Archive for the ‘Cars’ category

Newest Addition to the Golf

November 8th, 2008

The other day, I was surfing around the VWVortex website and I noticed some people on the fourms had front mounted European license plates on their Volkswagen’s and Audi’s.

In fact, I’ve seen afew German cars around town with their own custom plates So I decided that since I want to go towards an “All Euro” theme with moding the body, that I should order one online. I found GermanPlates.com, a German-based company in the custom plate business and shipped to Canada and the USA, I placed an order for a plate that almost mirrored my Georgia-issued tag. » Read more: Newest Addition to the Golf

Volkswagen Releases Photos of MkVI Golf

August 4th, 2008

Yesterday, offical photos of Volkswagen’s up-coming 6th generation Golf/Jetta platform (also known as the MkVI) and body were leaked to the Internet.

The photos (shown below) reveal Volkswagen’s next design move towards a more agressive design style.

The agressive front-end design takes cues from the production-level model of the 2009 Scirocco sports coupé (currently avaliable in Europe only). While the slender headlights and dominating lower grille work in favor for the Scirocco’s exotic design nature, it’s not meant to be stamped out on to every Volkswagen model. The new design looses touch with Volkswagen’s current “water fall” design currently found on the 5th generation models: Golf/Rabbit, Jetta, GTI, Eos, and Tiguan.

The rear end design of the hatchback models continue taking design cues from other models. The Golf, GTI, and (eventual) R32 hatchbacks, recieve an updated tail light design from the companys’ mid-sized SUV, the Touareg. While the tail lights appear to be an improvement over the 5th generation design, some may not like the “Mini-Touareg” appearance the car reflects.

The interior is also largely revised and updated for the upcoming 2010 model year, and once again takes styling cues from another model, the Tiguan. However, unlike the questionable front and rear designs, the updated Tiguan-insipred door panels are a welcomed change for the platform. The dashboard and control placement remain largely unchanged, aside from some minor tweaks here-and-there which enhance the refreshed interior.

The overall body remains largely the same, which gives the car more of a mid-model design change rather than an “all-new” design.

Pictures below:

Volkswagen Releases Photos of MkVI Golf

Volkswagen Releases Photos of MkVI Golf

Volkswagen Releases Photos of MkVI Golf

Volkswagen Releases Photos of MkVI Golf

The W8 Dome Light

June 17th, 2008

Earlier this month, I scraped some money together and bought a new part for my car.

(Yes I know this is going to be a lame post, but deal with me here.)

I’ve been eying this part on ECS Tuning (www.ecstuning.com) for quite some time and I finally felt like it was time to upgrade the ol’ dome light in the 2000 Golf.

My mom’s 2006 Jetta has this little feature and I liked it ever since, and I was happy to find that I could install it on my Golf. The new dome lights up the sunroof dial pattern, dome light switches, and has 2 red LED ambient lighting sources to help light up the console at night – much like LED map lights in private planes, or fighter jets.

Now, this is the 2nd part I’ve ordered from ECS Tuning, the fog-lights being the first, so I wasn’t too surprised to discover that their online installation instructions weren’t comprehensive enough to do the job professionally enough, even as a DYI project. Thankfully, I have my trusty 2 ½ inch thick Bentley Publishing Service Manual.

ECS Tuning’s instructions didn’t mention much about removing the A-pillar trim on the drivers side, nor the sun-visor, the ‘OMG-Handle’ on the driver side, or the left-side panel on the dash (with the fuse box) – which I had to remove all in order to wire the car  to power the lighting module’s sunroof dial pattern, dome light switches, and the 2 red ambient LEDs.

The whole installation took about 20 to 25 minutes, but once again I was a bit disappointed with ECS Tuning’s installation instructions, but they do have quite a list of parts (both OEM/Factory and aftermarket) and I’m lucky to have the Factory Service Manual, so I guess it works out some how.

I’ll post pictures of the newly installed W8 Dome Light soonish. 

