Bought my first new VW back in '78, a Golf diesel 2 door, down payment thanks to my Teamster represented job at Hostess and mom and dad cosigned for the loan. Nothin' fancy, the manual steering was responsive, the 4 speed manual a joy to use, fold the seats down and with the hatchback it's darn near roomy as a minivan. No four wheel drive, but with tall skinny tires and two thirds of the weight on the front wheels it had plenty of traction and was stable as an arrow... I passed lots of four wheel drives that'd gone in the ditch!
Come '86 and the diesel market went south and rumor was that VW would be dropping the diesels here... So I bought a new Golf 4 door diesel cash with the $$$ I'd saved thanks to the first VW diesel's 40+ MPG economy. Got me to work and home during Minnesota's infamous Halloween and other blizzards, moved me and a few friends with the back seats folded down, and could drive right on the edge of the gravel roads during spring thaw when all the four wheel drives we're sticking to the middle for fear of sinking into the soft soil! Put on hand controls when my legs got gimpy with MS, VW ergonomics are so good that I could still drive it even though it was a stick shift. Bought a new Ranger pickup in '97 because I was deep into rehabbing an 1887 house, but kept the VW licensed 'til '01 when the clutch went out because it was more fun to drive and cheaper to boot!
When Bush the dumber tried to steal Iraq's oil in '03, I fought back by buying a car that used less oil, could even run on renewable biodiesel- An '03 Golf diesel 2 door with another 5 speed manual (this gimp wasn't givin' up), though VW was gettin' cushy and threw in power steering and air standard. Damn good steering too, neat gentle self centering and great feel. Great radio that could pick up Iowa Public Radio's AM station and Ed Schultz on KFGO out of Fargo clear up and down western Minnesota, as well as the FM public radio networks of at least 4 states and CBC too. Got tired of the pickup's 20 MPG at best and put on a trailer hitch, pulled a motorcycle with sidecar (think lots wind resistance) 65 MPH into a 30 MPH wind when I moved from Minneapolis to southwest Minnesota. Heck, pretty much moved my whole household with the VW diesel and that trailer, even hauled a 600 pound motorcycle on an 800 pound trailer... Had to downshift for a really steep hill on that trip. Regularly hauled 600 pound loads of corn and wood pellets for the biomass stove... No wonder VW don't sell pickups here, their cars do that job! Even hauled a trailer load of furniture back from Florida, and got 40 MPG or better with every load, 'cept the sidecar into the 30 MPH headwind dragged it down to 36 MPG. Turned 100,000 miles without a single repair but tires and bulbs, replaced the timing belt as recommended and kept right on going. At 133,000 now and I've had to replace the rear springs, brake pads, alternator, and patch the exhaust system together with flex pipe... No big deal. VW has a 12 year rust out warranty, and they honor it- They paid the local dealer to do over $3000 in repairs and provided a free loaner car, even got an Audi once.
So come '13 I finally step up to a diesel Sportswagon, even got soft and went for the DSG automated manual transmission. Paid for it with the money I saved on the previous VW diesels and invested in the stock market. Waitin' 'til it's out of warranty to put a hitch on, but already hauled a motorcycle to Florida and back in that vast space behind and the usual loads of fuel, tools, building materials, etc.. Mileage is down to 40 MPG, maybe because of tighter emissions, or maybe because it's heavier and I've got load bars on the roof rack, etc.. And what's this about an emissions recall? No biggie, VW will figure out a way to solve the problem with no loss of MPG or performance. I'd kinda like an upgrade to DEF injection, and there's a "basement" under the back floor where a tank would fit.
So in my fifth decade of enjoying VW diesels I'm supposed to spurn them like a jilted lover because somebody cheated on the emissions test? Would you divorce your lifelong partner over one incident of infidelity? Would you forever boycott a local businessperson because they overcharged you once, then apologized and made it right?
There is no perfect automaker out there- Look how GM and even Toyota decieved and denied for years before admitting that some of their products had safety defects. BP dragged their feet rather than admit to their Gulf oil spill and it's size, and has Exxon ever 'fessed up to the Exxon Valdez spill? VW is different- They've already admitted guilt, apologized, and are working on making amends. That's what you'd expect from a company that until the EC courts said they couldn't was 60% owned by its worker's unions and the German and State of Saxony governments. That's what you'd expect from a company that prefers it's workers represented by unions and respects the human rights of it's workers even in places where the government doesn't. That's what you'd expect from a company that makes no big SUVs and specialized in greenhouse gas reducing diesels as well as hybrids and electric cars.
That's my VW, and after a happy lifelong motoring relationship I'm loyal and as fiercely in love as ever. What's your VW love story?
1:15 PM PT: VW is now looking to hire mega corporate law firm Jones-Day to represent them. Though they practice in fields beyond bankruptcy, Jones-Day were the lead plunderers, excuse me attorneys, in the Hostess bankruptcy that saw assets given away for pennies on the dollar while the workers were shorted on even earned vacation pay.
Right now VW needs to bring in consulting engineers, not lawyers!