that convertible is the primary choice of female buyers, and based on what I've seen locally, they may be right.
Would I spend my dollars on a Beetle? It's hard to say. I have grown to almost despise the first generation New Beetle, but I quite like the second generation; I bet its the rake roofline that does it for me, or maybe its the Porsche-esque wheels on the Turbo model. Not quite sure what it is, but I definitely approve of the new car's styling. What I am a little concerned about, though, is supposed reliability. I do realize VW has certainly made strides in their efforts of build quality, I'm not sure if they've made the cars actually better or they've simply tailored them to the American market-- aka made them cheap by cutting costs. We'll see just exactly how it stands up to real life when I start seeing more of them around.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Audi Coupe GT

The Audi quattro has always been a staunch favorite of mine-- be it the S1 rally car, or the more mild-tempered streetgoing car. As a car enthusiast, I simply can't deny the Audi quattro's effect on the 1980s, but also on performance as a whole. Really, if it wasn't for the enormous success of Audi's legendary foray into AWD performance, cheap speed like the Japanese-American DSM triplets would've been offered. Nor would we have the Subaru WRX, and Mitsubishi Evo-- never mind Audi's own lineup of and RS cars.
But this isn't exactly the much-heralded quattro; instead, this Coupe GT is the quattro's tamer, less excited brother. I would almost compare the quattro and the Coupe GT to a seven year after drinking a two liter of Mountain Dew in one sitting, to the very same seven after just waking up at six AM. Same basic results, with a completely different outcome. One makes you go berserk, and the other one keeps you from doing so.
As I would loved to have found my favorite roadgoing German car, its much less exciting little brother will have to-- for now. Finished in an oh-so-cliche red with black trim that many 1980s German two doors seems have been bathed in, this vehicle represents a time when red and black were the "in" color combination. Not that it matters much today, but rewind time twenty five years, and to have a red and black Audi or BMW meant you were a driving enthusiast with a little bit of flair. But flair, the Audi Coupe GT did not have-- mechanically, anyway.
Sure, it had a five cylinder mill, but unlike the firebreathing S1 and quattro cars, the Coupe made do with only 130 horses. Surely, nothing to really write home about, but then again, this was at a time when the hottest Mustangs only made 205 horses. So, I suppose it isn't too terrible; especially considering the 2.1 liter I5 in the pre-1987 cars chugged along with barely 100 horses.
When a vehicle looks this good, who cares what power it makes? Granted, not many would exactly call this generation of Coupe "beautiful", but I quite like it; Audi, to me, has always been about minimalist styling, and this car hails from a time when they didn't all look like VWs with Porsche price tags.
I can't really think of any extreme negatives here, save for the fact that this is just a Coupe GT, versus a quattro-- but hey. I can't complain. I've always liked this generation of Audi's two door quasi-hatch, and with these getting quite rare here, I say this was a well spotted car.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Audi S4 Avant.

Normally, I don't post modern cars, but damn. This is just.. wow. I literally ran to catch this mofo when I saw it hauling ass down Lake Street. My god. I've always loved this bodystyle Avant, and certainly the color only helps the case here. The SSR wheels definitely don't hurt either. I am a sucker for wagons, and I honestly don't see enough hot ones to shoot here in the land 'o' rust. Obviously, this B5 S4 is too new to have rust, and this one certainly is in too good of hands to have rust. Every time I see this example of one of Audi's best, it's hauling major ass around my area, and it sounds wonderful too.
There honestly isn't much to write about this car because it leaves me speechless; I've always been a sucker for this bodystyle, and I don't see enough that tickle my fancy in the way this Nogaro blue one does. If I were to have one modern wagon to tool around in, my heart would definitely say yes. If I get tired of two turbos strapped to the 2.7 narrow angle V, I could upgrade to the much-love Audi 4.2 and toss a couple turbos on that. Overkill? Nah, I'm all for more power. Fast wagon? Yes please. As if the stock one wasn't awesome enough. I would kill to own one so I could basically make a twin of this. Copying? Maybe, but it looks damn good.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: VW Type 2 Bus

Contrary to yesterday's haphazardly terrible example, this example represents one of the nicer VW products I've seen in a while. Some may argue that this VW van is very cliche-- and I won't deny that. I like it, though. It's a cliche color combination, has "trendy" cool stickers taking up half of the glass space, and it is lowered to the point of no return, but that's alright with me. I've always liked European vehicles, especially when modified correctly.
In sharp contrast to yesterday's example, this version is not laden with rust or dents. However, for what it makes up for in that aspect of character, it lacks in originality. Thousands of VW vans across the country-- not to mention world--are modified in similar fashion. Why? Because it works. To a VW fan, this combination is like metallic paint and chrome Torq Thrusts are to a muscle car nut, or dark color with Volk TE37s and carbon pieces are to a tuner.
On this example, the EMPI wheels (at least I think that's what they are) work wonders over the stock steel wheels and dish hubcaps. While I do like the stockers, these wheels look fine here. The stickers are, again, another point for me. While I do like them, and it adds a bit of personality to this van, I realize most will find them quite tacky. But that's okay-- I've been told I have terrible modding taste when it comes to stickers and decals. Oh well.
All in all, I do quite like this example. Would I sport it on the daily? Probably not, but I'd definitely have a modified one or three in my collection. I would want one with something more than the stock powerplant though. Perhaps a Porsche 3.6, or even an EJ25T out of a Subaru 2.5RS would be sufficient. Just let mine have more power than stock.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: VW Type 2 Bus

Old VWs are not common here at all; they rust out amazingly quick. These example is clearly no different. When I first spotted this beast earlier in the summer of 2011, I only had a brief look at it. Luckily, I hit an amazing day this fall that netted me four or five different cars, and this tired VW was one of those cars.
Sitting in the parking lot of one of Uptown's newest apartment/living areas, this Type 2 was all alone in its spot. I could quickly say that other cars didn't want to be near it for they would catch the rust bug that plagued this example of a once-awesome utility vehicle. From a distance, this cult classic certainly looked pretty decent to the untrained eye. Up close.. oh boy.
Rust literally is eating this poor van alive. I don't think this thing had one straight panel on it. The doors, the tailgate/hatch, the bumpers, even the wheels. Rust was everywhere and sadly that wasn't all that surprising. What is surprising is that shortly after I shot this wretched example of such an iconic vehicle, it was moving under its own power-- on the highway. Kind scary, when you think about it. I don't think they could comfortably do highway speeds when they were new. I shudder to think how this one behaves in traffic, much less on the highway.
While I am quite sad with the van's condition, if there's one thing I do like about this exampe is the color combination. Red and white just works. Obviously, I would fix it up if I could, but judging by the copious amounts of terminal cancer, this van is likely only good for salvaging interior parts from. Otherwise, and I rarely see this-- its only good for crusher fodder. Seriously, I have seen nicer examples in U-Pull-It-- and that says something.