Someone had hit a traffic cone this morning that threw it into the middle of the highway. The truck in front of me had enough clearance and just went over it and it caught me by surprise. Smashed up the grill on my GTI. All cosmetic damage and it would probably cost less to pay for the repairs out of pocket than the change in my rates should I have my insurance company fix it. $#&*@!

Needed an oil change, rear tire was slowly leaking (and still pretty damned new), and yesterday the engine light came on. I had noticed it was running a bit rough and that starting the car could be sluggish, so I figured whatever the light was about, that was it. Holy moly. They just called. The guy said it’d take less time to tell me what wasn’t wrong. Blinker fluid was good and the steering wheel was still round. One of the coils had gone bad, the air filter was clogged, the wobblinrod...

'Cept for the part about the manual transmission. I do, however, love my GTI. Hat tip to that guy who's never linked me before, the stingy bastard.

An actual phone call I just got off of Dealership: How can I help you? Robb: I need to bring in my GTI for the 10,000 mile checkup Dealership: Last name? Robb: Allen. A L L E N Dealership: First name? Robb: Robb. R O B B Dealership: Mark? Robb: …
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Snapped this on my way out of work today. Had to park in a spot I don't normally, and this was waiting for me when I got there.
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You know what Si stands for? Silicon, a major component of dust. You know dust, right? It's the stuff of mine you'd be eating.

Just realized my GTI has Launch Control. It's like fate wants me to get a speeding ticket.

Stupid Scientologists. Had a big dump truck full of gunk ahead of me yesterday on the way home which sprayed the GTI with stuff the wipers just couldn't get off. This morning before I left for work, I grabbed some Windex and the only bits of newspaper I could find in the recycling bin which just happened to be this stupid mailing from the whack-job Scientologists trying to sell Dianetics by disguising Hubbard's pabulum as "novels" worthy of reading. Hence why it was in the recycling bin,...

I find the best way to start a nice Saturday is to wash my car. With the Wrangler, I simply didn't care since the dirt added character. However, with a black hatchback, washing weekly is a requirement. Luckily it's something I enjoy. I have to start early on Saturday because even though it's starting to cool off a little, by 10:00 the sun is out and the water will dry before I get to the other side. This is a problem, washing your car in Florida, because the water is extremely hard and if you...

But the 0 - 3 days to the shop was impressive... Some plastic bit holding in a sensor to the choke decided to not sense something or other and popped on the CEL. The service department was quick and courteous, especially given that I purchased the vehicle on Wednesday evening and the light turned on last night. I'm not worried. It's a part issue and doesn't appear to be systemic. Part of the issue is that the computers are so $#&* sensitive that they can detect things that might be a...

OK, so with my Jeep washing it meant driving it in the rain. I don't think I had even ran it through an auto wash in years. Anyone got any tips on keeping my GTI looking brand new?

Because I was too busy starting a new era with this No more Jeep Wrangler for me, I now am the proud new owner of a 2009 Volkswagen GTI. Black with the 6 Speed DSG transmission which is hard to describe. It's a manual, clutch driven transmission but it shifts for you. Or you can use the paddles on the steering wheel. Or the Tiptronic shifter. Whatever. Leaving the Wrangler actually was a sad moment. I got all choked up (literally) because that car has not only been a part of my life for 11...