Golf rebadge proves Rabbit didn't die After two years of waiting and wondering, Canadians finally get a chance at the new Golf and it's not even a new Golf ... it's a new Rabbit. The Rabbit was beaten to Canada by the new GTI, which will also carry its own identity rather than also tie it to the Golf (of which both are versions). A 5-door GTI is available as of July 2006. It was 1984 when the Volkswagen Rabbit was last marketed in Canada to coincide with the change in Golf generations. The Golf has been one of the best-selling nameplates in history and will undoubtedly continue, since the Rabbit is simply a rebadge only for North America (as it was between 1975 and 1984). The reason is that VW wanted to capture some of the nostalgia of the name, but in the process it also brings the car appeal to a younger audience. VW Canada originally projected sales of 4,500 cars through to the end of the 2006, but is already adjusting its projections upwards under the knowledge of initial demand, and an aggressive lease strategy. There are several exclusivities to Rabbit, including the 2.5-litre 5-cylinder engine that isn't available to Golf (but is also dropped into Jetta), and its being sourced out of Wolfsburg (most of Canada's Golfs were made in Mexico). The engines continue to be sourced out of Mexico, which means they'll rack up the frequent flyer miles since they get shipped to Germany to be bolted in cars that then enter Canada through Halifax. VW Canada's Executive VP, John White says there is no import gains realized in relation to Free Trade. Rabbit comes to Canada in 3-door and 5-door hatchback bodystyle, all powered by the 150-hp 2.5 20-valve inline-5. Power delivery to the front wheels is entrusted to 5-speed manual or an optional 6-speed automatic with Tiptronic sequential mode. That allows the automatic to actually attain better fuel economy, due to the extra gear and the capability to short-shift. Both transaxles feature gears that take good advantage of the engine's power bands, meaning progressive acceleration. The manual's crisp shifter and smooth clutch make for very relaxed driving. As with any VW, the cars are stocked with an abundance of safety assists, including anti-lock brakes, traction control (ASR, for anti-slip regulation), and electro-mechanical steering assist, which VW claims is nearly an active steering system. A fully independent suspension grants a typically solid Golf ride, soaking up just about any severity of broken pavement. Handling is relatively stable and there isn't any reason to believe the new Rabbit won't adopt the Golf trait of lifting the rear inside wheel on tight, high-speed corners. Standard equipment includes semi-automatic climate control (you can set the temperature and it the system will maintain it, but the fan speed and vent location are manual), power windows, locks and mirrors, height-adjustable driver's seat, active head restraints, and front side-impact airbags and full side curtain-airbags. The 5-door Rabbit adds 8-way adjustable front seats, upgraded centre console with adjustable armrest, and a rear armrest with pass-through for the 60/40 split folding seatback. Popular options include the 6-speed automatic, stability control (ESP), a power sunroof, 16-inch alloy wheels, rear side-impact airbags (5-door only), in-dash 6-CD changer, and heated front seats and washer nozzles. An iPod plug-in is available later in 2006. http://www.autonet.ca/Spotlight/NewModels/story.cfm?story=/Spotlight/NewModels/2006/06/15/1634865.html

