Fit To Be Tied

First it was the next-generation base Volkswagen Golf that was in jeopardy of being dropped from the U.S. auto market.  Now it's Honda's Fit model. 

Pictured above is the fourth-generation Honda Fit, which has just been unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show and is due to go on sale in Japan very soon.  It will show up in some global markets as early as February 2020.  But all indications are that the new Fit will be a poor fit for the rapidly changing American market, which is bending more and more toward monster wagons, and so Honda will likely drop the car from the U.S. lineup.

Like the Golf, the Fit is a hatchback, a car Americans associate with austerity and economy - the very sort of car that most of them don't want to be seen in.  And the Fit is indeed economical; it's one of the cheapest cars you can buy, unlike the Golf, and - and bear in mind, I say this as someone who thinks Hondas are boring and mundane - it's a high-quality, basic-transport vehicle that is a good value for the money.  Also, unlike the Golf, it's a subcompact, which means it's way too small to be a status symbol like a Jeep Grand Cherokee.  For those reasons, the Fit has been flopping in the ten-day sales figures; Car and Driver reports that Fit sales down 17 percent through September of 2019 compared to 2018, being outsold two to one by the HR-V crossover.  Honda discontinued production of the Fit in Mexico, where it was being made alongside the HR-V, so it could make more HR-Vs south of the border.  The Mark 4 Fit will be made only in Japan.

This is yet another slap in the face to the small but passionate number of Americans who still recognize the value of a small car and appreciate its economy and nimbleness.  And just as Volkswagen, which sixty years ago urged Americans to think small, is now encouraging us to "drive bigger" - bigger SUVs, apparently - and seems to be ready to let the Golf wither away in America by not even advertising it, Honda doesn't seem to promote the Fit so much, either.  It's too busy pushing Pilots.  Like Volkswagen, Honda made a reputation for itself by selling small cars that drove like go-karts (and were just as fun) and sipped gas like a hummingbird sips nectar.  When the first Honda automobile sold in the U.S., the N600, below, came out fifty years ago, the joke was that you needed to buy two of them - one for each foot.

It may have been a flop, but this little roller skate of a car paved the way for the Civic, which wasn't all that much bigger when it first debuted for the 1973 model year but caught on soon enough and helped Honda as an automotive brand as well as a motorcycle brand. Over time, the Civic has gotten bigger and somewhat more mature, like the Golf, and Honda allowed the Fit to take over from the Civic in the subcompact field.  But Honda still remained committed to selling cars that were small and economical, even as its Accord evolved into a large, comfortable fairly sedan and as SUVs entered the brand's U.S. product mix, by offering the Fit here.  Now it seems less so, if its priorities for the United States going forward are any indication.

Honda has had a checkered history with offering hatchbacks in the States of late, incidentally.  For the Civic's seventh generation, the trunked sedan was offered in base form but the hatchback was only available as a high-performance Si.  So, there's a precedent for Volkswagen to follow if it only sells the Golf GTI and Golf R when the eighth-generation Golf arrives in the United States and sells only the Jetta here for base-model customers.  (The Civic hatchback came back to the U.S. only with the current tenth generation.)  But even if a trunked Fit existed, Honda probably wouldn't plan to offer that here either, given the car's minuscule size and the observation that even sedans are falling by the wayside in favor big family haulers.

The Fit is too good a car to die in the U.S. market.  It may be small on the outside, but it is cavernous on the inside, and from a Volkswagen fan like myself, that's high praise.  Don't expect similar praise from me for the American mainstream's automotive tastes or the automakers' disregard for anyone who hates SUVs and crossovers.  I'm growing even more disgusted with these horrible trends in the U.S. market.

I've done this for the Volkswagen Golf. Now I'm doing it for the Honda Fit.  Contact Honda at American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Honda Automobile Customer Service, Mail Stop 100-5E-8A, 1919 Torrance Boulevard, Torrance, CA 90501-2746 or call Honda at (800) 999-1009 of you want the esteemed Japanese automaker to keep the Fit in its U.S. lineup.

