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Alan Gell asked:




American consumers want all the benefits of small cars with all the roominess of larger one. So, VW’s engineers have responded. The wheelbase of the 2011 Jetta is almost 3 inches longer and the overall length is 3.54 inches longer. That allowed the interior to be increased. Even the rear legroom is bigger.

At the end of July, I was part of the last group of journalists to preview and test-drive the all-new VW Jetta. We were in the San Francisco area, taking a lengthy test-drive in Northern California.

The VW Jetta media event was a little different than usual since most of the journalists were foreign. There were groups from Singapore, Mexico, Canada, India, China, and elsewhere. Obviously, Volkswagen is reaching out. However, the new Jetta design is clearly aimed at the North American market.

We spent an entire day driving the new Jetta through the streets of San Francisco, along the upper Pacific coast highway, and back through the twisting roads in the Napa valley. Although there are four trim levels, our only choice for testing was the SEL model, either in automatic or manual. The base trim, referred to as VW’s entry-level model, is called S, and has a beginning price of just $15,995. That is almost $2000 less than last year’s offering. The SE model is slightly more upgraded. Our test model SEL’s are the most completely trimmed out and have a price tag of about $21,000. That price includes an 8 speaker audio system, Bluetooth phone system, iPod integration, and a standard navigation system. The SEL’s standard engine is a 2.5-liter that produces 170 horsepower. There is also a TDI trim that features a 2.0-liter TDI diesel four cylinder.

The car looks almost like all the other small new cars. The sedan has gently curved lines and the outward parts all tend to blend into one another. Even the headlights blend into the top piece of the grilles. It is not a sporty look, but it is how most new vehicles are being designed. Gone are the old days of the standout Beetle-Bug and Hippie Van. Now those vehicles were head-turners with distinction.

Inside, the feeling you immediately think about is quality. One of my favorite vehicles is the Touareg and this reminded me a lot of that. The dashboard, the seats, and electronics all give you a sense of well-designed premium items. The controls are all intuitive and conveniently arranged. The seats were redesigned for this year’s model and they are very, very comfortable. Even after several hours of driving, I did not feel “tired” of sitting in the seat of a car. The seats are covered with a V-Tex leatherette which has the look and feel of real leather, but is a more durable and covering.

Generally, manufacturers provide maps and clearly defined directions for journalists’ ride-and-drive events. Volkswagen chose to show off their navigation system and input the routes into the car’s route guidance. It worked very well, including the simple command, “Turn here. Now!” My driving partner and I laughed at the simplicity of the European approach to navigation.

Beginning early in the morning, the fog was thick and as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, the tops of the columns were not visible, nor was Alcatraz Island. We maintained slightly slower speed because of the fog, although traffic was not very heavy. As the morning passed and the fog dissipated, we drove on more narrow roads that were twisty, rather than the wide and straight highways. The Jetta has good suspension and keeps the car generally flat on most hard turns. The 2.5-liter engine provides the power needed to climb in the hilly areas as well as hug the roads when accelerating around curves.

The navigation system is standard equipment and has probably been kept simple rather than run-up the costs of the vehicle. It is very basic and does not offer simple items such as text-to-speech. The roads were identified on the screen, but not verbally. Other advanced navigation features were also lacking. Overall, however, I liked the navigation. It provided all we needed to arrive at our destination, including intermediate stops for car changes and driver change.

For the afternoon portion of the test-drive, my driving partner and I chose an SEL Sport model. This has a lowered suspension, bolstered seats, and some chrome sporty touches. Other than a tighter handling, there wasn’t much noticeable difference in the regular SEL trim model and the SEL Sport trim.

The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta will be available in showrooms beginning October 2010. The pricing is noticeably reduced over last year. The car is modernized in appearance. It is longer and offers more room inside. The technology is up-to-date. Gas mileage estimates are 23 city and 32 on the highway. The TDI diesel rates almost 40 mpg.

The small-car class is becoming very competitive and includes Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, and even GM and Ford. I like the new Jetta and hope it does well, even if it doesn’t have the stand-out appearance of my old sly-blue van or a little green Bug.

Noble Berger asked:



Jetta for walmart sams club throughout the other item that kellie and low prices comparison shop find the store branching out to lower gas stations many areas walmart says he is big time the value of new stores or mega stores.

