I currently have a 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit (they used that name for the 5th-generation Golf in the US). I bought the car new in October 2008, and after having it for more than 13 years, recently I've thought about getting a new car (perhaps a newer used Golf). However I just recently hit 81,000 miles with it (I don't drive a whole lot) and my car is still doing okay, so I can wait. It's probably not a great time to buy a car right now anyway, since both new and used cars have inflated prices.

Recently I heard that Volkswagen has decided to stop selling their base-model Golf in the US, which is disappointing. They still plan to sell their Golf GTI and R models though. Those are more expensive though, so I was surprised that it's still worth it for Volkswagen to continue selling those in the US rather than the more affordable base model Golf. The GTI starts at near $30,000, whereas the base model Golf would normally start around $20,000 or so.

There's an auto show that takes place in my area yearly around this time of year, and it happened this past weekend. I went to it and looked at the new Volkswagen GTI (among others). Volkswagen has gone to capactive touch buttons (rather than using physical buttons and switches), and I'm not sure I like that. Also, their new GTI has a screen in the center that is used for the stereo and navigation, and they've also moved climate controls onto that screen as well. So if you want to adjust the heating or air conditioning etc., you have to switch the screen away from whatever it's currently displaying to show the climate controls, and back. I've heard peoples' biggest complaint about Volkswagen's new GTI is regarding that.

Also, another thing I noticed in both VW's new GTI and Jetta I thought was a little odd is that the sun/heat shield for the sunroof is a mesh thing that lets a bit of light through. I'm not sure how effective that would be for blocking heat from the sun. Mine has a sunroof, and the heat shield is fully opaque, so it doesn't let any sunlight or heat through.

I had a look at a couple Honda Civics at the auto show, and I thought those looked nice. It seemed like those might also be fairly easy to work on.
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
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