Filling Up with Gas

As in gasoline.  For automobiles, not what happens when someone eats too many beans, or gorges on probiotic foods without first working up to it.

Anywhoo, I may have posted before when I was still south of the 49th parallel that I avoided certain gas stations because of issues with filling up.  Even though the tank was still empty the lever on the gas handle would click repeatedly, making it take forever to fill up, and making it uncertain whether the tank was actually full until I started up the engine.

After moving to the Land of Tim Hortons, I go to a specific gas station that worked great ie. the lever only clicked once and only when the tank was full.  Until this morning, that is.  The R's tank (62.0 L) was almost empty, though the warning light hadn't come on.  What happened?  Well it clicked at 33 L.  Eh?  While that in itself wouldn't have been so bad, ignoring the fact that half-full isn't what I consider even close to full, the issue was that the lever never clicked again -- even after gasoline was spilling out and overflowing down the paint.

Ugh.

I wonder if something is wrong with the R's gas level sensor or something? 

VW Service and Tire Pressure

The Volkswagen recommended tire pressure for the 2004 VW Golf R32 is a little unusual in that it's different for the front (35 psi) and rear tires (44 psi).  These VW bona fide manufacturer recommendations are described in my owner's manual and on the driver door jam sticker.

What puzzles me is that in the past seven years of R32 ownership, whether it be VW service departments in Maryland or Virginia, whether in the United States or Canada, they without fail under inflate the R's rear tires.  I long ago gave up mentioning it because it never makes a difference.  VW service invariably deflate my R's rear tires before returning it to me, setting all four tires at 35 psi.

Maybe they know something I don't?  If so, it would be nice if someone from VW would inform me that the tire pressures in the owner's manual and door sticker are incorrect.

Personally, I think there must be a gap in their training somewhere; or perhaps more likely that some computer R32 maintenance file doesn't match the tire pressure information in either the owner's manual or on the door sticker.

2007 Hyundai Elantra

Unfortunately I had the opportunity to drive a 2007 Hyundai Elantra this week.

It's supposed to be a sedan, right? The seating position felt like a high chair. In the first five minutes I was reminded of that thing called body roll. One U-turn and the Elantra abruptly disabused me of the notion that I could drive the Elantra like I drive my R -- I suppose whether that was a good or bad thing depends on the point of view.

The Elantra has great cup holders relative to my R. The R has two cupholders designed such that one of them is pretty much useless. It's so shallow than any small cup is going to turnover as soon as I make a turn. Any cup in there also interferes with the parking brake. I have no idea what VW designers were thinking. The Elantra on the other hand, has two useable cupholders in the center divide, and furthermore these large cupholders are designed to hold firmly variously-sized smaller cups, as well. This was a revelation. Why this cupholder design isn't mandatory in all makes is beyond me.

The Elantra also got me to where I wanted to go. It's quieter than the R, and I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the ride was -- as long as I was driving in a straight line. Remember that thing called body roll? No turns, please.

It also occured to me that it's actually comfortable to be a slow driver in the Elantra. In the R I might get annoyed at traffic and at people driving slowly in the passing lane, but in the Elantra? It's much more comfortable and stress free to be a slower driver and hold-up traffic. It's not that I don't want to drive faster, it's just that the car's capabilities warrants slower driving. See that large gap in traffic a car-length ahead? Forget about it. You won't make it.

I'm being facetious, of course. Still, this was my mild epiphany as I rock'n rolled through a turn.

Titan Air Jack

I think that as described this Titan Air Jack is pretty nifty, far and beyond -- light years in fact -- better than the wimpy jack that came with my R. On even the slightest incline the stock jack is a tad dangerous. I guess I should really look for another one -- but the jacks I've seen appear to take up a lot of room.

In short, the Titan Air Jack is an air bag inflated by attaching a hose to your exhaust pipe or to an air compressor. You can change two tires in one go.

Anywhoo, my only questions are: cost, warranty, weight and deflated volume.

The Second Time, for the Twentieth Time

For the past half year or so, I've been getting automated telephone calls informing me -- as if I didn't know -- that my Volkswagen warranty period has expired. Now, I can't get any more specific than "Volkswagen" because the first call happened before 4-years of my R. I'm guessing they were initially referring to my VW 1.8T GTI -- which I traded in 4 plus years ago. A result of some record snafu, perhaps.

To paraphrase, each auto-call starts with, "This is the 2nd call notifying you that the warranty on your vehicle has expired...", which is about the point where I hang up. This is probably a 3rd party trying to get me to purchase extended coverage for my car. That would be fine, after the second time. But no. They keep calling, over and over, like the cat that came back. Each time for the "second" time. Are they too cheap to record a voice saying, "third" or "fourth" all the way up to "twentieth"? Perhaps they could keep things simple and just substitute "umpteenth" for "second". Do they think I'm so forgetful that I won't remember this is far from the first time they've called? How many vehicles do they think I have?

