[Vwdiesel] bought a civic

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

I agree that Rabbits were great for handling.  77,78,79,80,84 were the
model years I've owned.  The 91 Jetta is not nearly as good, but on the 
open road it's stable.  My 03 Jetta is not stable.  The 8 degree caster 
angle aggrivates lateral instability with even moderate crosswinds.


  Wow, Dad and I were just talking about what a GREAT road car his 
Passat is.  I assumed that VW got it right and would keep it that way 
for a while.  :(  However we also both agreed that his pu, my Rabbit and 
even my Jetta (heck probably my Mustang even) are much nicer in 
town.  The Passat (97) just isn't all that nice in town. Kind of a mix of 
things and hard to describe but it tends to feel a bit heavy and the 
engine's characteristics just don't make you smile in town.  They 
sure do on a trip though!  Adding a chip would make it even better 
and might even help in town too.
   I always thought the reason for high caster was for quick return-to-
center on the steering wheel, mostly.  If you could get a little more 
negative camber in the thing it'd do much better on ice and stability.  
When I got my 914 the PO found this nifty adjustment for lowering  
the car.  Problem was it was indeed the ride height but when cranked 
down, it left no suspension travel and also pulled the camber to 
heavily negative.  That car was stable in 4 inches of slush!  No 
hands needed!  It's still good, with a proper ride height and alignment 
but nothing like it was.
     Loren