Some videos on YouTube does not translate to “A pretty big culture of above-it-all bikers who give normal bikers a bad name...”.

Nope, if you actually rode on a regular basis (like commuting daily, not bar hopping) you’d see a lot of driver behavior that could kill you. Every day. Sometimes malicious, sometimes just negligent, but it’s always there, no matter how defensively you ride.

I can and do actually repair cars?

You don't ride a motorcycle, do you?

This. Seriously, all the driver’s ed in the world won't change American culture. The Germans are all about rules and order. As a result, sometimes their rules even make sense!

Remember when BMW made good looking cars?

They’re a ton of fun if you do the swap right, and not too hard to pull off, unlike putting a 13B into a ‘72 Superbeetle, which I did.

If they float your boat, more power to you. That’s all that should matter. It’s a neat motor, but I can think of a dozen other ones (in a dozen cars I find more desirable) I’d rather spend my money on to own and work on myself. Having spent years fixing VAG products, among others - particularly their malaise-era…

Of course. But that’s why we have regulatory agencies in the first place - because companies have a consistent history of doing whatever they can get away with when they are unregulated, safety and the environment be damned.

The recall system and the agency that does them didn’t exist in the 1950s or 60s - the agency that handles recalls (NHTSA) was created in 1970 to carry out the mandates of the 1966 Highway Safety Act and the 1966 National Traffic and Motor Safety Act. The first recalls didn’t happen until the early 1970s.

Sure, agreed on all points. The ignition switch fiasco is awful and actual people should be held accountable, not just a big fine for the corporation. There should be real consequences for the guilty.

GM is actually around third best of the major automakers for the rate of recalls over the last 30 years, only Mercedes and Mazda do better: http://blog.caranddriver.com/recall-throwdo…

GM’s first recall: the steering arm on 1959 Cadillacs, which was prone to snapping.

And there lies a big problem - when the owner follows the manufacturer recommendation for oil change frequency and oil quality, and it still sludges up and ruins the motor. VAG is hardly alone in this, but any used car with an engine known for this problem is a huge red flag. Why buy something used you *know* tends to…

When reality calls, be sure to answer the phone, ok?

You’ve got to be kidding. 323 hp and 278 lb-ft on regular 87 octane out of 3.6L and 30 mpg highway, compared to 325hp/410 lb ft on premium gas out of 6.5L - but SAE Gross, which corrects to around 265 hp/329 lb-ft SAE net.

It is, actually. Also look at the cars that the warranty companies (and even the manufacturers themselves, sometimes!) won't cover at any price once their factory warranties are out.

Yeah, I never had one with a D revision head gasket come back.

Eh, those engines were sludge monsters in the ‘97-’04 Passats and A4s, class action lawsuit and all. Not an engine I'd want in one of those cars...

Sooo many blown head gaskets on Neon 2.0 engines... IIRC, at one point, they had a “D” revision head gasket, which meant they had changed the part design at least 4 times in an effort to keep them from failing.