40,000 miles and it's still a reliable, 320hp quattro monster :)

(no, 320hp is not stock. 250 is. call it 'overclocking' if you like :) )

Really? I'm on my second 1.8T Audi A4 -- it's a 2003. Not because the first broke, but because we loved it so much, we bought another! Top safety, handling, comfort, design and performance. Zero problems (except a check engine light - fixed in a day and Audi even cleaned the car inside and out, changed the wipers and gave me a 1.8T A4 to drive around in while it was in repair). Now that's quality for you.

Check this out. Probably won't look as elegant...correction, it won't. Just run the wires to the front of the car.

http://www.k9spud.com/vwcdpic/

I have a Passat, and the only reason I sold my old iPod was because there wasn't a really elegant solution for using in my car.

Anyone seen anything on how your might be able to buy this for an existing car?

Nice move.
At one time I thought VW could give an iMac that matches the bugs color.

Hey they did Trek bikes, K2 Skis, I mean VW is cool as is Apple. No need to knock this one.

Um, wrong...Just got the '03 Passat GLX 4-motion. An amazing car for the money, very tight. You sacrifice some styling when not buying the Audi, but you gain a h*** of alot more features and save about 10K. Toureg will be an amazing car having been built in conjuction with the Cayanne. VW has totally taken advantage of the high end lines they own. You get a little bit of Porsche a lot of Audi...good s***.

Then thank your lucky star, man, because you're a rarity amongst the VW family owners. Check out the latest results of quality surveys; Audi even ranks below that of its parent company VW. In fact, its ranking is so abysmally close to the bottom of the list. And Mercedes? Boy, what a swoon they've been in lately, too. Behind Chevrolet? Chevy?!?!

Top dog, once again, is no surprise: Lexus. Those machines just bleed with quality fit and finish, impeccable motors. The top 10 are littered with j** brands. Those j*** really do know how to make cars that last.

I had a VW 1.8T GTI, and it was completely reliable. There's been some questions about those VW's built in Mexico for the US market (such as the Beetle) but I think problems are few and far between. I got a Beetle loaner car once, and I totally loved it. So much fun. Ironically, it came with a CD player, and without an FM tuner, at the time I couldn't connect my iPod.

But continue making gross generalizations and see how far that gets you.

My family has owned vw's/audi's all my life. I currently drive a 1988 Audi 90 5-cylinder and it is in perfect condition. No rust, almost all original engine parts, 136500 miles. I would never think of selling this car ever because it was poor quality. I guarantee that it will last me another 15 years. We also have a '97 A6 quattro, and are currently looking to add the passat, toureg and new beetle, to our lineup of great cars. The only car we have ever regretted buying was the '95 Pontiac Bonneville. In it's 8 year life, we've put two engines in it, replaced the A/C 4 times, and we are getting ready to de-rust it again.

I agree with the statement above "both groups widely misunderstood by the public as underpowered and problematic."

Quality control might be a problem, but not with the 1.8Ts. These engines have consistent won engine awards for the best small turboed engine. They are incredibly reliable, and make tons of power for such a small displacement. They are some of the most moddable engines available.

-Jason

Check your facts man, Audi AG is the parent company of VW, not the other way around. In fact, one of the rings on the Audi symbol stands for VW.

By the way, I never knew anyone who kept a Honda as long as most VW owners that I know.

To the reader who thinks that a sedan can have 2 doors...

According to edmunds.com, the New Beetle is a coupe/hatchback. Every car they have listed in the 'sedan' category has four doors. Consider the BMW 3-series. They come in four-door and two-door varieties, but only the four-doors are grouped under sedans. The two doors are coupes. I own a VW GTI which has two doors and a rear seat, but it is most definitely not a sedan. It's a hatchback, same as the NB.

Actually, you have it backwards.

Audi's four ring symbol relates to it's original founding fathers, if you will: Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer. They banded together in 1932.

Volkswagen AG is the parent company of brands such as Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Bugatti, RollsRoyce, Skoda, etc.

Check YOUR facts. The four rings of Audi represent these four companies: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. Volkswagen AG, in fact, owns Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, SEAT, etc. But, VAG does allow Audi to operate independently as the head of VAG's luxury group.

Any car magazine you read will tell you VW owns Audi.

jinx on your post...

but VW actually doesn't own Porsche or RR. Porsche and VW and similar bloodlines, but were never subsumed under the same corporate ownership.

For all the info on Volkswagen AG

http://www.volkswagen.de/home_e/konzern/konzern.htm

Must be really fun to make yourself look even more like an a**...

