Reflections on my new car

"ImmoralMinority" (araimondo) 11/18/2018 at 08:51 • Filed to: None

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I more excited about my new GTI than any new car I have bought since my RX-8 back in 2005. I have never owned a German car, I have never owned a turbo, and I haven’t had a hatchback since I sold my 87 Integra back in 98 or 99.

I have always loved Japanese cars, since my first Celica at 16 years old. My cars since then go : Toyota, Olds (vomit), Acura, Acura, Nissan, Ford, Mazda, Infiniti, Infiniti, VW. My projects? Toyota, Toyota, Ford. In our 20 years together, I have bought Mrs. IM (who rules for supporting this purchase) a Lexus, a Toyota, and an Infiniti. I bought my son a Subaru, the VW of Japan.

Can I be in your club, German car guys? Will you teach me the ropes? To be honest, I think I am not really cool enough to hang with you Bimmer dudes, and I don’t really get the parking thing. But you guys aren’t the tire burning asshats that wrecked cars & coffee, so we can hang. That was the Porsche guys, and I KNOW I am not cool enough for those bro s.

But you Volkswagen peeps always seemed fun. Weird, and a little confusing, but fun. Every Jetta I saw in the 90s was a rolling turd, and the Bug was never my bag, so I kept my distance. But I saw a few goofy dads there in the back behind the young guys who were saying something I didn’t understand about performance mods. I feel like there might be a place for me in that corner of car culture.

Now let’s take a moment to pause and examine Pumpkin’s reaction to Toby’s appearance and morning hello.

Yeah, he is going to need to work on that. Pumpkin does not approve of his kisses.

Japanese car people, can I still be one of you? You know I still love you. I still have 4 Japanese cars, the majority of my fleet. 2 Toyotas, a Subie, and an Infiniti reflects broad support for Japan’s Auto industry. But I can branch out a little, no? I mean, lookit how fun this is. Germany is not humorless, gray efficiency-land. Ok, it’s gray. But it’s fun!

After all, WWII would have been an entirely different experience if the Axis had been VW-Toyota-Vespa instead of those other guys. Those guys were no fun at all.

WRXasaurus > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 09:05

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Congratulations on the new car. I'm sure it will be a blast. I've never driven in a GTI but you and everyone else who has gotten one is making me consider one for my next daily in a few years. 

Wacko > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 09:26

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I’m surprised you didn't try a WRX

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 09:26

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Congrats! Looks like the GTI phase on Oppo is in full force.

Ash78, voting early and often > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 09:27

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Hooray for more old(er) guys in GTIs!

My dad is almost 71 and still DDs a 2004 R32 (the short-lived VR6 AWD model that Robert Farago said was better than a base model 911 and a quarter of the price).

But my dad still says the current GTI is the better car thanks to lighter weight.

His best friend in FL (also 71) just traded his E39 5-series for one, as well.

One of the best all-around cars for just about anything. Toss a roof box on there and roadtrips with the whole family are totally reasonable.

Danimalk - Drives a Slow Car Fast > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 09:44

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Needs more pictures of car, reflections, reflections on the car , or reflections of the car.

But congrats! I’ve only sat in the 6th gen and could tell thr appeal right away

OmerCarrothers333 > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 09:45

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Tell me more about your GEE-TEE-EYE...

Oh, and welcome, I had three different Hondas, a pair of Fords, a Dodge, three GM cars, a Toyota, and Datsun leading up to my GTI.

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 09:53

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Welcome to the land of strangely rational fun. I’ve owned 3 GTIs. I love them and consider them the greatest car on the planet. I’m way too old to be one of the VW bros as well, but that doesn’t change how great the vehicle is. 

E90M3 > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 09:54

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So did you trade your Infiniti in on this? 

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 10:05

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 Nice I never considered a VW because of the way a dealer treated me in the late 90s when I wanted a Jetta Trek edition (it came with a mountain bike) then as I was buying nicer cars I bought my Jaaaaag, then stumbled on my BMW so haven’t really given them a thought since. 

JoshROOSTER > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 10:12

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I lurk here and never, ever, post. Congrats on the car sir! Welcome to the club!

DipodomysDeserti > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 10:15

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Italy was definitely the FIAT of the Axis Powers.

Love the plaid interior. VW has some of the best interiors out there.

someassemblyrequired > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 10:25

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Well it’s not Great Falls Green, but it is the only VW worth owning.   Have fun, those things are a riot.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 10:51

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huh?

coulda sworn you were trying to get a corrolla last time i blinked

oh well... have fun :)

InFierority Complex > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 10:59

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Piaggio wasn’t exactly interest ed in fun little scooters during WWII :)

CompactLuxuryFan > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 11:32

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Well I’ll be damned you went for the GTI!

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > someassemblyrequired 11/18/2018 at 11:35

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GFG is the best.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Ash78, voting early and often 11/18/2018 at 11:35

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I was surprised to see how hefty the R32's were.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 11/18/2018 at 11:42

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Which I find midly amusing. I bought mine in Jan of 2016. I am unaware of anyone else with one at the time. Everyone on Oppo was all about the FiST, with a few FoST around as well.

Two years later, people finally realized that Ford’s build quality isn’t as great as it could be. And while those two cars are absolutely fantastic to drive, they do wear on you after a while.

I feel like that Spi derman meme of him sitting at his desk while everyone else does something different. Guess it took a couple of years, but y'all finally figured out the GTI is a damn good all-around car.

arl > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 11:56

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Mmmmmm plaid. Fun cars! I sold mine because of sunroof issues, but otherwise I enjoyed the hell out of it.

I see you have the manual. I had the Boomba short shift adapter and Black Forrest Knob installed. It was a great combo. The Boomba shift kit is super easy to install. Takes longer to read the instructions than it takes to install it. Highly recommended. 

Future Heap Owner > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 12:23

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This happened so fast. If you told me three days ago that IM bought a GTI, I’d’ve responded “the guy with an Infiniti, a Subaru, and the Sunchaser he’s always posting about? Who sometimes posts Toyota commercials? Bought a German car? Nawww.”

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 12:51

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Enjoy, I used to be all Japanese (93 and 03 Civics, 06 Mazda3) but somehow became Anglo-Deutsch. Next car may be back to Japan though.

Also my parents had at least one Camry 1986-2014 or so until my mom went Suby when my dad was ailing and needed something easier to get into. 

Ash78, voting early and often > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/18/2018 at 15:56

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Yeah, but damned if they didn’t feel like an Audi A8 cruising at 100mph :D

This was before the era of weight loss that we’re in today. Piech wanted something quick, but also “executive comfy” to differentiate it from the regular  GTI.

random001 > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 16:00

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I would buy one solely based on those seats.

Joe6pack > ImmoralMinority 11/18/2018 at 23:47

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Congrats. I got mine in February. First new car in years, but it does everything so well.