Does anyone else see the glaring problem with the ad I got in my e-mail (below)?

It’s really quite simple… That car has 4 doors. The “legend” of the GTI is that it’s supposed to be an inexpensive sports car and sports cars just don’t have 4 doors – they have 2 doors and a good engine.

That’s not “the return of a Legend” – it’s the return of a huge mistake they’ve made before – watering down the GTI and making it a Golf/Rabbit with a few extra features. The GTI needs to be distinct from the Golf or else it’s not a GTI.

Today VW is revealing the look of the Mark 6 Golf line with the Mk6 GTI. Here’s the pic they sent out yesterday…

Personally, I don’t really like it. I mean, it’s nice enough and better than a lot of their competitors, but I don’t know that it’s an improvement over the Mk 5 Golf/GTI/R32…

Here’s a Mk 5 GTI…

The Mark 5 “face” just has more attitude. The Mk 6 looks more pedestrian. The Mk 6 front end would be fine if it were a Golf/Rabbit, but it doesn’t look sporty. It looks like they’re watering down the appearance of the GTI, which is never a good idea – that’s what the Golf/Rabbit is for.

Oh well, it is what it is. I didn’t like the Mk 5 when I first saw it either, but it grew on me and now I love our Mk 5 R32… We’ll see what I think in a year…

Having recently gotten our new 2008 R32 it’s time to sell our 2000 GTI. It’s been a good car, and if we hadn’t liked the car we wouldn’t be getting the R32.

It is pretty much loaded:

• VR6 (6 cylinder) engine
• Leather seats
• Climate control (set a temperature and forget it)
• Auto dimming rear view mirror
• Rain sensing wipers
• Front and side airbags
• Alloy wheels
• Premium sound with CD player

It has just over 67,000 miles, has a 5 speed manual transmision, is in great mechanical condition, and has NO RATTLES!

In addition it has mud flaps (to keep the car cleaner), a trailer hitch (you can tow up to 1,500 lbs), and a VW roof rack.

Asking Price: $7,900 (priced below blue book value for a quick sale)

Contact me at jay@slicksurface.com or 917/447-2572 if you’re interested…

Update: The car has been sold. There was actually a bidding war for the car (nearly everyone who saw it wanted it), and it wound up going for more than the asking price.