"Check your facts, man"... LOL

VW does not own Porsche and never has. They have a tight relationship, but they aren't the same company. Porsche's founder also founded VW, but left to pursue his sporting dreams in Porsche (Ferdinand Porsche). One of his descendents is the recently retired Chairman of VWAG, Dr. Ferdinand Pietch.

I run a Passat owners club (www.b5one.com), and you will hear both sides of the reliability argument. As for a nice interface, you can use an iPod dock, and run an RCA to headphone adapter to something like a PIE X3 or BlitzSafe adapter. Double Din Monsoon owners have fewer choices, though. If you don't have the DD Monsoon (aka Premium VI), you can have both a changer and an iPod. If you have the PVI, you can only have one or the other with an adapter.

"The New Beetle only has two doors, so it cannot be a sedan. It's a coupe or hatchback."

Old Beetles were always called sedans and I suppose they carried the nomenclature over with the NB.

FWIW, the dictionary definition of 'sedan' is "a closed automobile having two or four doors and a front and rear seat." A 'coupe' is merely "a closed two-door automobile."

I have a '62 Sunroof Beetle and a '00 NB TDI. The NB has been in the shop more than all the other new cars I've owned combined. I love the drivetrain (especially the mileage of the diesel), handling and styling, but the poor build quality will keep me from buying another VW product (a new one anyway).

Wonder if I can get an iPod to work with the AM Blaupunkt radio in the '62 Beetle? ;O)

VW does not own Porsche and never has. They have a tight relationship, but they aren't the same company. Porsche's founder also founded VW, but left to pursue his sporting dreams in Porsche (Ferdinand Porsche). One of his descendents is the recently retired Chairman of VWAG, Dr. Ferdinand Pietch.

I run a Passat owners club (www.b5one.com), and you will hear both sides of the reliability argument. As for a nice interface, you can use an iPod dock, and run an RCA to headphone adapter to something like a PIE X3 or BlitzSafe adapter. Double Din Monsoon owners have fewer choices, though. If you don't have the DD Monsoon (aka Premium VI), you can have both a changer and an iPod. If you have the PVI, you can only have one or the other with an adapter.

I've got a 2000 VW Golf GLS (white/black int. with every option one could get) and I love it. I've had the window regulator problem (fixed by my local dealer), the MAF/O2 sensor problem (same; and you can fix your MAF yourself, and it's cheap on the 2.0 engines), but I haven't had any major issues. I take care of the car. 1.8T engines do have the coil pack failure problem, but VW is covering all coil pack replacements and replacing blown packs with new parts.

My car has all kinds of minor upgrades I sourced from other VWs: 2001-up signal repeaters (the 1999/2000 ones go yellow over time), the Passat W8 overhead console (it's backlit; the stock one isn't), the suspension from a Jetta Wolfsburg Edition is sitting in my living room awaiting install, some sway bars will go on to help lessen body roll and to give a better ride, and there's some really subtle bodykit additions I want to put on (a different grille, side skirts, and front/rear valences). New wheels and tires can be had easily from The Tire Rack, and stainless steel brake lines, vented/slotted brake rotors, and low-dust performance brake pads can be had to improve braking. I also have a European 'Gamma' model Blaupunkt headunit. And I've got street-legal Hella red-clear-red MagicColours taillamps that really enhance the look of the car.

I think I will be doing some research about this connection kit. I have a 5GB iPod and would like to hook it in to the car's stereo (alas, I got it used and the tape deck part doesn't work; tapes won't load). I've got a Griffin iTrip but that doesn't work, and since I didn't get it directly from Griffin, they refused me a refund (anyone want to buy it?). Local stations are parked in 88.1, 3, and 7, so the only semi-usable frequency on the TuneCast I've got is 88.5 and even then it's filled with static.

There has to be a better way. I can't use the CD changer input because I've got the 6-disc CD changer...

VW most certainly does not own Porsche, but they were founded by the same guy - Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. His descendent is the recently retired Dr. Ferdinand Pietch, who was the Chairman, CEO and Pres. of VWAG.

VWAG owns: VW, Audi (who owns Lamborghini and Bugatti), Bently, Seat and Scoda.

I run a Passat owners club (www.b5one.com), and have dealt with this iPod issue in a Passat. I have mine in the iPod dock on a ProClip side mount off my center consol (I had to mod it...the thing has a funky angle to it). You can then use a cassette adapter, or some RCA or Changer adapter like the PIE X3 or BlitzSafe. You can easily run the wires behind the dash and consol...plenty of room.