The 26th Annual AJC Auto Show – Review

April 21st, 2008

So, yesterday, I went to the 26th Annual AJC Auto Show, held at the Georgia World Congress Center. Over all the event was done half-way decent, coordination and intelligence was scattered around unnecessarily and stupidity.

In years past, the auto show was held within one large showroom floor in Building A, however this year, the show was split up into 2 showrooms. I don’t know if the split was because of scheduling conflicts, or if it was because Building A was undergoing repairs from the tornado that went through the Atlanta-area a few months ago, but either way it was still decently organized.

This year, unlike last year, we decided to go on opening day, I was expecting there to be large crowds and plenty of energy, but the hussle and bussle just wasn’t there. To me, it felt like that the majority of people there weren’t there to check out the new concepts, the upcoming production models, or the exotic sports cars. The lack of energy just kinda made the event kinda bland, informative and entertaining, but still kinda bland.

» Read more: The 26th Annual AJC Auto Show – Review

Volkswagen Introduces the New Scirocco

April 18th, 2008

I was surfing around some of my favorite Volkswagen news websites during another unproductive day at home, when pulled up the VWVortex website. There on their front page was news of the all-new 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco. Volkswagen’s attempt (again) to capture the sports-coupe segment.

The VWVortex article mainly consisted of Volkswagen’s Press Release from the Geneva Auto Show.

Volkswagen’s Chief Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn was quoted in the VWVortex article saying:

“In the Scirocco we will be bringing the kind of sports car into the showroom that people dream of. Yet it is a dream that an exceptionally large number of car drivers will be able to afford – despite all of the high-end technologies we have implemented.”

I’m not too sure about the “kind of sports car[...] that people dream of.” part of Dr. Winterkorn’s statement. While the front end design is defiantly unique and shocking in comparison to the Volkswagen Jetta and GTI, which are currently offered at dealerships, the all-new Scirocco isn’t as appealing of a ‘sports coupé’ I was expecting from Volkswagen designers and engineers. » Read more: Volkswagen Introduces the New Scirocco

Lightin’ Up the Fog

March 15th, 2008

One of the first things I wanted to do with the Golf I just bought was to install some fog-lights. I kinda got ‘spoiled’ to having fog lights on the 1997 Jetta I used to drive before it met its untimely death.

Volkswagen originally shipped fog-lights as an option. These optional fog-lights were built into the head lights. After pricing replacement headlights and realizing I’d have to spend more money on a switch and wiring loom to hook everything up, I was looking at spending way more than I wanted to, so I started looking for aftermarket fog-light kits. After a while of searching, I found a complete kit that fitted fog-lights into the lower portion of the bumper, and included the wiring loom, instructions, and an European market OEM head light switch. » Read more: Lightin’ Up the Fog

Death of the 1997 Jetta

May 3rd, 2007

I was riding with mom (we shared the use of the car) after having lunch with dad. She was driving down Old Norcross Rd., we were coming through the intersection of Old Norcross and Cruse Rd. and this guy in a 2000 Toyota Camry was in the right turn lane onto Old Norcross, but instead of yielding to us, he decides he want’s to go straight – from a right turn-only lane, with a red light.

He came straight through and hit the front passanger door (my door),  his front bumper support caught the door jam of the rear door on the right side of the Jetta and just tore through the door like a can opener, the front bumper of his car smashed into the right rear wheel well pushing the rear wheel into the car, bending and damaging the sub-frame of the car.

» Read more: Death of the 1997 Jetta

The AJC’s 25th Annual Auto Show

March 11th, 2007

For the 25th year in a row, the Atlanta Journal & Constitution hosted the Atlanta Auto Show at the Georgia World Congress Center.  Below are photos of some wonderful automobiles on display by various manufactures.

Enjoy

The AJCs 25th Annual Auto Show   The AJCs 25th Annual Auto Show     The AJCs 25th Annual Auto Show   The AJCs 25th Annual Auto Show   The AJCs 25th Annual Auto Show   » Read more: The AJC’s 25th Annual Auto Show