Volkswagen Parts: Getting the Real Deal

The growth of the counterfeits parts industry is causing problems for motorists, suppliers, manufacturers, and governments from around the world. Just how bad is the problem? For starters, the manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit car parts is a multi billion dollar per year business. Car owners from the Kia to the Camaro and from the Geo to the Golf, and every make and model in between are all susceptible to getting hooked with fake parts. This doesn’t have to happen and I am going to share with you how you can avoid being deceived by purveyors of bogus car parts. Read the labels. Fake parts purveyors are getting very crafty in copying logos and other important information off of product boxes. Check for typographical errors or odd sounding language on the boxes. Most counterfeiters are smart when it comes to crime, but pretty dumb when it comes to understanding the proper use of English terms, grammar, and spelling. For example, brand names spelled wrong such as Monrow for Monroe. One more point: packaging may be “correct” but sized wrong; be suspicious of any part sold to you in a package that isn’t sized according to the product it holds. Check the part. If the texture of a part seems odd, it could be a fake. For example, that Hella headlight may not be what it appears to be especially if the element inside looks cheap or broken, or if too much plastic was used in the development of the casing. Know your supplier. Purchasing your parts from a reliable supplier isn’t a 100% guarantee that the parts received are genuine. Still, if they back up what they sell with a guarantee you won’t get stuck should a counterfeit part get passed through them to and on to you. Buy OEM or better. Only purchase parts that meet or exceed stringent original manufacturer requirements. Prices 70, 80, or 90% lower than retail rates should raise a warning flag. Stick with the name brands; there is a reason why products from Bosch, Covercraft, Denso, Flowmaster, Injen, K&N, and others sell so well: they are trusted names associated with well known brands. Avoid generic or no name brands. If you think that you have been sold bogus parts, inform the local police as well as the parts supplier of the problem. If you buy from an overseas company, the chances of you receiving a refund from them are slim. When purchasing online only purchase through those retailers who have an established track record and are reachable through a toll free number. You may save money in the short run with bogus parts, but you will lose in the long run with Volkswagen or other parts that are defective or even dangerous.

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Retro Vehicles: Is Volkswagen Next?

Retro styled vehicles are all the rage today and Volkswagen’s New Beetle was one of the first of many of these types of cars to show up on the market. Given VW’s long running popularity, other long since retired models are certainly worthy of being copied, don’t you agree? The Karmann Ghia, the Thing, and the Scirocco are a few that come to mind, however they aren’t the ones slated for a comeback. Yes, VW’s famous “Bus” or Microbus is scheduled to return, to the delight of aging hippies everywhere. Okay, first a quick test. Can you name some of the recent retro vehicles to hit North American highways lately? Besides the Volkswagen’s New Beetle, here are a few:

Ford: Thunderbird, Mustang

Chrysler: PT Cruiser

Chevrolet: SSR and HHR To qualify as a true “retro” vehicle it cannot just borrow the name – like the Dodge Charger – instead, it must take its styling cues from a vehicle from another generation. Enter the Volkswagen Microbus. Yes, open up your cedar trunk and take out those wild looking tie dyed shirts, your cavernous bell bottom pants, and that pair of odd looking leather sandals. Let down your hair [if you have any left], grow a beard [gents only, please] and be prepared to step back in time to the days when the VW Bus was the people hauler of the day. Peace, love, and stop the war you say? If VW has its way then around 2008 a vehicle very similar in style to the Bus will once again be seen cruising the streets of Haight-Ashbury, Greenwich Village, and every freaky place you can think of, man! Just, groovy. Featured at the 2001 Detroit Auto Show, a concept Microbus evoked all sorts of “ooohs and aaaahs” from visitors; it was this same type of reaction that has convinced Volkswagen to go forward with production. As of this writing, there is a battle raging within Volkswagen-land as to how much the Microbus will incorporate the retro look. Seeing how the New Beetle succeeded in the US, but flopped in Europe will VW have the courage to stand tall and bring back the hippie hauler? Or, will VW cave in and produce just another run-of-the-mill vehicle that only hints at its past glory? Time will tell, but my advice to VW is this: get it built now before us hippie dippy types are too old to climb into it. Unless, of course, the Microbus can be outfitted with a wheelchair ramp.

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3 Exceptional European Automakers

When you think of exceptional cars that are built in Europe, does your mind run strictly to cars made by Rolls Royce, BMW, or Mercedes? Perhaps Jaguar and Lamborghini come to mind as well. Each of these makes deserve all the accolades given to them. Still, there are three makes that are, for various reasons, exceptional. Let’s take a look at Volvo, Volkswagen, and Audi, the three makes featured in this article.

For a country of just nine million to produce one automaker would be amazing enough. To lay claim to two automakers is simply phenomenal. Both Volvo and Saab are from this particular country which is Sweden. Now a part of Ford Motor Company, Volvo has greatly influenced the automobile industry over the years. Safety standards that had been universally low elsewhere are much more appreciated with Volvo. Front end crumple zones, reinforced roofs and specially designed interiors have all had their origin with Volvo. Out of these high safety standards have come a line of cars that are, indeed, some of the best built and safest cars on the road. Fortunately, through Volvo’s leadership, many automakers around the world have incorporated Volvo’s high safety standard. This is what makes Volvo exceptional in my eyes.

The company that brought to the world the first people’s car, the Beetle, is also exceptional. First designed in Germany during the 1930s, the Beetle survived World War II and was one of the most mass produced and loved cars in the world. From the 1950s forward the Beetle managed to make motorized transportation available to people who otherwise could not afford a car. From college students in the US to migrant workers in Mexico and from the gritty cities of Holland to the Irish farmlands, the Beetle made owning a car affordable the majority of the masses. Even after importation to the US ceased during the 1970s, the Beetle was produced for another generation and sold in Mexico.

Without drawing out the point too far, the term that best describes Audi’s quattro technology is “superior handling.” Perhaps that is an understatement but when Audi introduced quattro all wheel drive the company threw the gauntlet down and told the rest of the auto making world that quattro was the standard by which all luxury sedans would be judged. Audi's quattro technology has given the company such a huge advantage over competitors that over the years it has been banned from certain types of racing. Indeed, Audi’s quattro technology provides continuous traction long past when other road handling schematics have reached their threshold.

So, there you have it. Three truly exceptional automobiles from the European continent, exceptional in ways, perhaps, that should be labeled as extraordinary.

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