Seth,
        Agreed!  My attempts to tune into VW "Karma" started back in
Jan. '66, when I turned 16 and purchased a '60 Bug for $300.00, down in
Naples, FL.  I learned, quickly, that one does not speak evil of one's
VW within 100 yards of said vehicle.  One does not beat on the dash or
kick the vehicle.  One strokes their VW.  I truly believe they are like
those women many of us have experienced and kick ourselves daily for
having NOT gained immediate insight into, you know - Seductive,
Cantankerous, Great Cooks, Capable of Giving Unbearable Pleasure, BUT,
the wrong words/actions/insinuations and they crap on you and run off
with that damn Harley-Davidson Dude who DID figure out what's going
on!!!

It's damn near as bad as the love affair I had with a '66 Alfa
Guilletta(sp?) roadster I got suckered into just after I returned from
Viet Nam in '71!  Now THAT thing was cantankerous beauty!!!  IT ran fine
as long as I was willing to kiss its tail-pipe before trekking out.

BOB - WA4RRN