RE: Dealers bad info, old Fiche
In fact I noted at one VW dealership parts department that they did have a
fiche reader still in the parts area, I assume they have held onto the micro
fiche for reference.
As to why VW went to ETKA instead of fiche the answer is simple: cost and
complexity. For a short time many years ago I oversaw the updating,
production, and distribution of micro fiche records for a much smaller
operation and it is not a simple or cheap process, just barley cheaper than
paper distribution at that time.  BTW, on that same job for many years I
designed the end user applications for the computer terminals.  If I'd ever
presented anything like the ETKA interface I'd have been out of a job before
I could have left the room....