VAG news

[Tom Nas <tnas@euronet.nl>]

Hi all,

The new issue of 'Gute Fahrt', the German magazine concentrating on VAG
cars, has some interesting features. Of course there's much news about the
upcoming Golf 4, to be introduced later this year. Interesting facts: it
will feature a fully-galvanised body, air bags all round, all-disc brakes
and ABS on every model. The car looks more modern than the current model,
and can be easily recognised by a low-cut rear hatch (into the bumper a la
station wagon) and a rear-bumper-mounted number plate. The body is reported
to be much stiffer than the current Golf.
Another big one (in news terms) is the Polo Variant, a functional looking
small station wagon. Well-equipped, well-proportioned if a little severe in
its looks- no fancy touches on this one. The very small 'wagon is a
relatively new class, so it will have to prove its popularity. Being a VW
might be advantageous here...

GF has also tested an A8 4.2q for 100,000 km- and found no disturbing
problems. For a more complete run-down of their findings, please e-mail me
direct and I'll translate (if there's enough interest, I might cc: the
q-list)

Another interesting new car is the soon-to-be-introduced new 911, with a
lot of Boxster features. Its front-end styling owes much to the Boxster's,
as does its watercooled(!) engine. The same goes for the 911 as for the A8-
I'll do a summary of the article if there's any interest.

The last interesting article is that on the MTM Passat Variant TDI (136 hp)
vs. the Oettinger Passat Variant TDI (130 hp). The turbodiesel really is a
very tuneable engine, apparently...

Bye,

Tom

 _______________________________________________________________________
 Tom Nas                                          Zeist, The Netherlands
 tnas@euronet.nl

              Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog:
     Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result.