The New Mark 8 Golf

The eighth generation of the Volkswagen Golf finally debuted this past Thursday in Wolfsburg in an event at the local soccer stadium there that sometimes felt like a movie premiere.  German actresses Emilia Schüle and Andrea Sawatzki were in attendance, as was Sawatzki's husband, actor Christian Berkel.  The biggest star in attendance was Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Italian car stylist who designed the original Golf (the Rabbit to Americans and Canadians), and he sketched a Mark 1 Golf in real time, creating an instant collectors item.  Finally, after all of the pomp and circumstance, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess presented the car that will be Volkswagen's global mainstay for at least the next six to seven years. 

The car's styling wasn't a complete surprise, though.  The German auto press got a hold of official pictures of the car and published them a day in advance.   Given that the car used to be called the Rabbit in America, it seems that someone let the bunny out of the bag.

As you can see, the spy photos taken of the new car while it was being developed were pretty spot-on.  It's a slight evolutionary change from the previous Golf, with wide, narrow headlights and subtle sculpted lines along the upper sides.  The real changes are inside; it has a digital instrument panel, an upright touchscreen, and "sliders," touch-sensitive controls to set the climate control system or to operate the sunroof.  Other controls are voice-activated, such as the power windows (I miss the old cranks!), and the transmission shifter is a little switch instead of a large lever.  The car can also communicate with other vehicles to alert you of an accident or road construction, and it also connects directly with Alexa and receives updates to the electronics from the Internet, not unlike updates for your personal computer.

All this tech is going to take some time to get used to, but of course, the 1975 Rabbit had so much technological advances over the old Beetle that it took a while for people to acclimate themselves to that car.  My only concern is that Volkswagen may have trouble getting everything working right in the first couple of model years.

Volkswagen has promised connectivity combined with fuel efficiency and modern convenience, saying that the Golf will continue to provide a desirable driving experience with all of the latest and most modern amenities.  The most common engine for the new Golf is likely to be a 1.5-liter turbo four, and hybrid and diesel powerplants will also be available.

As for its American debut . . . well, yeah, that's still up in the air.  Diess said that the car will be available in Germany and Austria in December, in rest of Europe in early 2020, and in the United States and other markets some time after.  But, as I've already made clear, only the GTI and the R are confirmed for the United States so far, and Scott Keogh continues to say that the base Golf remains under consideration.  But with most Americans never having been all that enamored with the Golf - maybe because of the American Rabbit's knack for burning motor oil, but also because it's a hatchback - and with more and more Yanks opting for sport utility vehicles, the base Mark 8 Golf may be as accessible for Americans as an Emilia Schüle movie.  I must admit, with all of the technology the latest Golf has, I'm not sure I can afford it, and I'm not so sure I want to bother with all of the high-tech features in it; also, I don't use Alexa.  But again, if all I can buy is the even more expensive GTI or R, then I might just keep my Mark 6 Golf (the stalling problem of which I finally got fixed for good) until it's old enough to qualify for historic license plates.  And at least I'll still have a car I can play my CDs in.

And if the base Mark 8 Golf does come to America, I'll keep an open mind about all of the high-tech features. It's estimated to cost the equivalent of $25,690 - pretty steep, about six grand more than what I paid for my Mark 6 Golf, but far less than I can expect to pay for a GTI.  The R?  Yeah, I don't even want to think about how much that will cost.  No . . . no, as always, the base Golf is all I want.  Maybe a base Golf of any generation isn't someone's idea of an enthusiast's car, but it gets me enthusiastic enough.  And if Volkswagen of America CEO Scott Keogh wants to get me enthused enough to buy a Volkswagen as my next new car, he'll decide to bring the base Mark 8 Golf over.

