Title: A Week In The Life Of A VW Jetta

Author: The Raven

E-mail: nerocorvo@f-m.fm

Rating: NC 15, though I do not believe in rating things, however just to be on the safe side.

Feedback: I'd love some, be it good, or bad, or ugly...

Distribution: Ask me, we'll talk it over and see what we can work out.

Copyright Notice: This entire text and its content, is the sole property of the author, hereby known as The Raven. It is a completely original piece of work and cannot be copied, reproduced or distributed without the prior written consent of the author.

Beta reading: Nope, it has not received any, needs work on grammar, interested? Contact me, we'll talk...

German engineering, nothing quite like it in this world of ours. The masterpieces of mechanical genius are well documented throughout history. We find evidence of this starting especially at the beginning of this most interesting century of ours. Any encyclopedia will give endless paragraphs about this, that or the other thing, regarding well, German engineering.

Now, german cars, developed over the past century, known for their reliability, ease of maintenance, and all around usefulness. However, not necessarily aesthetic appeal. We have the BMW, coveted trophy of drivers all around, the Volvo, reliable work horse, and lets not forget, the WolksVagen... The evolution of this brand of car holds a warm place in the hearts of many. The VW bus for instance, the car of the hippy, suitable to paint garishly, reliable and a challenge to drive. The VW bug, a car from the 50's, distinctive, odd looking and easily flipped onto its top. The VW bug has been reborn in this the later half of the last decade of the 20th century. The new VW bug is a status symbol, and the accompanying add campaign is one of the more clever ones I have seen.

One of the lesser known cars built by VW, is the Jetta. This car is available with the more reliable and economical diesel engine, and the ones that were manufactured in the 80's still have a wide dispersion in the 90's. Now, as most people know, cars have all kinds of uses, not only ones related to driving, but you name it, we demand it from our cars. There is "The Lawn Ornament", "The Just How Many People Are You Going To Fit In That Car?", "The You Can't Do That With A Car", or my personal favorite, "What Are You Doing In That Car?". What people get up to, or down to in cars simply boggles the mind really. We sleep in them, we eat in them, we procreate in them, we change our clothes while driving them, we have impromptu hair salons in them, and so on and so forth. I do not own a car, I am not a driver, I must admit that it has never held any appeal for me. However, recently, I have found myself in the position of spending a great deal of time in a VW Jetta. I don't think that I even stepped into one until recently, however, I now regard them with a fondness no other car has for me. Of course the fact that I had quite entertaining and intelligent company in this car helps a lot.

I will start by telling about all the good things about the VW Jetta, I must say that german engineering is quite thoughtful in many regards when it comes to this car. The seats recline, just about all the way, they are relatively flat as well, another nice thing about them. The interior of the car is rather large if one considered that the car itself is not that big at all. The horn only works in the key is turned all the way, thus avoiding loud unexpected noises as feet and other body parts collide with the steering wheel. The windows fog up nicely, thus obscuring the interior very effectively. For a car, it has rather good acoustics, making listening to music more then bearable, also sound does not travel too easily to the outside of the car. The emergency brake does not come undone unless you press the little button in, thus avoiding the unpleasant surprise of rolling down the road, something that could cause the car to end up in the river or something equally unfortunate. The gear shift is nice and low, this prevents most bruises to the shin, which is a good thing. As a whole, the car is very robust, and better than anything, it is easy to jump start, when the battery has run down from listening to music in it all through the night. This is a good thing, some more modern cars are not so easily coaxed into coming back to life. The diesel engine, without any "new engine things" is quite easy to understand, and is very forgiving of its forgetful occupants. The Jetta is also an ordinary looking'car, not attracting the curiosity of passers bye, this is a good thing to be sure. One does not always want strangers attempting to see through fogged up windows...

Now that I have gone into the advantages that a Jetta has, it is time to discuss the improvements the next generation of Jetta's could have. You never know, perhaps VW will come out with a modern version as they did with VW bug. I believe the discussion that follows would help the designing engineers build a Jetta, that would be more then just a car. After all, we all need more then just a car...

OK, well to start with, the Jetta could use curtains, I mean, as well as the windows fog up, they don't quite do the job. Some nice discreet not too loud curtains would be a good addition. This way, if per chance a passer bye felt the need say, to peer in, well there would be nothing to see. The Jetta could also use one of those things to put between the seats, this when the seat is reclined, it makes a continuous surface, free of gaps to trap hands and feet in. Now, I believe the next design for the gearshift should be near the steering wheel. In-spite of the relatively low profile of the Jatta's gearshift, ones shins do tend to find it from time to time. The culprit of the whole experience, however, is the emergency break... If I had a virginity to lose, I would have lost it to that pesky brake. Hear this German engineers, put the emergency brake under the steering wheel. Thank you...

A spare battery would be a good thing to include in the engine construction. I mean, it is expected that one may play music all night, and even though one may be resourceful, it is not necessarily the nicest thing, when one is in a hurry, to find someone to jump start the car. A more effective heating/cooling system would also have its uses. One does not like to sweat too much when fully clothed, and when one is in a hurry to de-fog the nicely fogged up windows... Well, it kind of explains itself, don't you think? Well, now that I have discussed the merits and flaws of fine German engineering, and made all sorts of helpful and useful commentary, I will go and see if I can find the address to WolksVagen, and perhaps make them understand that a new generation of Jetta's are needed...

I wonder if I will have any luck.... Hmmm....

You know, a Volvo is a Swedish car... Oops...

The End...
The Raven, © 1999