1990 was a good year for German cars, especially the VW Mk2 GTI. Petriolicious, this subject matter has been long over due...and it makes me want another Mk2.
This weekend we're back at it again with F1. From the last race
in Russia, the moving trend is Nico Rosberg with lady luck on his side
and growing confidence, looking faster than ever, and Hamilton and
Vettel not being so lucky, Vettel even more so. Ferrari is fast, but Red
Bull is looking like their competing for 2nd in the manufacturers
championship despite the slow breakup with Renault. Renault is looking
good with young Magnussen. Kvyat seems to be drawn to Vettel's car, no
matter where it is on the track. McLaren is looking solid despite
needing to overhaul its entire powerplant in the coming offseason. Good
news is their scoring points. The Haas boys are still duking it out
mid-pack despite not being able to have both cars succeed at the same
time very often; Grosjean is carrying the flag here. Folks were caught
out trying to use the mediums to run to the end in during the early
safety car lap, the track was much smoother than anticipated and getting
a grip was name of the game. After the smoke cleared, the podium had
Rosberg, a not so pleased Hamilton who started from 7th and stayed out
of trouble and a chattier than typical Raikkonen. Rosberg's lead is
bigger than he's ever had it in the hybrid F1 era, so this will likely
be his best chance for the driver's title. The standings are as follows:
Rosberg, Hamilton (-43), Raikkonen (-57), Ricciardo (-64), Vettel
(-67), Massa (-68). This weekend in Spain should be a good one, with
Alonso looking for a good showing in front of his home fans, Hamilton
looking to make up ground and take his first victory of the season,
Rosberg looking to keep the good times rolling, Vettel looking to break
his streak of bad luck and Ricciardo looking to see what the full
potential of the Red Bull is this season.
The gang at AutoExpress take a look at the optional performance pack on the new Mk7 GTI, and see how worthy it is of your money. The Mk7 GTI is making its debut in the US this month and with all the trimmings it can set you back around $35k. I'm strongly considering a Mk7 GTI to replace my Mazda as a more fun daily driver that can get similar (close) mpg on the highway. Due to the value involved I'll most likely go with a stock GTI with very few options.
As much as we're aware of all the new cars out there that people buy and use as daily drivers, you really don't see yourself in one until your life puts you in a position where you need to fill a gap in your household car lineup. This is especially true when you've spent your life buying older cars that need work, avoiding payments, but then you find yourself in a place where you no longer want to work on every damn car in the house. I held off on buying a Mk6 my personal daily, but I did purchase a Mk6 JSW for my wife so we could buy large items at IKEA and LOWES and not have a problem fitting them in. For myself I ended up trading the wife's old Protege5 in for a Mazda3 Skyactive hatchback, which has been great at giving me an average of 35mpg on 87 octane over the past 12 months of short and moderate distance driving. While I enjoy my cheaply priced (and cheap to run) Mazda3 I would like a bit more entertainment behind the wheel. I didn't go Mk6 Golf for cost savings (and trunk size as a new parent), but I have a bit more in the budget compared to last year. I'm hoping the Mk7 fixes some drawbacks of the issues from the Mk6, but more importantly better efficiency from the non-diesel GTI. While I do enjoy quickly traveling from point A to point B, I also like using as little fuel as needed in doing so. Time will tell if the Mk7 (GTI) lives up to it's billing, but if it does, I probably won't end up with a 14' Mazda3.
Video courtesy of XCAR.