In that spirit, I've started a Facebook page to urge that the Mark 8 Golf be brought to the United States.  Please be nice to me and click "Like" on it. And call Volkswagen of America at 1-800-822-8987, 8 A.M. to 9 P.M. Eastern Time, from Monday to Friday, to urge that the base Golf 8 be included in VW's U.S. lineup.

Golfs We Missed In America

The eighth generation of the the globally bestselling Volkswagen Golf, which is set to debut on October 24, is easily the most eagerly awaited new car of 2019 . . . unless you live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.  The standard version of the hatchback is still a question mark for the U.S. market, with many a smug automotive journalist eager to answer it with an emphatic "No!"  In fact, a decision on whether or not to offer the standard Mark 8 Golf in These States has not been made, although the traditional American disregard for hatchbacks in general and Volkswagen hatchbacks in particular that began after the old Rabbits ended up consuming way too much motor oil doesn't bode well for those of us silly Yanks who actually share the rest of the world's superior taste in automobiles.  Right now, Volkswagen of America is touting the new Atlas CrossSport SUV.  I'll pass.

Interestingly, if the base Mark 8 Golf isn't offered in America, this wouldn't be the first time a Golf model hasn't made it to the States.  Several Golf variants have failed to make it over here, and to Canada as well (though the next standard Golf has been confirmed for the Great White North).  Here are twelve Golf models that never saw the inside of a Volkswagen dealership in the New World.

The Rallye Golf.  I've already mentioned this car before, but I mention it here again for the sake of completion.  Though, I can't say anything about the 1989-90 Mark-2-vintage Rallye Golf that I haven't already said. With a supercharged 160-horsepower engine and all-wheel-drive, it performs aggressively as it looks, and even though Rallye Golfs are legally entering the United States thanks to the fact that they've passed the 25-year minimum age required for importation into this country, some Americans got to experience the car's prowess when it was first new. New Hampshire rally racer Tim O'Neil, in the late eighties and early nineties a factory driver for Volkswagen, got to acquire and race in one back then, and he still keeps it in his fleet in his current profession as a driving instructor.

The Golf G60.  The Mark 2 Golf-based G60 (below) was a kinder, gentler variant of VW's supercharging program.  It was less potent than the Rallye Golf but its performance was still nothing to sneeze at, with front-wheel drive and a normal eight-valve engine and bearing the same horsepower rating as the Rallye Golf.  Emissions standards in the U.S., however, prevented its inclusion in the American market, and it was forbidden fruit in Canada as well.         

The Golf Country.  This is without question one of the weirdest Golfs ever conceived.  A part of the Golf's second generation, the Golf Country was shown at the 1989 Geneva Auto Show as a concept car, but it was so loved by the auto  press that VW decided to produce it. 

Volkswagen would make Golf Country vehicles in Wolfsburg and then send them to the Austrian truck builder Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Austria to be outfitted with a special version of VW's Syncro all-wheel drive system, with a 8.2-inch ground clearance, along with a skid plate protecting the engine bay, bullbars at both ends, and a spare wheel appended to the rear.  It was essentially VW's equivalent to the four-wheel drive Eagle sedan and wagon produced by American Motors in the U.S. in the 1980s.

The Golf Country was a part-time all-wheel-drive car, but it could tackle almost any off-road terrain when the Syncro system was turned on.  Only about 7,700 Golf Country cars were built in 1990 and 1991, and had VW sent any of them to the United States, it would likely have generated more showroom traffic than the standard Golf - or the Jetta - was generating at the time. 

The Mark 3 Golf Variant.  Again, I mentioned this before, but I include it here for the sake of completion.  Volkswagen apparently didn't think the station wagon version of the third-generation Golf - the first Golf wagon ever produced - would sell here, and so we missed out on it.  But its successor did make it here as a Jetta wagon, and the Golf Variant was sold as a Jetta through the fourth, fifth, and sixth generation, assuming the Golf badge in the U.S. with the seventh. But the Golf wagon has come full circle and so won't be available in the U.S. in the eighth generation - but then, you know that.   