The recorded voice alternates between a male and female. Could the male be for my ex-GTI, the female for my R, or vice versa? The calls did seemt to increase in frequency once my R's warranty expired.

I once even listened to the entire message and when prompted promptly and firmly pressed "2" in order to reject their offer. One guess as to whether or not they stopped calling.

Call-blocking doesn't work, either, since their Caller ID changes each time.

The auto-calls were first considerate, then humourous followed by irritating and quickly to annoying. Now it's reached the point where, irrational as it may be, my ire is spilling over to Volkswagen itself. Volkswagen is probably innocent of this matter, though in the darkest of nights I wonder if VW of America sells and/or shares warranty information to subsidiaries and independents. Perhaps I'm not irrational, after all.

Anywhoo, irrational or not, I just want them to STOP.

British Columbia, Nigeria and Royal Dutch Shell

I've never had a positive impression of the oil industry - what with their kajillion dollar annual profits and other reasons - and I've always thought gasoline companies like Exxon, Shell, Chevron, etc. to be necessary evils. After watching this video, however, which comments on Shell International's deplorable business practices in the Nigeria delta and how Shell is now exploiting natural resources in British Columbia, I've decided that Shell is no longer deserving of my R32.

British Columbia: Nigeria North?


Let's see, I've been boycotting Exxon since 1989, and now Shell has joined it. I wonder how long it will be before I learn something about Chevron that causes me to add it to my list, as well.

VWoA sales report for November 2007

I saw this posted on VWvortex.com. It looks like only 1508 of 5000 2008 MkV Golf R32's have been sold so far. This is only my impression, but it seems to me that the MkV is selling a lot slower than the 2004 MkIV Golf R32 (link to previous sales reports).

Don't try this at home

VW MkIV R32 HGP TwinTurbo versus BMW Z4

The video was taken in the summer of 2006 on a France highway (max. speed allowed: 120 km/h) between Calais and the Belgium border (VWvortex). The Z4 driver didn't realize it at first, but the R32 had a TwinTurbo with 550-hp.

Note: when the Z4 driver shouts the speed, he's using mph.

Warning: mild profanity.



You can follow this link to get more details-- the original poster is the Z4 driver.

I hope it's not necessary to say this, but I don't condone or approve of street-racing of any kind.

VWoA MkV R32 sales report

I found a link to the Volkswagen of America sales report for September 2007. What interested me was to see that in September 2007, 299 MkV R32s were sold, and for the year-to-date 992 out of a total of 5000 MkV R32s have been sold.


---VW Gazette


I wish I could compare this to the sales report for the MkIV R32, but the closest thing I could find is the following, which combined Golf, GTI, and R32 sales in to a single category. :o(

VW-US Snapshot
	Sep-05 Actual	Sep-04 Actual	Yr/Yr % change	Sepl-05 YTD Actual	Sep-04 YTD Actual	Yr/Yr % change
New Beetle - Coupe	1,561	1,914	-18.4%	12,472	16,237	-23.2%
- Convertible	1,552	1,327	17.0%	16,020	17,508	-8.5%
Total New Beetle	3,113	3,241	-3.9%	28,492	33,745	-15.6%
Jetta Sdn	9,694	6,274	54.5%	71,824	63,281	13.5%
Wgn	84	1,054	-92.0%	3,805	7,211	-47.2%
Total Jetta	9,778	7,328	33.4%	75,629	70,492	7.3%
Cabrio	-	-	N/A	-	1	-100.0%
Golf/GTI/R32	1,705	2,319	-26.5%	11,961	19,269	-37.9%
Passat Sdn	5,065	3,917	29.3%	24,585	39,175	-37.2%
Wgn	783	1,761	-55.5%	8,564	11,210	-23.6%
Total Passat	5,848	5,678	3.0%	33,149	50,385	-34.2%
Phaeton	64	113	-43.4%	623	1,128	-44.8%
Touareg	1,138	2,193	-48.1%	13,132	20,305	-35.3%
T4	-	-	N/A	-	205	-100.0%
TOTAL	21,646	20,872	3.7%	162,986	195,530	-16.6%

---VW Gazette

Volkswagen Touareg R50

Wow. Volkswagen is coming out with the 3rd model in their sporty R line-up, following the original 2004 Volkswagen Golf R32, and the Passat R36. The Touareg R50 is to be officially announced in Sydney, Australia, on 11th October.

