Mark H. Granoff

Fast Cars

From the first car I had that was solely mine to use, I have driven German sports cars. Now, I'll drive nothing else.

My first car was a 1973 Buick Opel Manta, which I "inherited" from my brother (when he was done with it) before my Sophomore year in college. It was a great car (although, not particularly fast)! It was a 4 speed manual, Green Hornet green with black accents, and a black vinyl interior. Even though it was a Buick, it was manufactured in Germany for Buick by Opel, so it counts as a German sports car. I drove the Opel until 1987 when I bought by first new car...

My first new car was a 1987 Volkswagen Jetta GL, blue with blue velour interior, and a 5-speed manual transmission. I bought it off the showroom floor. In 8 years, its worst problem was a defective 5th gear syncromesh, which was replaced under warranty 6 months into my ownership of the car. I drove this Jetta until October 1994 when I bought the long awaited Jetta GLX. Now there's a story.

The appeal of the Jetta GLX was going to be its VR6 engine. The VR6 had debuted in the Corrado, and then appeared in the Passat, and the rumors were true 2 years prior that the VR6 would be coming to the Jetta. I waited. Finally, the Jetta GLX appeared and I placed my order for a 1994 Jetta GLX in July 1994. The car had been ordered through a car broker, directly from VW. The car was to be part of the last manufacturing run in Germany for these cars. At the last minute however, VW decided not to manufacture any more of these cars in Germany in lieu of firing up their then new Puebla, Mexico plant. My order was turned into a 1995 Jetta GLX to be manufactured in Mexico. And I waited some more.

In October 1994 I took delivery of my long awaited 1995 Jetta GLX, black with a red pin-stripe down each side. (Not my car pictured here, but it was just like this one.) The car was loaded, too: 5-speed manual transmission, leather, sunroof, premium stereo with CD changer, cold weather package, power everything -- every option except an automatic transmission! And, oh, that engine! The VR6 is a thing of beauty, indeed. Lots of fun.

Much to my chagrin, I had a lot of trouble with this car. Minor stuff, mostly, but no less than 24 repairs had to be made. Things like window switches and trim pieces and other small items. Annoying things, mostly. But I persevered. Afterall, I had waited so long for the car...

Sadly, in June 1997, my beloved Jetta GLX was vandalized in my own driveway. This was the last straw; all the joy had been sucked out of owning this vehicle. I had it repaired and sold it.

In finding a new car, it had to meet a long list of criteria, not the least of which was that it had to be a German car. (It also had to be a 5-speed manual, have a 6 cylinder engine, and basically have all the other features of the GLX). After some searching, and careful thought about buying new versus used, most ironically I bought a pre-owned 1994 Audi 90CS Quattro. (The picture is not my Audi, but its a picture of the same year and model Audi.) I bought the car from an Audi dealer, so it came with a warranty, which made me feel better about buying a used car. The car had come off a lease, so it was (and still is) in excellent condition. Although it was a model-year older than the Jetta, it had 10,000 less miles on it when I bought it than the Jetta had on it when I sold it. Plus, the Audi has at least 2 features the Jetta didn't: Climate Control (which I think is extremely cool) and Quattro All Wheel Drive (also, extremely cool). (Read all about all-wheel drive systems.)

The Audi is a great car, and I am an Audi convert now. I wouldn't buy anything else.

April 2001

True to my word, I bought my second Audi this month. The '94 90 was 7 years old and beginning to show signs of age. Besides that, its warranty had long since run out. So any repairs would have to be paid for 100% by yours truly. So what'd I get? I bought a gently-used 2001 A4 1.8T. It had about 5000 miles on it and was a salesman's demo -- and I got a full 4 year warranty with it! :-) I was convinced to abandon my 6-cylinder engine requirement in favor of the turbo-charged 1.8 liter 4-cylinder engine, and I'm not sorry. The smaller engine makes the car a bit lighter, and with the sport suspension and wider tires, the car is incredibly nimble on both back roads and on the highway.

Not an Audi fan?

Many other automakers have web sites, too: Ford, Dodge, Volvo, Toyota, Daimler Chrysler, and General Motors has several (Saturn, Pontiac, and Cadillac).

There is also some useful information to be found at the Federal Trade Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.