The Golf Plus.  The Golf Plus was essentially a standard Golf with minivan-like proportions.  It looked sort of stubby, as if both ends had been compressed against the center, but it clearly had plenty of headroom and a little extra room for tall objects in the back.   The Golf Plus was a part of the fifth and sixth generations; above is a fifth-generation model.  

Its proportions would undoubtedly have been seen as bulbous and awkward in North America at the time, yet the Chevrolet Trax, based on the Sonic, is the same general idea (though the Trax is officially a "crossover.")  

The CrossGolf. And speaking of crossovers, Volkswagen produced this Golf-based crossover vehicle specifically for the European market.  Because it looks more like a hatchback on steroids than a crossover, I doubt that this would have found much of a customer base in North America.  Like the Golf Plus, it lasted two generations (the fifth-generation-based CrossGolf model is shown above).

The Golf GTD.  Like the GTI, but with a diesel engine.  It was introduced in Europe as an alternative to the gas-powered hot hatch at a time of rising fuel prices.  Even without the TDI scandal, which pretty much put an end to diesel-powered passenger cars in the States, it would never have made it in America, where a diesel-powered sport compact is considered a contradiction in terms.   

The Golf GTE.  Like the GTI, but with a plug-in gas-electric hybrid system.  It was introduced in Europe as an alternative to the gas-powered hot hatch at a time of environmental awareness. Americans would have likely found this to be an even bigger contradiction in terms than a GTD.  And to think a Mark 8 version of the GTE might yet make it to the New World.  (Both the GTD and the GTE shown here are seventh-generation models.)

The Golf Mark 6 Cabrio.  Almost forgot about this one, didn't we?  Only the third Golf to be developed into a convertible, the droptop version of the sixth-generation model was not sold in America so as not to cannibalize sales of the modern Beetle convertible.  The Mark 6 Cabrio has since been discontinued.    

Did I happen to mention that there was an R variant of the Mark 6 convertible as well? :-O

The Golf R wagon.  Yes!  A Golf R wagon, part of the seventh generation!  A station wagon that's actually desirable!  And VW didn't give it a chance here?

This would have made a whole lot more sense for the U.S. market than that silly Alltrack.  Of course, for Americans who want a real German sports wagon, there will soon be the Audi RS6 Avant.

The Golf Sportsvan.  Basically the same as the minivan-style Golf Plus, a derivative of the seventh-generation car, and as always, for people who wanted a minivan but wanted something closer to a standard Golf.  Volkswagen's press release for this model summed it up like this: "With its raised seating position and a rear seat designed for longitudinal adjustment, the compact Golf Sportsvan boasts interior features that are normally only found on larger vans. This way, the Golf Sportsvan is popular with customers who want to sit a little higher, travel with children, need flexibility for their leisure activities or appreciate a large cargo space."  In other words, a lot like the SUVs that are taking over in America and even in Europe.  Which is why there will be no eighth-generation equivalent to this vehicle.

*

How do these cars differ from the standard Mark 8 Golf, which may yet join this list of forbidden fruit for Americans?  Mainly in this way; they're all special variations on or special high-performance versions of the basic Golf model.  But the basic, standard Golf has always been a part of Volkswagen's U.S. lineup since it debuted here as the Rabbit.  It's a simple, unpretentious car that isn't calibrated to run with a Porsche and doesn't pretend to be anything other than the no-nonsense hatchback that it is.  It's the basis for every special Golf model Volkswagen has ever developed, from the GTI to the R, from the wagon to the Sportsvan.  The special models are perfectly fine; they've been the fancy dishes meant for people who want something more than meat and potatoes.  I see the base Golf as the meat and potatoes of not just the entire Golf lineup but of the entire Volkswagen brand.  A U.S. lineup with the GTI and R variants of the Golf but not the base car is a hollow shell.  And that's why I am going to continue to speak out for the base Golf 8's inclusion on the U.S. lineup.

