@BlackVR: It's not bad, it's just not overly powerful (though not bad with the five-speed - the 2.0/automatic is a hateful combination). As for the 1.8T, the later revision (2001.5 up - AWV) seems to be fine; my mother's put something like 115k on hers with no trouble.

@Jim-Bob wants a B13 SE-R, but will settle for working air conditioning in his 352,000 mile Nissan Frontier.: Ahh, I remember reading about those. Of course they're all miserable ideas, but like this pickup, they're still hilarious and collectible.

@Tossed Mazda3hatch's Chicken Salad all over Accord's face with a plate of croutons and Bleu Cheese dressing: I wouldn't even care if it was a Buick, provided it was equally wagon-shaped and (preferably) offered in one trim level with a manual.

@Tossed Mazda3hatch's Chicken Salad all over Accord's face with a plate of croutons and Bleu Cheese dressing: A new car that I don't hate! Oh, Europe...

I know what larger DLOs would do to the proportions, but really, could we raise the roof about 2"? I wear a fedora and like my bumpers to be intact.

@Jim-Bob wants a B13 SE-R, but will settle for working air conditioning in his 352,000 mile Nissan Frontier.: These are my thoughts as well. Yeah, the truck was a horrible idea, but there are plenty of horrible ideas that are worth far more than this one - it's unique, it's in great nearly-original condition, and…

@charlie.savas: The only reason I'd laugh at your New Beetle is because you could have gotten any one of three engines, and you chose the worst of the three. It's a five-speed, though, so it's not worthless. 2000 was about when they stopped catching fire, too.

@Turboner: I like your style.

@OMGItsWeasel: Eh, I have no problem with folks who don't use crosswalks provided that there isn't a crosswalk immediately nearby that they SHOULD have used, and provided that they watch for, and preferably yield to, cars already in the road. I'll cross the street without a crosswalk, but I'm completely attentive when…

With the same old Chevy 60-degree exhaust note that sounds like the entire powertrain is slowly disintegrating, no doubt. The official sound of the trailer park. Great racing, guys!

@OMGItsWeasel: I think we actually agree completely, and it's my original wording that wasn't what it should have been. On my bicycle, I follow the traffic laws - I signal turns, stop at signs and lights, and yield to pedestrians. I realise that I'm a slower vehicle, and keep to the right unless there's a giant…

@Pinkerton Proletariat: As have I, and I've seen it hold true before - at least sometimes. Double points go to 3800-powered Buicks and other GM products that borrowed that motor - except, sometimes, for LeMons racers.

@dolo54 blows minds and blows engines!: Most Spandex-wearing bicyclists are just as bad as hippies - hippies hold up traffic by meandering slowly and obliviously, whether on foot or in/on a vehicle, while stereotypical cyclists endanger themselves and others by disregarding signage and lights and failing to yield.

I see a pink two-door '60 on my way up to work, and every time, I marvel at its beauty. Sometimes there'll be a flat-black boattail Riviera beside it, too, for added glory.

@alex_mcg: That's the sleeper effect, though. I'd take one over an equivalent Jetta, though I'd probably prefer a Golf/Rabbit. The facelifted (2006-) New Beetle, like the one pictured, is far worse (to me, appearance-wise) than the 1998-'05 - it looks like they squished it very gently from either side, and has lost…

@Maxx Cracker — sponsored by Peniston Oils: My grandfather, while playing football in the street as a teenager, once backed straight into the fin of a 1959... I can only imagine how much that must have hurt. His back's not what it used to be, though I doubt the Cadillac was really at fault.

@Jagvar: Yep.

@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: 'Twas but a minor bumble. I'm glad you've acted humble.

@Jones Foyer: Ah, so cutlines and shutlines are specific subsets of panel gaps. Gotcha.