Author Topic: Stay Away From The Old Beetle... (Read 2176 times)

Cameron · « **on:** February 02, 2005, 10:38:57 AM »

I found this article in today's Province newspaper (Feb 2/05). I do not agree with these guy's opinions, but thought I would post it to show how some people think of the old style VW Beetle. Read on!

Stay away from the old Beetle
Original model plagued with problems and had little crash protection

Tom and Ray Magliozzi
The Province

February 2, 2005

Dear Tom and Ray:

I am a college student and I have always been interested in purchasing a pre-1998 VW Beetle convertible. Is this just a dumb idea, or do you think I can find a reliable old Beetle that I can love and take care of? I was wondering if you could give me a few pointers on what I should look for in an older Beetle and what to avoid.

- Charli

RAY: What should you avoid? Well, the first thing that comes to mind is a pre-1998 Beetle, Charli.

TOM: Yeah. I hate to burst your bubble here, but the old Beetle was a dangerous little heap. Even on the day it rolled off the assembly line, it had lousy brakes, lousy handling and barely any crash protection.

An older Beetle is not a car I'd want my college-age daughter driving around in, Charli.

RAY: We should explain to everyone else that in the case of the Beetle, pre-1998 equals 1977 or older. The original Beetle was sold in the U.S. from 1949 (two were sold that year) until 1977, when the Beetle was phased out, its spot in the lineup having been usurped by the more modern VW Rabbit.

TOM: Then in 1998, in a fit of nostalgia, VW introduced the New Beetle, which looks like the old Beetle but is really a modern

VW Golf with a cuter, rounder body. It has front-wheel drive, air bags, disc brakes, reinforced doors, a ventilation system, etc. Basically, it has everything the old Beetle lacked. If you're going to get a Beetle, I'd strongly suggest that you get a New Beetle.

RAY: I know it's not as cool or as historic, Charli. But you're too young to have your obituary read \"Crushed by a Daewoo.\"

TOM: If you look for a 1998-2000 model, you can certainly find one for less than $10,000. And if you don't quite have that much, isn't that what student loans -- and parents -- are for?

Got a question about cars? E-mail Click and Clack by visiting the Car Talk website at www.cartalk.com.

red snapper · « **Reply #1 on:** February 02, 2005, 12:36:53 PM »

Not to highjack your thread Cameron, but I also read something in the Province today. Kamloops- A man caught trying to have sex with a dog says he did it because hed been wrongfully convicted of sexually abusing a child and wanted to do something bad if he was going to jail. Christopher Pye, who pleaded guilty to bestiality, was arrested after witnesses saw him, his jeans around his ankles, trying to manipulate the yelping dog into position in a van. WTF is wrong with these people. ]

Cameron · « **Reply #2 on:** February 02, 2005, 12:48:34 PM »

Hi Brian,
Good grief! How do you respond to a story like that?
Maybe the Province is turning into the local version of the \"National Enquirer\". Looks like they're into sensational stories.
Enquiring minds want to know!

red snapper · « **Reply #3 on:** February 02, 2005, 01:25:56 PM »

Hey Cameron, Different stokes for different folks I guess. Rumor has it though, Shanes roadtrip isnt to Arizona. Somewhere in the interior.

James Buchan · « **Reply #4 on:** February 02, 2005, 01:47:35 PM »

Quote

Shanes roadtrip isnt to Arizona. Somewhere in the interior.

I think someone is JEALOUS!!!!!!!

red snapper · « **Reply #5 on:** February 02, 2005, 02:16:46 PM »

I am jealous. Rumor has it they are using you for bait!

red snapper · « **Reply #6 on:** February 02, 2005, 04:05:24 PM »

Are the women in Kamloops really that ugly?

Shane · « **Reply #7 on:** February 02, 2005, 05:23:39 PM »

Shane I would love to come to Arizona, But Kim is making me take her to Seattle......

Sissy man..... Are you part of Kafer Kraft???
:lol:

OUTKAST · « **Reply #8 on:** February 02, 2005, 05:56:50 PM »

Brian i'm not going on the road trip if thats what you are implying and you didn't seem to mind that night on the green river freak boy

HAAHHAHAHHAHAHAH! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
And by the way the interior is the best place to live you can have the jungle called Vancouver

. By the way local paper here says the dog consented and was payed in scooby snacks :lol: :lol:

silas · « **Reply #9 on:** February 02, 2005, 09:32:19 PM »

Quote

Maybe the Province is turning into the local version of the \"National Enquirer\". Looks like they're into sensational stories.
Enquiring minds want to know!

cameron, you hit the nail on the head.

the province is a rag. it has been for quite sometime. these two guys are just pissed that they have to work for that trashy publication and the only way to make themselves feel better is by talking shit about something they know nothing about.

seriously, those guys are idiots. crushed by a daewoo? endorsing the nb as a rounder, cuter golf? expecting a college student to spend their student loan or pimp their parents for 10 g's so they can buy a nb? assuming charli is a girl?

these guys are obviously jealous of the old vw and pissed that they dont get to use the company yugo, but are forced to rely on their daily driver chevy citation.

moni · « **Reply #10 on:** February 03, 2005, 12:45:54 PM »

Quote

these guys are obviously jealous of the old vw and pissed that they dont get to use the company yugo

lmao! :lol: :lol:

the crazy thing is, i know guys who work for the province, and what silas is saying is actually true.

red snapper · « **Reply #11 on:** February 03, 2005, 01:17:03 PM »

Quote

Brian i'm not going on the road trip if thats what you are implying and you didn't seem to mind that night on the green river freak boy HAAHHAHAHHAHAHAH! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
And by the way the interior is the best place to live you can have the jungle called Vancouver . By the way local paper here says the dog consented and was payed in scooby snacks :lol: :lol:

Marty, you promised not to say anything about the Green River camping trip and whatever her name was ever, ever again. I was not implying that you screw dogs or anything. Come on, you know me better than that!