Golf Shot

After all indications pointed to the Volkswagen Golf Variant station being dropped with the coming of the car's eighth generation,  VW confirmed that, uh, actually, a station wagon will be in the Mark 8 Golf lineup after all.  I presume it will look much like the outgoing Mark 7 Golf wagon (shown below).  

The Mark 8 Golf wagon won't come to the United States, as sport utility vehicles have taken over in this market and actually account for 52 percent of VW's U.S. sales, but it will likely be available in Canada, where compact VW wagons are still popular and where the four-door base hatchback has already been confirmed.  This recent development may actually make it seem less likely that the base hatchback is included in the U.S. lineup when the eighth generation arrives.  I suppose that, if I want a base Mark 8 Golf, I could go north of the border, buy one, and bring it back to the States, but after all of the costs to federalize it for American roads, it might be less expensive to buy a GTI.

And while all this is going on, Volkswagen has suggested that maybe, just maybe, the electric ID.3 hatchback can be sold in North America after all . . . but only in Canada.  Here in the States?  Absolutely not.  As a hatchback buyer,  I clearly live in the wrong country.  It's also becoming obvious that, after decades of being lock and step with American automotive tastes, Canadian tastes in cars are beginning to diverge from such tastes south of the 49th parallel. 

Meanwhile, I have persistently written Scott Keogh, the president of Volkswagen of America, to urge him to include the base Mark 8 Golf in Volkswagen's U.S. lineup every time a development in VW's plans for the base Golf are updated.  I wrote him thrice - the first time to protest the possible discontinuation of the base Golf in the U.S. market when Motor1.com first reported it as fact rather than as the rumor it is, a second time after the wagon was dropped, and, more recently, a third time after the base Golf was confirmed for Canada, which I saw as a hopeful sign for the car's American availability.  In each case a spokesman for Keogh has called me personally (another hopeful sign) to thank me for my input and for my loyalty and passion for the brand and the Golf, and also to say that, while no decision has been made on the base Mark 8 Golf yet, I have indeed been heard.  Online and on-call representatives at VW Customer Care have heard from me too.

But I'm only one person.  The people at Volkswagen of America aren't going to keep the base Golf in its lineup after 2020 just because I want them to.  That's why I keep reminding VW fans on Facebook and here on my blog that more of us have to speak up and press for the base Golf to remain in the U.S. lineup.  So go here to contact someone at Volkswagen of America online, or call Volkswagen of America at 1-800-822-8987, 8 A.M. to 9 P.M. Eastern Time, from Monday to Friday, to urge that the base Golf be continued in VW's U.S. lineup when the Mark 8 (below) comes out.  The eighth-generation car is due for its world premiere in the coming month.  It's crunch time.

It's crunch time for me too, personally.  My 2012 Golf has repeatedly stalled at stops while I'm on the road, and repeated efforts to have it fixed have so far failed.  I can't understand why such a simple problem can't be resolved.  I want to keep my car, but that might not be possible.  If I can't get it properly fixed, I'll have to get rid of it, and of course I hope to get another Golf in its place, but in that case I'd better act fast while I still have a chance to buy a new Golf from a VW dealer - and American dealerships, of course, keep so few of them in stock.  If I end up having to get another car and I don't get a new Golf soon, it may be too late. >:-(

If I do get a new Golf, though, this much is certain - it won't be a two-door model.  The two-door Golf of the outgoing seventh generation has already been dropped in North America, and the eighth generation won't have a two-door version available anywhere in the world - the two-door Golf is being dropped completely.  

Golf White North

The good news is that buyers in North America will be able to purchase the base version of the eighth-generation Golf (below).  The bad news that these buyers are Canadian customers.  

