VW, Apple 'iCar' In The Works?

Great! More idiots on the road with more gadgets in the car to distract them from driving.

Where's a match, I want to burn my licence.

Over the years I've owned several of the liquid-cooled, front drive VW's. These were all built in the '80's: an '84 Rabbit, an '86 Golf, and a 1987 Jetta.

These cars were really great, the fuel-injection system was mostly mechanical and relatively easy to troubleshoot and repair.

But it's my understanding that VW went on to hire way too many electronics engineers, who in an effort to justify their existence have made the cars so complicated that they are only worth owning in their first few years of existence by the yuppies that can afford to buy and maintain them. Once the warranty runs out and all those electronic components and associated hardware starts deteriorating only a patient and wealthy owner can keep 'em on the road.

A VW mechanic told me that anything newer than about 1990 would be a mistake to buy.

Sure wish VW would go back to their roots of building simple vehicles.

This latest idea is ridiculous. While some computerization may be necessary for fuel mileage and emissions control, who needs a transmission that takes note of my driving style and 'adjusts' itself to suit? They should fire those electronics guys and put the money into making the cars simpler and less problematic.

Thanks for allowing me to rant.