"In another world premiere for the Australian International Motor Show, Volkswagen has announced it will unveil its new Touareg R50 in Sydney next week (11 October). Developed by a team of specialists at Volkswagen Individual GmbH, the Touareg R50 is one of the most powerful SUVs in the world. While Volkswagen has yet to announce detailed specifications, it promises the R50 boasts "generous" increases on the 230kW of power and 750Nm of torque produced by the current V10 TDi model on which it is based. Bigger wheels and tyres and tweaked suspension complete the high-performance package. Volkswagen Individual GmbH has also designed new exterior and interior features to reflect the R philosophy.

The R50 is the third model to appear under Volkswagen's sporty R label, following in the footsteps of the Golf R32 and the new Passat R36 - which was launched last month at the Frankfurt motor show. All three models have 4MOTION all-wheel drive to guarantee optimal traction."--VWvortex.com

Irony

The other day I stopped by my local Volkswagen dealership to pick up some wiper blades before taking a personal look at the new 2008 MkV Golf R32.

On the way from parts/service to the sales area I had seen a worker with a huge grin taking a grey MkV R32 on a short roaring circle within the lot, starting and stopping in the service bay. I didn't think too much of it at the time but it turns out that R32 was the only one they had, and the salesman said it was still being prepped so no test drive.... Hmm, so was that part of the PDI?

Anywhoo, the salesman was kind enough to let me sit in it and take a close look. It looked nice, but I think there's a greater difference or "wow" factor between the MkIV GTI and the MkIV R32 than there is between the MkV GTI and the MkV R32. The front seat was comfy but it lacked the support I've grown accustomed to--it had side bolsters, but nothing like how mine are. The steering wheel was numbered, 3xx of 5000, which I still wish VW had done with the 2004 R32. Oh well.

Where does the irony come in? Well, after the salesman asked me what I drove, he proceeded to comment on how nice the 2004 R32 is and how the 2008 R32 looks like the GTI, and in return I found myself making comments about how nice the 2008 was. It was odd. I also had the impression that he had given up on trying to sell me a car. I don't know exactly what gave me away, but it's an interesting coincidence that his decision coincided with learning I had the MkIV. On the other hand, maybe it was an attempt at reverse psychology.

HTC s620 update

Late last year I spoiled myself and purchased an HTC s620 Excalibur smartphone to replace my mobile and Palm Zire 72. I was tired of having to carry around two devices. You can read my impressions and review of the s620 in a previous post.

It's been a few months now and I'm still very happy with my purchase. I did purchase Facade, a third-party program that allows the calendar and tasks to be displayed on the home page. I'm happy with this feature as well, though slightly miffed that this feature isn't standard on the Windows Mobile O/S.

It had always been my intention to take a few pictures with the Excalibur's MP camera, but it wasn't until now that I remembered. There's no flash, so in low light conditions it's difficult to take a good picture. Anywhoo, here's a picture I took with the Excalibur:


It's a 1.2MP camera, so I think it's fine for unplanned instances where I just need a quick snap shot.

How it all began

History of the R32 as it relates to the U.S. market.

What do you get for $30k?

What do you get over a 1.8T for your $30,000?--Here's one answer posted on VWvortex.

R32 information

I uploaded some additional information about the R32 on my dedicated R32 website as well as in my post over at Stargazer's Garage.

Jumping through hoops

The R's CD player went kaput a while ago and I finally got around to *start* getting it repaired: Getting my music back.

Fuel consumption

It's still only January, but I've had to fill up three times. Ouch. I think my mileage has been slightly lower than usual, recently. I wonder if it's because this winter I've had the heater going, as opposed to warmer months where I turn the climatronic/econo feature completely off.

R32 fuel consumption 2007. Data from previous years can be found here.

R32 news

First, earlier this month I needed to replace one of my wheel center caps. I was slightly shocked at how ugly it looked with it missing. Anywhoo, you can check Stargazer's Garage or my website for details and pictures.


Second, a nod to Volkswagen service--scaring customers away from free repairs is a talent only they have (I hope!). This minor epiphany came about when I realized I was seriously contemplating taking the R to my preferred tuner shop rather than a VW dealership for warranty work.

Inside pictures of the R

It was almost three years since I took any interior photos of the R. Not much has changed, but I thought it was time I updated the pictures... especially since I spend so much time in there . :o)

If you're interested, you can check out my website, or take a gander at Stargazer's Garage.

Site news

I'm going to be trying something a little different--I'll be posting any R32-related stuff at Stargazer's Garage and see how that goes. For now, at least, I'll just be putting links to the posts on this blog. I'll still be posting everything else on this site.

How do I spell relief?