Hasn't anyone put a 911 flat six (or even a turbocharged rig from a 930) into a bug, Karmann Ghia or bus? That would be a fun ride, I'm thinking.

I also vote that we need to put the Nash Metropolitan into garage.

KatzManDu

Turboner

thats part of the reason it belongs in the JFG. its the ultimate sleeper. looks like a 20,000$ sedan yet its a $100,000+ 200mph luxury car.

larsenf

If I weren't drunk, I'd think your post unfocused and rambling. Presently, though, I think you've perfectly captured the problem with the Phaeton. It's good. Very, very GOOD. But it's in no way SPECIAL.

MarionCobretti

VW's suck. 8 year old toyotas run like 5 year old ford's, and 2 year old VW's..according to that infamous quote.

VW? puh-lease.

Destardi

So, to fill our VW quota, we need a Porsche-powered Bus

Maymar is convinced M.C. Escher engineered his car

Although I got to thinking, the mid-80s Quantum Synchro was pretty cool. Good performance for a "car for the people" complete with goofy VW/Audi engineering. 20V 5-cylinder, Audi's quattro 4WD (NOT the viscous coupling synchro) and it initially only came in a wagon and manual tranny.

But unless Jonny can really wring out a superb write-up, I can't see it getting many votes.

R-GTI

CUL8R

Shapeshifter

My test:
A car is not made "special" by merely being good.
It is special for being positively "______" (fill in the blank) in the face of "_____". and made you think and feel ____. So much so that you would rather have one rusting away in your garage while you scrounge the internet for parts in a venture that would have bought you a new or almoest new, GOOD car.
----------------------------------------...">----------------------------------------...
ok, the above is really the point. feel free to ignore the rest. I think you can infer the point, the rest just spells it out.

If I could state it better, I hope it will be the mantra for picking fantasy garage cars in the future....
----------------------------------------...">----------------------------------------...
If the first blank is:
"competent, and surprising for its overengineering despite its looks and price relative to cars of the same talent"

And the second blank is:
"wearing a badge that nobody wants to spend that much money for"

And the third blank is:
"it's a volkswagen, but it's a GOOD volkswagen"
(that quote by william shatner, no less)

Then, mr shatner, when he feels the tug someday for a new, powerful, luxurious, silent, expensive, 4wd, overengineered german limo but can't buy a new phaeton, will he scour the junkyards, read through german-only assembly manuals so that he will never be separated from his darling phaeton?

I SAY NO! He will buy an audi, a phaeton by any other name. And probably an aluminum a8. Or maybe he'll realize he lives in california and all those excess diffs are doing is adding weight and turning his understandably affordable gasoline into heat and that his wheels could be further from the center of gravity and that maserati now has an automatic quattroporte. (which is less special, more good than the first, rear transaxle QP) Or that the next XJ won't be retaining the familiar but classic styling trend of the last 40 years (each has usually been less special, but more "good" than the previous, but the termination of the line will make the current car fond to the memory) and suddenly that shape may disappear from roads except in the garages of lunatics who may post here. Or that the next 7 series probably will look a lot more like the newest 5 and the bangle butt will be softened. (hold up now...) Or maybe he'll just buy a corolla. (HEY WAIT!)

ok,ok, I doubt it, but what's the difference? he bought a GOOD car, he will eventually be replacing it with another, but not with a SPECIAL car. If replaces it with a jag, it'll be a new one, not a perfectly maintained xk120. And probably not even a just-replaced xkr-r stirling moss edition.

as time goes to infinity, if you ask someone to point out a "good car," he'll either point to the driveway, as their humble steed reliably and stylishly clicks away its residual heat of its daily grind, or if they're wise they'll point to something made with their previous car's recycled parts.

Ask the same guy to point to a special car, and he'll tell you to go talk to the nutjob down the street that's spent a fortune keeping up his detomaso but won't speak to the guy you've been speaking to anymore because he asked him in '97 why he didn't just buy the new corvette c5.

That's why the quad-cam zr1 is still in the garage, despite the concurrent c4 being cheaper and almost as good in every relevant way, and the later c5 and c6 even moreso.

It's also why the RT12 and any other modified turbo 911 (or any modern porsche for that matter, since the gt3 rs is a recurring model in the 911 lineup now) will not be a fixture in the fantasy garage or any other "special" cars list.

danmangt40

Good point. I'm going to go with you on this one and nominate the Jolly as the silliest car for the JFG!

Vintage Racer is out taking pictures

Silverman

I'd also nominate the Volks-Porsche 914/4, but I have a conflict of interest because I own one.

brandonvalentine

2 words. Mini Moke.

Vintage Racer is out taking pictures

B52HVet

s14kouki

I will accept nothing more.

Seth L

Silverman

which brings me back round to the orignal S8, quite possibly the best looking and driving large uber sedan of the modern era

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-igbaHBQjHQ

eastaboga

indy360

Silverman

While I miss the Phaeton, your unstable, unbalanced dictator like threat to put the Toureg in the garage proves Churchill's quote that "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."

no_slushbox

Vintage Racer is out taking pictures

peakay

But, if a VW is going to be inducted, I think the obvious choice is some form of HPA-tuned R32. AWD, a twin-turbo VR6, and Porsche brakes are nothing to scoff at, presuming tuner cars are going to be nominated in the future, and not just factory cars.

elwood

As far as other VWs, when I slide thru a corner I wish for AWD, and certainly the 2004 R32 is a worthy nominee, as BrianE suggested. But the high-performance, Audi's-little-brother period for VW is relatively new, heralded by the GTI mkI and Scirocco.

Now, the original Beetle and Microbus are a touch common and obvious for the JFG. Even the Karmann Ghia is pretty common -- and underpowered -- but I'd vote for it.

What about the Thing? Jalopniks need a beach car!

R-GTI

Frost Face

I would describe how a runoff works, but you're all smart people...use wikipedia, or read the recent news on the French presidential election.

TheGuinnessTooth

GoatBoy

http://www.claer-automobile.de/startseiten/t-4-main.htm

the_Finn_294

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2007-michigan-vintage-volks...

http://www.herbie.dk/medlemsbiler/busse.jpg

MasterShake

Archie_Bunker

Meat Farley

MrSpyder

BuckDiablo

BuckDiablo

1) the automatic trunk lid wouldn't open with the remote. It took opening the owners manual how to figure out how to open it with the key. The switchblade key fob then broke while trying to open the stupid trunk.

2) the nav system locked up in the middle of Wyoming. It took stopping for gas and "rebooting" the car for it to work again. I guess it runs on Windows. ;)

3) The air-conditioned seat malfunctioned and went into heating mode. Thankfully it was the passenger seat, but it sure didn't make my wife happy.

rflagg

biminitwst

danio3834

Buckster

Kuang

How about a twin turbo, 4-motion Beetle Convertible?

http://hpamotorsports.com/projects_finished_cabri-OH.htm

I say Golf Syncro, Vanagon Westfalia Camper, or whatever the J-niks think makes fitting retribution for this unfortunate result of democracy.

Al Navarro

The Jeans Beetle?

combat chuck

Brian E

At least we've still got that classy, well built C4 up in the mix!

HypnoMike

I am a big fan of the Phaeton. But the W12 really rocks my socks.

tmpoirier

Jonny - A Scirocco, perhaps? Or an air-cooled Fox? ;)

B52HVet

Larry Forney

Brian E