mcq@druxt.UUCP (03/21/84)
[]----- With discussions of beetles in progress, and the Honda Accord still showing up on the top 10, I thought I'd muse out loud a little. I owned a VW Beetle for 7 years before buying an Accord. I often miss the old Beetle, and I've been sort of lukewarm about the Accord for the 50000 miles I've had it. Somebody referred to their Accord recently as being as sure- footed a car as they ever owned, or something to that effect (impolite 4WD drivers discussion). Well, I just don't find the car, front-wheel drive and all, quite up to my old bug in this regard. The old VW would have climbed a tree for me, should I have had any desire to do so. The Accord doesn't have enough ability to handle bad mountain roads or deep snow - no ground clearance and front wheel drive isn't all that wonderful on steep grades where the vehicle's weight shifts to the rear. I will grant the Honda being a nice little highway car - I still think it represented the best choice in its class (Rabbits, etc) when I bought it. It does a reasonable job of carting what junk I want to take the (sometimes considerable) highway distance to get to the god-awful mountain road that goes somewhere interesting. It has reasonable, if not astounding, performance, and very good stability. The old Beetle had problems in this area, feeling decidedly uneasy at any speed above 65 mph (a speed which required you to whip the poor little thing within an inch of its life anyway), getting blown all over God's creation by the slightest wind, and not being able to cart enough, even with the acute sense of spatial relationships you developed from owning and packing one of the beasts. The Honda has been fairly good with regard to mechanical failures - I bought it partially on its reputation in this area. BUT, the thing has gotten stuck in mud and snow - I punched a hole in the gas tank once, too. The old Beetle would have pulled through where I was taking the Honda. So why don't I own a 4WD pickup and be done with it? Mainly because 80-90% of my driving is buzzing around town, and I want a vehicle that won't break me at the gas pump, is little enough to zip around nimbly in city traffic , and will fit into the parking spot left by two moldy old Buicks both overhanging their slots. Why can't somebody design a decent compromise vehicle with a body shape that makes maximum use out of the space available for a small wheelbase, has just enough engine and a good enough suspension to hold its own on the highway without becoming a mobile subsidy for the oil companies, and traction / ground clearance enough to handle occasional jeep tracks and snow. It would help this last item a great deal NOT to have those stupid toy tires (rules out the little 4WD's like Subarus and that strange looking Toyota). One reason the old bugs could function as a poor man's jeep was those 5.60x15's (it also gave them part of their unique appearance - those large tires on a tiny little car). There's still some lessons the auto makers could learn from the old Beetles, mostly concerning reliability and functionality. When I got rid of mine, I got what I felt was the best of the little econo-hatchbacks, hoping front wheel drive would give it enough ability to handle bad roads and snow for my purposes. Nope. The closest thing to what I want may be the AMC Eagle, but they still seem to be gas hogs, and may be just a bit larger than I want for everyday use. If I was silly enough to want to own two vehicles, I'd probably have a truck and some little shoe-box sized two-seater bomb that would be fun to drive around town in. If I ever find a vehicle which satisfies me as a good compromise for all the things I want to do with it I'll camp out on the dealer's doorstep to get one. Any opinions regarding "best all around vehicle" are welcome, and I still consider myself part of the VW beetle fan club. Bob McQueer ihnp4!druxt!mcq
rkp@drufl.UUCP (03/21/84)
Way to go, Bob! After 10 years, I thought I was getting tired of my Super Beetle, but now that I have put a new carb and distributor (carb lasted 110,000 without a rebuild, finally had to replace it; and I went to a centrifugal distributor) on the old thing, I'm ready to have fun again. The acceleration I hadn't seen (or cared about) for a few years is back. Long live the Bug! Russ Pierce drufl!rkp