30 YEARS AGO, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY

[PaulOinMA]

The '87 GTi 16v posted above replaced my first new car.

1983 VW Rabbit L. 65 h.p. 1.7-L engine. Carb. 4 speed. No AC or power steering. Didn't come with passenger sideview mirror. Had to buy it after.

Black. Silver leatherette interior. VW way of saying light gray vinyl.

Engine bay completely uncluttered.

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[RushMan]

The '87 GTi 16v posted above replaced my first new car.

1983 VW Rabbit L. 65 h.p. 1.7-L engine. Carb. 4 speed. No AC or power steering. Didn't come with passenger sideview mirror. Had to buy it after.

Black. Silver leatherette interior. VW way of saying light gray vinyl.

Engine bay completely uncluttered.

I had an '84 GTI and '95 GTI VR6. Both were black with thin red stripes. From the factory, there was a single thin red stripe. I added a second parallel red stripe. The '84 had red cloth seats and actual engine gauges. The '95 had black seats with multi-color inserts, no gauges. Both were 3 door hatchbacks. Black paint is not an option in the current and last GTI's. The '84 was the most fun to drive with its 1.8 liter, 80 hp engine.
Now I have my GTI substitute:

 

[PaulOinMA]

I had odered '01 GTi GLX after my '97 Passat GLX wagon with a stick.

Missed the size and 4 doors of the wagon

Traded it in on a CPO 2003 Audi A4 Avant 3.0 Quattro with a stick. Regional Audi reps car. That was a neat car.

Kept that to a JSW TDI. A dieselgate car. Nice getting over 40 mpg and 600 miles on a tank of fuel.

 

[Robins21]

It's always fun to look back and see how much technology has advanced. Thanks for sharing.

Technology is not all that it is cracked up to be. We still have my wife's last DD, a 99 Explorer Sport, I DD a 2005 F150 & I have a 69 Mustang. I am probably the minority when
I say I would rather drive my 05 F150 then my wife's 21 BS/BB.

 

[Mark S.]

Technology is not all that it is cracked up to be. We still have my wife's last DD, a 99 Explorer Sport, I DD a 2005 F150 & I have a 69 Mustang. I am probably the minority when
I say I would rather drive my 05 F150 then my wife's 21 BS/BB.

It can certainly be overdone. Still, no one can deny that disc brakes, anti-lock systems, crumple zones, airbags, and the host of other safety features added in the past couple of decades have made automobiles far, far safer. Further, improvements in engine technology simply cannot be overstated. My 2017 EcoBoost Mustang with a 2.3L four-banger was faster than many V8-equipped Mustangs of the past, all while offering fuel economy undreamt of just a couple of decades ago.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Sure don't miss changing points and condenser.

Even switched the Moke over to electronic ignition.

The JSW TDI mentioned above was my last daily driver with a stick. Drove manual transmission 1983 - 2015.

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