For shopping at giant eaglebrbrgiant eagle using the prices comparison shop find the absolute lowest cost they treated gas while you buy enough groceries.

The new stores built with gas convenience stores were built in 2003 had gas discounts at it is program it just fits our business big time the vp in the area or mega stores are in line with the consumer will be able to compete with gas is looking.

Bill Weston asked:



If you’re like me you want your car to go faster. There are a few easy ways to get more “fast” out of your volkswagen. Depending on what type of VW you have the selection of parts available to you will vary wildly. There are a lot of people out there tuning their Golf/GTI but obviously there are a lot fewer Toureg parts out there.

There is a large community of VW tuners out there and visiting the forums where these people hang out is a very good idea. They can give you an idea of what to expect out of various aftermarket parts. If the part exists the chances are good that someone on these forums has tried it out and written about it. This may sound silly but a couple of the best things you can do to make sure your car is running its best is to get your car a tune up and an oil change. Adding performance parts to a car that isn’t already running its best isn’t going to be nearly as effective. Another important but overlooked thing is making sure your tires are properly inflated. This can improve the handling of your VW as well as ensure you’re getting optimum gas mileage. Once these basic steps have been completed there’s a few other things you can do to upgrade your ride.

Engine / Power Upgrades

1) Upgrade your intake. This can be as simple as making sure your current air filter is clean. The more air your engne can get the better it will run. The next easiest option is to install a high performance air filter that replaces the stock one. These provide better air flow which should increase engine power slightly. The next step after that would be to install a complete aftermarket intake system. Cold Air Intakes draw cool air from outside the engine compartment rather than regular systems which suck in hot air from around your engine. Most of these systems are fairly easy to install and can be done yourself in a few hours or less. An aftermarket intake can cost anywhere from $50 all the way up to $300.

2) Upgrade your headers: The headers and downpipe is where the exhaust first leaves your engine on its way toward the atmosphere. Higher performance headers allow more exhaust fumes to escape, which can give a dramatic increase to horsepower. Aftermarket header prices can range from a couple hundred dollars to well over $1000 depending on what type of vehicle you have and what brand you choose. One thing to look out for is that cheaper headers tend to have fitment issues (you can’t get them to line up correctly for a simple bolt-on installation), and they may have resonance issues. Resonance is caused by the exhaust vibrating the metal and will create a noise that bothers most people. Headers can be installed yourself if you’re experienced enough.

3) Catback exhaust: These exhaust systems start where the headers end. They connect to the Catalytic converter and replace the entire exhaust system to the back of the car. Depending on how free flowing the stock exhaust is on your car this may be one of the last upgrades you choose to do. These exhaust systems aren’t cheap and may require welding and/or professional installation. They usually give your car a higher performance sound over the stock setup. It is also possible to just replace the mufflers if all you care about is the sound.

4) Tires. Probably the most overlooked performance enhancement you can do for your car is to replace the tires. Adding lots of engine power won’t do you any good if you can’t get that power to the pavement. Replacing your tires with a wider tire or tires with a stickier compound will help you get more traction. Choosing tires is usually a compromise between Performance, Ride Comfort, and Tread Life. High performance tires don’t last as long as regular ones. High performance tires can cost quite a bit of money too.

5) Underdrive Pulleys. You can reclaim some lost power from your engine by installing a lightweight crank pulley. These are made of aluminum and tend to weigh several times less than the stock ones they replace. Underdrive pulleys are slightly smaller than the stock ones, which means they turn the accessories they operate at a slightly lower speed. This isn’t a problem for most people unless they have a huge stereo system. These pulleys are usually less than a couple hundred dollars, and can be installed yourself. You will need a breaker bar to get the old one off, and a serious torque wrench to attach the new one. The last thing you want is the pulley coming off while you’re driving down the freeway!

6) Turbochargers. If you have lots of money and are serious about upgrading your car a turbo kit might be what you need. Turbos use the exhaust from your engine to spin a turbine, which forces air into your engine. This pressurizes the air and improves horsepower dramatically. These are not very likely to be something you would install yourself. They also may require other modifications to your car, so the cost is out of reach for most people.