Volkswagen Canada was adamant about keeping the base Golf in its lineup when it heard that Volkswagen of America - to which the Canadian division is usually joined to the hip - was thinking of selling only the more expensive GTI and R variants in North America, and Volkswagen AG responded favorably.  As much as I hope that the confirmation of the base Mark 8 Golf for north of the border means we could still get it on this side of the 49th parallel, we might still miss out on the car.  This wouldn't actually be the first time Canada has gotten cars we Americans haven't.  They got a Mercedes hatchback we never got, and Hyundai started selling cars in Canada four years before the brand debuted in the United States; its debut Canadian model was never sold here.  Heck, I remember seeing four-door Honda Civic hatchbacks on a trip to Canada when I was fifteen, when the U.S. got only two-door Civic hatchbacks.

And this wouldn't be the first time that the Canadians get a Volkswagen model that we Americans don't.  They got the Type 3 Notchback in the sixties; we only got the Fastback and Squareback.

It's also noteworthy that nearly three out of every four Golfs sold in Canada is a base model instead of a sport model; the opposite is true here, and Golfs account for only one out of ten Volkswagens sold in the U.S. while they account for one out of four sold in Canada.  It seems like Canada is joining the rest of the world on the base Golf, while the U.S. can't be bothered.  So think of the base Golf as the Paris Agreement of automobiles.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen is expanding its line of SUVs in America, and they now account for 54 percent of all vehicles VW sells here.  I'm pissed off.  I wonder how many other VW purists are pouring out their dinner over this.

There's still hope that the base eighth-generation Golf will still be available in the U.S. for the die-hard VW fans like myself who want one, but it's a slim chance at best.  I doubt that there's anyone at Volkswagen of America who's willing to fight for loyal base-Golf customers as there is in Volkswagen Canada.  I guess I'll have to hold on to my Mark 6 Golf for as long as I can if the base Mark 8 Golf doesn't get here.  And when my car wears out, expect to see me at a VW dealer in the Detroit area.

Specifically, in Windsor, Ontario.        

Buy a car in Canada and bring it back to the States?  It can be done.

My New Car

After more than eleven years and more than 86,000 miles, it was time to say goodbye to my beloved 2000 Volkswagen Golf. My driver's seat got worn down, the interior plastics were peeling, there was pulsation in the brakes, there was a leak in the transmission, and I handled it all as best I could. But when the glove compartment door broke for the third time, I realized I had to get a new car.

And of course, I got a new Golf - a 2012 model! :-D I picked it up earlier this week. This will be my third Volkswagen, after my 1972 Beetle and my 2000 Golf. (I seem to have a penchant for VWs from leap model years. :-D)

Going to a 2000 Golf from the fourth generation to a 2012 Golf from the sixth generation (the seventh generation model is expected in America as a 2013 or a 2014 model) is not unlike going from a '72 Beetle to an '84 Rabbit GTI would have been. The 2012 Golf's engine has five cylinders (compared to the four-cylinder engine in the 2000 model) and a displacement five deciliters larger (2.5 liters compared to 2.0). The horsepower rating is 170 as opposed to 115 for my old car. The result is a car that goes faster than it feels and has a smooth, steady ride. As my new car is still in the break-in period, I haven't had much experience with its handling, but I'm looking forward to it.

Of course, a new car means improvements all around. My radio is one of those new-fangled car radios that identifies the title and artist of a song being played on the radio station as well as the call letters of the station itself. With the Golf having moved a bit up-market, cruise control - which I've never had - is standard. The noticeable difference in the ride from my old car is welcome. My old car's suspension was so worn from a decade and change of driving that it felt hard and tough. My mother got a pain in her back riding in my 2000 VW when we went to pick up the new car; she was much more comfortable riding in the new one on our way home. We were both amazed at how different it felt.

