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[Taka Mizutani]

Actually, the A4 and A5 chassis VWs are excellent in crash testing.

I'd highly doubt that the C4 is better in accidents- while the C4 has a
front
airbag, quattro and seatbelt pretensioners, there are no other safety
features.

The later A4 VWs have dual front, seat-mounted side and side curtain airbags
('01 and later) as well as ESP. In terms of safety features, the side
airbags and
side curtain airbags significantly increase survivability and reduce injury
in less
severe collisions.

I don't think VW is standing still when it comes to safe design- each
generation seems
to get better and better.

[Don't take this to be condescending or belittling]
Have you driven an A4 VW? When you say sporty car w/ a manual, the standard
model
2.slow Golfs and Jettas are slooooow. That's why I call it a 2.slow- they
have barely enough
power to merge on the highway, they're adequate around town and they're
anything but
sporty. Standard 15" wheels w/ all-season tires are not very sporty.

I would agree that having a powerful car with a novice driver is a very bad
idea, but a well-trained
driver can take advantage of a car that handles well. I would not try to get
him a yacht of a car
for that very reason (Buick Park Avenue is a big, safe car).

I think a VW with the 2.0 and a manual is the closest thing to a
contemporary Volvo 240- very
safe car, barely adequate power, very good brakes and handling (but not
really sporty). In that
regard, the 60k I drove our Beetle 2.0 wasn't as bad as some of you might
think. Yes, I wanted
limo tint windows to avoid the laughs and stares driving a yellow Beetle,
but dynamically, the car
wasn't bad at all.

Taka


On 1/8/07, Lee Levitt <lee at wheelman.com> wrote:
>
>
> Taka,
>
> I'm generally in agreement with you regarding the manual
> transmission. If he was interested in sedans, we would have gone
> that route. However, he really wanted a wagon, both for the
> utility and the slightly better rearward visibility.
>
> And I wanted a slow, safe, relatively large car for him. I don't
> have much fact behind this, but my gut tells me that the C4 A6 may
> handle accidents better than later model VWs...
>
> He's a teenager and he has ADD. The latter drives his likelihood
> of accidents up by a factor of 200-300%, and a sporty car with a
> manual would only accentuate this...
>
> If a Volvo 240 were available with AWD... :)
>
> Lee
>
> On Mon Jan 08 06:36:34 PST 2007, Taka Mizutani
> <t44tqtro at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I'm a little disappointed- I would have hoped that you would
> > teach your
> > son to drive manual transmission and have him get a manual
> > transmission
> > car!
> >
> > I feel that this is a useful skill that a lot of people are
> > lacking these
> > days.
> >
> > I would have gotten an A4 chassis Golf/Jetta 2.slow if you're
> > sticking w/
> > VAG- safe car, relatively easy to work on and fairly simple,
> > compatible with
> > VAG-COM that I'm sure you already have and also relatively new.
> > With a
> > manual
> > transmission, they're not totally bad, they have great brakes and
> > available
> > ESP on the later cars. Not reliable but a lot simpler than an
> > S-car. :-)
> >
> > Taka
> >
>
>