As it's been stated, VW owns Audi. For the record: new Beetles shipped to the US on the Mid and east cost come 90% from Mexico, the last 4 years of production Beetles (76-79) were largly made in Mexico too. The Turbo and 6-speed editions often are German imports. Those on the west coast usually get a German made auto (infact, in Portland, we can import the Bora - the Jetta's twin). However, I do not trust Mexican made VWs -- hence my hesitance to purchase a 79 coonvertible, I'll wait till I find a German made 76.

As for the iPod kit, since the Monsoon system is basically the same in most of their models, it's presumable that it's a "one shoe fits all" solution - much like Apple and Bluetooth.

As for reliability, while my 73 which logged over 500,000 miles (not by me) had a faulty alternator, my uncles 97 Jetta has been golden except for the AC compressor and a door handle, my best friend's 96 Jetta Trek (250,000) dropped it's automatic transmission about 4 months ago, which was fixed and it's still going (I'm still shocked on that one, VW doens't make a very good automatic .. always been a stick company to me) and to top it off... I know someone with a '00 New Beetle with no complaints and no services at 90,000. Good cars, Good computers. Let's have a festival to celebrate. or not.

my plan that costs $450 less than their kit: install an aiwa head unit with an aux input port in my chevy cavalier and simply put the ipod on the passenger seat. problem solved.

I KNOW CARS LIKE THE BACK OF YOUR MOTHERS' BACKS.

Audi owns VW. Sure, buddy. Who the f*** gave you do you think you're trying to convince?

And seriously, almost all non-American cars are at least decently reliable, be it Japanese or European. Still, the nips take the cake if we were to compare the two.

From www.blitzsafe.com

I have an Ibook and and 2002 VW Golf. While the Ibook has been rock solid and a great product I can't say the same for my VW. Quality control is a huge issue. I have had four warranty repairs. Inlcuding the car dying on the highway with only 800 miles. IMHO VWs are high on style and low on substance (at least as far as quality control).

I KNOW CARS LIKE THE BACKS OF YOUR MOTHERS.

Audi owns VW. Sure, buddy. Who the f*** do you think you're trying to convince?

And seriously, almost all non-American cars are at least decently reliable, be it Japanese or European. Still, the nips easily take the cake if we were to compare the two.

USA for once?

Why can't they go after the Chevy market?

They would cash in big, but oh wait, Apple is only concerned with
NICHE markets.

SNOBS

To Mr. 'you stupid s****' ...

I never thought I'd say something like this because I can't stand the idiocy of this place, but you are a f****** idiot. Yes, VW does own Audi. Haven't you noticed that most of the respondents to this thread own VWs or Audis and, more to the point, they have expressed knowledge of their vehicles that is evidence that they are enthusiasts and therefore more qualified to say something like this?

Yes Let me say it again. VOLKSWAGEN AG OWNS AUDI. The Volkswagen Group also includes Skoda and Seat along with more premium makes like Bentley and Bugatti.

If you don't believe me, look at this photo and at the part box shown behind the part. See those logos? VW, Seat, Skoda ... AND AUDI.

Now shut the f*** up and go back to driving your Chevy Cavalier like a good idiot.

" USA for once? Why can't they go after the Chevy market? They would cash in big, but oh wait, Apple is only concerned with
NICHE markets. SNOBS"

uh, that'd be because American cars SUCK.

I'm on my second silver Beetle (the airbags work nicely, BTW), and I got it without a CD player figuring I'd get an mp3 player. With a little $20 cellphone holder from Radio c*** & a cassette adapter, I never leave home without the iPod.

It would be really great to have a more elegant solution for connecting them, I hope they recognize this market, and that they don't pretend it has an MSRP of $200. ;-)

Holy c***! You dorks sure do know how to take a thread off topic! Who gives a fook who owns who??? That isnt what this is about you cretins..
iPods.. New Beetles, VW connection kit.. Thats what it is about.. ok?

"Uhm that is because American cars SUCK".

You suck, dickbreath.

it's because nobody in their right f****** mind would buy a Beetle just to get a free iPod.

This is just another batch of lame PR from apple's g** a** marketing division. Isn't it sad how much Shiller owns everyone's a**? That guy is the very definition of Go Away And Bother Someone Else You Annoying Little b******.

Example: Jaguar's "furry" OS X logo. Proof apple only cares about marketing- doing some dumbass s*** just to get noticed. f*** fixing the bugs in the OS, we need a furry logo!

FWIW-

I run the largest New Beetle site on the Internet, NewBeetle.org. We have been covering the iPod connection kit. It is, as it turns out, nothing more than a cassette adapter and a nice cupholder iPod mount. Kind of dissapointing...

http://forums.newbeetle.org/showthread.php?threadid=28960