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Author: Carter

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1996 Volkswagen Passat TDi Variant

Published June 16, 2014 by Carter

In the realm of desirable German cars, the Volkswagen Passat scores remarkably low – undermining what a great car it truly is. There have been a few generations now, some based upon Audis and some based upon modified Golf platforms. Each platform has it’s own stars; the B2 saw the Audi Quattro-based GL5 Synro. For B3 fans, the 16V G60 Syncro Variant turned things up a notch, even if it wasn’t available in the U.S.. And the B5.5 saw the development version of the “W” engine platform, with one of the most highly sought after Passats in the form of the W8 4Motion Variant 6-speed manual. But while the B4 had no such enthusiast notables, there were two very competent versions of the mid-90s Passats available. First was the sporty VR6 model, especially desirable in Variant form since we didn’t receive the 4-door GTi or Golf Variant on these shores. But for the budget-minded mega-milers, one of the true hidden gems of the water-cooled community was produced – the TDi Variant. Available only for a short time and in limited numbers, these cars are easily capable of a Prius-crushing 50 m.p.g. and have room for the family. Like many of the Audi/Volkswagen products, they have a loyal community that follows them and enthusiastically cares for them, no matter how many miles pop up. Recently we saw one of these TDi Variants top $13,000 in similar condition – about as strong as money gets for any of the pre-2000 watercooled Volkswagen products outside of the camper vans:

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1999 BMW M Coupe

Published June 16, 2014 by Carter

When it comes to the best of the bunch of very memorable M cars, unfortunately the M Coupe doesn’t seem to rank in the top 5. Granted, with the S54 motor fitted to later examples it should, but enthusiasts rightly lump the first series of M cars as likely the best, and for number 5 you’ve got so many great choices; the stellar and understated E34 M5, the brutal but effective E39 M5, the rev-happy E46 M3. Then there are more recent wonders, such as the 1M and V8 M cars, both in turbo and non-turbocharged forms. But in the middle of these cars lay the cool and unique M Coupe. It wasn’t the fastest, most practical or best looking M car made – but it’s a combination of many factors that make it so desirable as a package – plus, it’s still affordable and a reasonable daily driver. Is there a better package for the money right now?

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Ex-Paul Walker 2000 BMW M5

Published June 15, 2014 by Carter

For many, the Paul Walker story is one of tragedy and loss – it was a senseless death of a movie star and his friend, or if you’re quite cold it was a senseless death of a Carrera GT. But recently I was watching a Formula 1 documentary talking about Francois Cevert, killed in qualifying at Watkins Glen in 1973. One of the drivers mentioned how then team owner Bernie Ecclestone asked why he was upset, to which the driver replied that Cevert was dead, of course. Ecclestone’s reply was that Cevert, right up to the moment that he died, was doing exactly what he loved to do – as were Senna, McLaren, Clark – indeed, every driver that has died in racing was doing exactly what they loved to do at the moment they perished. If there can be any moment of solace in the feelings of loss, it is that. You could dislike Paul Walker’s movies, but you can’t deny that he was at heart a true automobile enthusiast. When the Fast and Furious franchise first started, initially I really disliked the movies. I didn’t feel as though they accurately portrayed…well, anything, really. But my initial feelings have softened over the years as I both realized the place of the movies in automobile entertainment; after all, they weren’t documentaries. Further, I have to say that if someone came to me and said I’d be in a series of semi-corny automobile movies for multiple millions of dollars so that I could pursue my interests, I’d be hard pressed to say no and take the moral “higher ground” on the basis that I didn’t like the artistic license of the movie series. Paul Walker ended up being one of the stars of the Fast series, and as a result assembled quite a collection of memorable automobiles – one of which is a German car favorite and for sale today:

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2004 BMW M3 with 16,000 Miles

Published June 14, 2014 by Carter

I think it’s safe to say that I don’t drive my car very much. We live in a city and walk most places, and even when I do drive it’s generally less than 15 miles away. Yet, despite my car sitting weeks at a time and the very short drives that I do take, I’ve managed to put about 3,500 miles a year onto the car since I’ve gotten it. To be honest, sometimes I can’t even figure out how I’ve even put that many miles on the car, but they sneak up on you. I really enjoy driving my Passat, too – so it’s not a case of “I hate driving this car” either. That’s why I find today’s M3 particularly puzzling – here’s a car I’d really, really love to drive and own, but it’s only accrued an average of 1,598 miles a year for ten years. How is that even possible?

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1992 Audi V8 4.2 Quattro

Published June 14, 2014 by Carter

They say the devil is in the details; one of those details in the late 1980s and early 1990s Audis was the insulating foam designed to keep the cabin quiet. When the cars were new, the V8 quattro really was a big step up for Audi – significantly more refined in presentation than the Type 44 on which it was heavily based. But when I owned my 1993 V8 quattro – notably, in this same color combination of Ragusa Green Metallic and Travertine leather – the headliner was failing. Because that seemed to go hand in hand with the air conditioning also not functioning, I spent a fair amount of my time in the V8 with the windows down. Of course, this resulted in a rippling headliner spewing the contents of the sound isolation foam. This foam was pretty amazing stuff, I’m sure. Like everything else German, it seemed to do its job quite well until it didn’t anymore – at which time it failed in spectacular fashion. Granules of this foam made it everywhere – not only covering the interior of the car, but also my clothes and hair. It was somewhat comical, as I was showing up for work appointments in this seemingly top of the line Audi covered in a fine mist of orange foam. It was as if an Oompa Loompa had attacked my Audi by suicide bombing, and I was walking baffled from the aftermath looking a bit like an orange version of the Peanuts character Pig Pen. What was particularly amazing about this foam though was where it chose to adhere to – in this case, it would stick to everything except the roof, and when you tried to clean it up it would ball into even stickier slugs that were near impossible to remove from whatever surface they found themselves on. Sound appealing? You too can experience this:

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