I'm glad I got this car, and not just because my old one didn't have much more life to it. When the Mark 7 Golf arrives in America, it may come as decontented and as cheapened as the Jetta, which is selling like hotcakes in the States despite its Corolla-like, un-Volkswagen ambience. (The difference between the hard plastics in the Jetta and the soft-touch materials in my car is jaw-dropping.) I may have dodged a bullet, and I hope Golf fans who end up with the next-generation model are as lucky as I am. And, as long as VW sells lots and lots of Jettas (and Passats - the U.S.-spec Passat was just named Motor Trend's Car of the Year for 2012), VW can and hopefully will continue to offer an un-watered-down Golf hatchback as a loss leader.

Oh, I almost forgot - here's a picture of my new car! :-)

A Decade of Fahrvergnügen

Today is a special anniversary for me. Ten years ago today I took delivery of the first new car I ever bought, my 2000 Volkswagen Golf GL three-door hatchback. And, as anyone who reads this blog regularly knows, I still have it. :-)

I've owned my Golf longer than any car I'd ever had before, and this one is coming up on 78,000 miles - low for a car of this age, you'll agree - for an average of 7800 miles per year. It still performs solidly, with a strong engine producing 115 horsepower, and the ride remains nice and taut. The latter point can be a disadvantage at times, given the increasingly atrocious condition of the streets and roads where I live. Handling is still precise, though, and the hatchback configuration provides versatility for carting things.

A little of my car has gotten worn - the stitches in the upholstery of the driver's seat cushion are worn away, the plastic veneer on my driver's door handle has peeled (a friend who owns a 2000 Jetta has made the same complaint) - but the rest of the car looks as good as new, with very little wear or tear apart from what I already described. I wash it regularly, I periodically polish it, and I'm always vacuuming and shining up the interior. More importantly, my VW runs as good as new, and that's no accident. I've taken relentlessly good care of the inner workings as much as the interior and exterior, getting it serviced regularly and having parts that stop working replaced. Nothing on my car that breaks stays broken for long.

I've had to get used to a few parts failing, alas. Volkswagen, once known for quality and reliability when their cars were rear-drive vehicles with rear-mounted aircooled engines, saw their quality slide in the late seventies and the eighties when they switched to making cars that were the exact opposite - cars with watercooled front engines driving the front wheels. VW's quality had dramatically improved when I bought my car ten years ago - a time when Volkswagen was enjoying its strongest sales in America since the early seventies - but it still had a way to go. As one of the VW religious - a "dubber" (Volkswagen, VW, Vee-Dub, 'Dub, hence, "dubber") - I have had to accept quality control problems on my own car, but that's the tradeoff you make when you buy with your heart rather than with your head. I still don't regret buying a Golf, because comparable Japanese cars were so boring and antiseptic to me. I'd just spent five years driving a Toyota Tercel at the time I bought my Golf, and though it was a competent car, it was also a boring one (and an underpowered one at that - I had to press the accelerator to the beat of Wilson Pickett's "Funky Broadway" to get it to speed up).

So what are my favorite memories my Golf? There have been pleasant day trips to Pennsylvania (including Longwood Gardens) in my car, not to mention a road trip to Rhode Island a few months after I bought it. Some of my commutes have been memorable too, as I've worked in different places over the years. There have been a couple of times when I had car trouble that brings back the kind of memories that I'd rather forget, so why bother with any of that? Mostly, though, any trip in a Golf - even when I had to drive home from work a couple of times in the snow - is a pleasure trip.

The Golf is the bestselling car in the world, but because it's a hatchback, it's not even the bestselling Volkswagen in America. That's fine. I feel cooler and more unique for bucking conventional American tastes. And a three-door hatchback is more appropriate for a single guy like me than a four-door trunked Jetta would be. I hope to keep this car another few years, and I hope VW still offers a comparable car when I'm ready to buy another new car. And their quality control has improved to the point where the Golf is considered a best buy by Consumer Reports.

Or maybe I'll keep this car longer than that. It's like an old friend, and these days most friendships don't last ten years. :-)