I hope you’ve learned some of the basics of how you can upgrade your VW to get better performance out of it. Just remember to do your research before making a purchase, as there are a lot of products out there attempting to scam people like us.

Two More Inexpensive VW UpgradesIn the first part of this?series, we talked about two inexpensive upgrades that improve performance.? First, an upper stress bar to improve handling, and second, a cold air intake to improve horsepower and add some growl.? In?this part we’ll to cover some more ground in the world of suspension enhancements.? After all, you want to get your VW GTI or Jetta out into some curves don’t you?? If so, you’ll need some quality products to keep you on the road.

One of the two greatest concerns, when it comes to ripping the road, is suspension stiffness. Usually when suspension stiffness is modified, you also tend to modify your center of gravity, otherwise deemed ‘Ride Height’. For about $225.00, a fellow dubber can obtain a set of fine quality H&R Springs. Options include the H&R Sport Springs, which tend to be stiffer than stock, but not absurdly so. The H&R Race Springs, very stiff, and not very comfortable for everyday ride. If you have a Golf or Jetta, then H&R’s Sport Springs are going to make night and day difference alone. If you have a GTI, you already know that the ride can be a bit rough, and going to a set of Race Springs is going to make it a bit worse. A rude awakening for most. For a GTI owner, a set of Sport Springs should do the trick.

Let’s quickly review what’s entailed in a spring replacement. First, you’ll need a set of Craftsman Strut Spring Compressor Tool with Built-In Safety Pins from Sears. They run about $50.00. Now if you’re trying to be scrappy, you can always take these back when done. Just clean them up with a little WD-40 when you’re finished. The back is going to be harder than the front in a way, as you’re probably going to have to tear apart some interior. No worries though, it all snaps together/apart. Loosen your lug nuts on the first set of wheels while the car is on the ground. Pop the hood and loosen the strut tower nuts. Place a block or two behind the tires that will remain on the ground. (just in case) Jack one end of the car up one side at a time and place your jack stands under the front cross-member. (this has always worked for me) Pull off the first wheel, and remove bolts according to the Bentley Manual for your Golf or Jetta. Shimmy that strut out of there as a whole unit.

Once the strut is on the ground, go ahead and use the Strut Spring Compressor Tool to get the spring compressed. Be sure to keep the sides as even as possible! Once you feel you’ve gotten the spring compressed, unscrew the nut at the top of the strut tower. Everything should come apart relatively easily. Slide your existing spring off, and slide the new lower and stiffer springs on. You may not even need to compress the new springs when putting everything back together. When done, slide the entire strut back into place, and follow the above steps in reverse order. Voila! One down, three more to go!

The second largest concern in tearing through turns is, making sure the car doesn’t sway in corners. Flailing, swaying, body-roll, etc. can all lead to disaster when cornering hard. The objective is to keep the car from shifting as much as possible when turning. There’s a great deal of expensive hardware in existence to help this out, but let’s stay focused on the cheap, but effective items. The cheap solution? An Eibach Sway Bar & Anti-Roll Kit! Price? Ballpark cost is around $350.00, shipped. The heavier gauge steel used in these sway bars is significant improvement over the stock sway bars. Yes, you have existing sway bars, but they’re weak. Thus, the recommended upgrade.

Let’s quickly review the install process for your Eibach Sway Bar & Anti-Roll Kit. Pick the front or back of the car to start. Place a block or two behind the tires that will remain on the ground. (just in case) Jack one end of the car up one side at a time and place your jack stands under the front cross-member. (this has always worked for me) Get some light under the car and look for the stock sway bar. Locate the nuts/bolts that hold it in place, and begin to loosen them. You may need an allen wrench and a box wrench in order to remove the existing sway bar. You’ll understand this when you see it. Once bolts are removed, go ahead and finagle the bar out from underneath the car. Repeat these steps in reverse in order to get the new sway bar in place. Drop some grease on those bushings. Rinse, lather, repeat for other end of car. Thanks Eibach!

For the average Joe, the two of these upgrades combined provide substantial improvement over the stock equipment.? Combine them with the two items in Part I of this series, and you should find your car riding on rails like you were at Six Flags Magic Mountain.



By: Bill Weston

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