Test Drove a Jetta TDi

[jcp123]

Oh, I hate cost cutting as well. I hate it when manufacturers take us as idiots. The problem is we are. Not we as in you and me, we as in the general public. People do not want a good car, people prefer cars with buttons and screens and lower prices. It a battle we lost time ago for mainstream cars.

iCar: New Study Finds that Gen Y Consumers want Hybrids with Tablets and Smartphone-Like Functions - Carscoop

Fortunately, while there are plenty of those iCars, there are still real gems to be found among mainstream cars. Cars like the newer i-series Hyundais or the (admiteddly long in the tooth) Volvo C30.

Yeah. And that's pretty much what I am saying. The stuff underneath the skin isn't sexy enough for people these days.

[RacingManiac]

The way I see it, more money saved for OEM, more cars sold = more chance for OEM to take chances on more enthusiasts car without as much care for bottomline.

[Ferrer]

The problem is that many enthusiasts can't afford thos enthusiast's cars, or they do not fulfill their other "practical" needs.

[jcp123]

The problem is that many enthusiasts can't afford thos enthusiast's cars, or they do not fulfill their other "practical" needs.

That's true. Although at least WRX wagons, SVT Focus hatchbacks, and the Mazdaspeed 3 were/are good starts towards reasonably affordably sporty machines which were/are still pretty practical. Step up to an Evo or STi though and you're pushing some people's budgets, not everyone can afford $30k even if the bang for the buck is fantastic.

[Ferrer]

That's true. Although at least WRX wagons, SVT Focus hatchbacks, and the Mazdaspeed 3 were/are good starts towards reasonably affordably sporty machines which were/are still pretty practical. Step up to an Evo or STi though and you're pushing some people's budgets, not everyone can afford $30k even if the bang for the buck is fantastic.

And nevermind the actual purchasing price, there's petrol, servicing, tyres, insurance,...

It's curious that today, while testing a brand new Audi A3, the bloke from Audi alongside me was a proper petrolhead and during the test drive we started discussing cars. We both arrived at the same conclusion at the end; there's no point in paying 30 grand for your Audi (or Merc, or VW, or...) if a 12 Hyundai (or Kia, or...) can show them their war round a bend.

My mother drives an i30 and his mother drove a pro_cee'd (or however it's called), both basic models, petrol and diesel respectively.

[jcp123]

And nevermind the actual purchasing price, there's petrol, servicing, tyres, insurance,...

Excellent point, sir.

[Kitdy]

My mother drives an i30 and his mother drove a pro_cee'd (or however it's called), both basic models, petrol and diesel respectively.

?!?!!?

[Ferrer]

?!?!!?

Drives, nevermind...

[Kitdy]

You mean your mother's mother i.e. grandmother has a pro_cee'd?

[Ferrer]

No, the mother of Audi bloke!

[Kitdy]

No, the mother of Audi bloke!

Nevermind, I was way off, hahah.

[jcp123]

To be fair, I guess I should add that VW is hardly the only offender in terms of cost-cutting nonsense. Mercedes for many years in the early-mid 2000s felt less than Mercedes-solid, they have improved but don't seem to be back yet. Mitsubishi went all-out in this regard as their sales eroded. Honda Civics don't have the sporty or quality feel which they used to either, and Toyota hasn't seemed to keep pace either in improvements in interior quality, either. GM still has a lot of cost-cutting materials in their cars. Though they have made some incremental improvements, they still seem to worship the bean counters more than the quality guys or the car guys.

[RacingManiac]

Have you been in any of the current GM cars? Most of the new ones are not worse than their other brand counterparts....Compare a Cruze to a Cobalt, you can't say the difference is "incremental".

[jcp123]

The Cruze was nice...when I worked for the rental car companies though, I also rode in a lot of Malibus, Equinoxes, Tahoes, Yukons, Traverses/Acadias, and a CTS. Most had some minor flaws in the fitment of interior stuff - not like it used to be - and a decent bit of hard plastic. The Cruze was by far their best product, IMHO, every one of them I drove was tight and perfectly built. The Malibus were pretty competitive but still lots of hard plastic. The Equinoxes were the worst offenders in terms of fitment, the CTS the worst in terms of materials vis-a-vis its price and segment peers. Traverses and Acadias were hit-or miss on quality, some looked flawless, others had some fitment issues, and again the plastics looked good but were hard to the touch. Tahoes and Yukons had some nice touches but where the Tahoe I feel is OK for its class, the Yukon doesn't really improve on it much considering its upmarket position from the Tahoe. I can't penalize the latter two much owing to the cross-pollination with the trucks they are based on. They don't share the same dash, but evidently they either share the same design team or something, since they seem to borrow materials heavily from the pickups. Imagine my surprise, then, when the Escalade featured some stellar quality.

Is GM improved? Heck, yeah. But still lagging a bit behind. If they all did as well as the Cruze, I would have no qualms about saying they run with the big boys.

[RacingManiac]

Not exactly fair to compare a rental to showroom new cars though. They are the bargain basement model....fleet sales is not exactly the same as stuff you sell to regular buyers....heck the rental Impala I had was even missing cup holders....

Also on the trucks....GM is currently on the oldest cycle of the 3. You know how US market works, the 3 basically rotates between their model and generation and RARELY if ever they actually come out with redesign(read, not face lift) at the same time. The current GM trucks are going to be replaced next year as 2014 model, which would really be the "new" trucks from the "new" GM. Same thing with cars like Vette, considering C6 is basically a 2007 car...