I guess it all depends on what you want to drive.  VWs have their quirks and
I stay far away from the Tracy, California dealership.  I've never drove
Japanese though most people keep trying to twist my arm into doing so, and I
like some of their cars, particularly Acuras.

However, now I guess I'm too old to switch.  My husband reluctantly puts up
with the bad VW habit and now has a Syncro he shares with me.  He curses it
but will not part with it (yet).  By the way, it doesn't leak oil (knock on
wood) and neither does my previous 87, a Wolfsburg (knock on wood again!)
nor does my current New Beetle TDI; we did just replace a gasket at about
210,000.

I'm at 222,000+ on the 98 New Beetle TDI.  It has not been a hassle-free
experience by any means, but I'm used to it now, and staying far away from
the dealerships help. I guess it's a lifestyle choice; if you want straight,
reliable transportaion, a Honda probably is the way to go.

I don't want a car payment and newer cars really don't interest me.  I would
like a decent 4-door family car some day but I will likely try to find a
decent used model; I really like the look of the Cadillac CTS (I think
that's the right initials) and my husband is a U.S. car guy so I have to
compromise occasionally.  In the meantime, I love driving a diesel so I
think I'll hang in there with my old TDI for the daily commute, and the
Syncro for weekends/hauling/4-wheeling.  The slide in the economy really
makes me want to just hang on to the vehicles I have, keep fixing them, and
go about my business.

Donna, content VW owner, 1987 Syncro