In a previous message, <washburn@dwave.net> asked:
>
>Does anyone feel that the NA beetle will be competitive in the "new" H
>Stock next year?
Let me give you something to ponder. The Y2K Golf, Jetta,
New Beetle, and Audi TT are all supposedly built on the same
exact floor pan and underpinnings. (The Volkswagen A4 chassis.)
While the dampers/springs/swaybars might be different, the basic
suspension geometry should be identical across the line. The
biggest deciding factor in judging if/which cars will be
competitive is how much sheet metal winds up above the floor
pan and especially how much is high over the rear axle.
I guess that motors could be important too, although
I can't picture VW paying to emissions-certify a whole
bunch of similar engines for import.
If the current FWD Audi TT winds up being the hot ticket
in GS, the Turbo New Beetle may be just a tad slower for
$12,000 less. The first year New Beetles (HS) all came with
"sports" suspension packages, which IMO would make them
the best hope for putting a stock VW into the trophies
at Topeka. For the person that asked about the V6/VR6
New Beetle, would you be interested in a car with a
70/30 weight bias? (My guestimate.) Unless they have
changed the tranny ratios since the A3 VR6's, you can
also count on having a second gear good to 70 MPH.
Speaking of trannies, be aware that they have been known
to spontaneously grenade differentials on launch - even in
stock cars. VW knows about the problems, and has decided
that sending their "warranty police" squad out to drag
strips is cheaper than replacing the trannies under the
10/100 powertrain warranty once they blow. It seems that
they will do anything in their power to weasel out of a
warranty claim, and I wouldn't count on any factory support
or contingency program. At this time last year, it took
them 78 days to get a factory rep out to look at a spun
bearing in my engine and authorize the repair, and then
another 11 days to fix it. They lost their #1 good-will
ambassador over this, and there's a bunch of current
and formerly loyal VW owners who have taken an oath to never
buy another one.
If I still haven't talked you out of buying a VW, :-)
the company has actually arranged for something that
may be of interest to anybody curious about the
autocross potential of the latest VW's. Check out
http://driversfest99.securitylabs.com/main.cfm .
VW is holding "DriversFest" at Jones Beach on Long
Island NY on 8/28/1999. Part of DriversFest is
a performance driving clinic, with guest instructor
Danny Sullivan. The clinic itself is supposed to be
seat time in VW's cars on an autocross course. If
your picture is hanging on the wall at every local car
dealership with a sign that says "never let him/her test-drive
again," this may be a unique opportunity to test-thrash
a new car the way that you always dreamed about but never
could.
Since I'm sure that the next question that Mr. Washburn
was going to ask is how a white New Beetle would look
with holstein spots, let me suggest that he investigate
the ginster yellow paint with a big "<G>" on each side.
Combined with live sod floor mats (cuz real football
players don't play on green carpet), he'd feel right at
home..... :-)
-Arthur
1995 VW GTI VR6, #16 GS, "As seen in the basement at every
major autocross on the east coast" edition.
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