The VW rabbit is an incredibly fun car to drive, and its the only car I
really miss driving. What a weird thing for you to write. So many people
love, restore, and collect them. They still make them in south africa, thats
a 30 year lifespan.
true, stay away from version 1.0 of any product, but the rabbit is a gem.
man..
On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 13:18:35 -0700, "Dave Thompson"
Post by Dave ThompsonWho else is better to comment on the
validity of something, other than the people who have researched and
purchased a product? I could state, with equal ease, that you're the sucker
for NOT buying it if the product works like it's supposed to.
Historically, this proposition is not well supported.
By way of stunning example, in the mid-1970s, the VW Rabbit
consistently got high marks from owners on *subjective* evaluations,
but when people took a dispassionate look at the real numbers relating
to repairs and other issues, an entirely different picture emerged.
Frankly, the cars were crap. Eventually, they became involved in
numerous recalls; fuse panels, rotting floorboards and brake lines,
monstrous oil consumption due to faulty valve stem seals, and
eventually it was found that the body's inherent flex was producing
fractures in major structural components that could not be prevented
by mere fixes.
For its day, the VW Rabbit was on the bleeding edge of mass production
tech...but meanwhile, across a very long continent and a little water,
a much more patient and methodical bunch of carmakers were rapidly
going through many designs looking for the ones that worked. As a
result, where VW had dominated the '60s and early '70s by virtue of
its popular, old-tech (highly repairable) vehicle, when the reality of
its front-engine vehicles became apparent, savvy car buyers began
staying away in droves despite the fact that the cars *continued* to
get rave reviews from various places.
So, no, the purchasers of *new* products are not the most reliable
source of real-world information. For that, I'd talk to the people
who traffic in *used* items, because they have to deal with what is
left when the patina of newness is rubbed off and all that is left is
the genuine merit to judge the item by.
--
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