VW's "VagCom" is just their own version of a scan tool. I've never had one in my hands so I don't know exactly how much it really does. FWIW, I'll never own one either. I do have a VeDis scan tool which is one of the strongest aftermarket European scan tools available but it is still an aftermarket tool, and I just don't expect it to be 100% complete. But it's the best I can afford. (5K+ there are others that are over a $20K investment, they do more than my VeDis, but imagine spending that kind of money and in a years time not expect to even get $1000 in diagnostic labor money back while using it) It's really tough fixing cars these days when it comes to tooling and equipment. I can justify (to a degree) owning O.E. tools for some 90% of the market. (GM, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, current model years and Honda through 2004) But even with Honda I cannot justify staying current with the O.E. tool, because at $9,000 for just Honda's since 2005 I don't see enough of them to justify any greater expense in supporting them than whatever I can get through my VeDis Asian, or Snap-On scanners. But back to doing the diagnostics on this TAC problem. Even the VagCom does not actually tell the tech what is wrong. The cars are not sophisticated enough to do that. When a problem is determined by the system, say an open in one of the circuits. The system is good enough to flag the circuit affected, and in some cases might have a code that is accurate enough to say that the circuit was "open", although most of the time it will be more like circuit open/short. The problem with intermittents is the circuit is going open/short at any point through that entire single circuit, but the diagnostic system is not capable of saying where it occured. Likewise a scan tool, displaying serial data will show what the microprocessor shows that a particular sensor circuit is reporting, but it's up to a technician to figure out exactly why a given sensor is reporting incorrectly when/if it is. Many events we deal with have a circuit that has a problem, the computer stores a code, but the circuit then just happens to operate correctly when the vehicle comes in, and we end up in a no-problem found situation. redpennies car at this point appears to provide a challenge to any technician because it is not broken all of the time. Combine that with her frustration from the expense of both related (potentially) and unrelated repairs and the fact that in a flat rate shop the techs quite often don't get paid correctly to take whatever time is required to get it to act up and diagnose it and you have a perfect example of just what fixing cars can be like for a technician as well as the public. In every real sense, my getting involved with any of these threads is time spent at work, that I don't get paid for. The techs at the VW dealership when they work on her car now in all likelyhood don't get paid for their time either unless they can justify replacing some part, that redpenny pays to have replaced. It looks like such great customer service to not pay anything to a customer when they have a complaint, but it's actually decades of a robbing Peter to pay Paul situation. The price of which is starting to finally become obvious. Could I diagnose and fix red's car. Yep, no doubt. Would she really be happy if I did? Hard to say......

The quality of VWs has plumetted since they started building them in Meh-hee-ko!Only the Passat and van are still built in Germany. The Jetta Wagon is built in Germany, as well. However, that model probably will be discontinued soon; I haven't heard recent word on when a "Jetta V" Wagon will be available. For what it's worth, the Golfs and GTIs sold in the the U.S. are manufactured in Brazil, and the Touareg is assembled in the Czech Republic. So VW's quality has absolutely nothing to do with where they're made. If location mattered so much, why is it American-built Toyota Camrys work so much better than American-built Dodge Neons? Why did Mexican-built Mercury Tracers (rebadged Mazda 323s) run so much better than American-built Ford Escorts? The real issue with VW lately, IMHO, is that they took their eye off the ball. They chose to move upmarket and produced the Phaeton and Touareg while pretty much ignoring the Golf and Jetta market. I think they've learned some hard lessons about using carppy components and keeping them in the supply chain long after it is obvious that they are costing them in warranty claims and customer goodwill. I would hope those days are gone. Daimler has felt the sting of bad workmanship and, since VW wants to be MB Jr., let's hope they do, too. That said, I've driven VWs (assembled all over) for 20 years. Every model has been a quality improvement over the previous one. They are very tough cars, able to protect occupants in crashes which you wouldn't think they could survive. My experience is that, while VWs may require more attention during their lives, they age more gracefully than much of the competition. Who else offers a 12-year corrosion warranty? But in exchange for a car that is tough and fun to drive, you will have to do a little more than keep it in gas, oil, and washer fluid. Drive the convertible. I doubt you'll find a TDI, but you should be able to find a stick-shift. If you like it, buy it! And remember that you can fit a lot into a convertible if you take the top down! :-)

You can just buy a used instrument cluster with the mileage you want it to show from a wrecker. I don't believe that'll work for some of the digital ones, at least not the GM ones, because they store the VIN inside all of the computer modules and that may include the instrument cluster. At power-on all of the modules compare their VIN with each other, if one doesn't match the vehicle may not even start. Supposedly the GM modules aren't reprogrammable once the VIN has been stored. But I noticed that rebuilt units are available, so I would think that someone has figured it out. So I guess the correct statement would be that they're not field-reprogrammable.