No Subject

I have learned a great deal so far, this is a very friendly and
informative list. My car is stock, no mods yet. First mod will probably be
an airflow mod (filter/box). I am too frugal (yeah right!) to change out
the shocks and springs before the stock ones are dead. Since the car has
~3500 miles, it has a way to go!

Oh yes, the introduction part. I am a computer consultant in Houston, TX. 
My other VW is a '71 Ghia coupe. I host several mailing lists both for
myself and customers. One that may interest this group is the Houston VW
club, see www.autographica.com for list information (list owner Alan
Presley). 

Anyway, today my VW died. I came out from an office after a four hour
visit. This morning I drove 20 miles to that office on interstate 10, and
left the car in the lot. When I came out, the engine cranked quickly but
no start. I tried a few times, then let it sit 5 minutes and tried again.
Checked under the hood, everything seemed connected/bolted/wired etc. Not
much to do on these modern buggies, you know? So, feeling rather useless,
I checked the fuses. A couple were out slightly, perhaps 1/16." I reseated
them and the car fired right up. :)  I was seconds away from calling for a
tow. I haven't heard of this in other Jettas, is it a common problem?

A few general impressions of my Jetta off the top of my head:

Likes:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
o Feels familiar to my 924 (drove it for 12 years)
o Interior details to keep the car quiet, such as rubberized bins and rear
seat belt slots
o Free reving (sp?) engine
o Height adjustable driver's seat
o 8 speaker stereo/CD changer better than expected from stock
o Exterior styling (though needs to be lowered a bit)
o Nice acceleration, a blast to drive!
o Handles well, though I want to tighten it up (tires first to go)
o Seats hold me in (not too stiff as some say)
o Mileage ~24-25MPG even with spirited driving
o Huge trunk
o Excellent value overall
o Great AC

Dislikes:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
o Shift throw too long
o Front wheel drive  (still not used to this)
o Too little storage up front for a car this size
o Rear end feels too light
o Useless cup holders up front, wasted space
o Rear view mirror/window shape too narrow (Used to huge glass hatchback
on the 924. I could see the world back there!)
o Finding reverse
o Horn button placement
o Cucaracha cucaracha cucarachacucarachacucaracha...

Overall I really like the car, and am very happy with my purchase. A few
dislikes, vastly over shadowed by the car's positive qualities. The car
needs a full cargo net in the trunk though, any suggestions? 

Thanks for reading this far, sorry for being long winded. I generally am
way behind in my email, so please forgive me if I am slow to respond.

-Mitch
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