Utube's Humble Mechanic: He's Right On!

[GBaugh]

Utube's Humble Mechanic recently had some interesting things to say about the planned obsolescence and lack of support from VW's top leadership. Check out his latest podcast, "Has VW Lost Its Soul?" His example with the door harness availability issue resonated with me. It shouldn't be like that. Another example of how diseased the economy in general is. Once again chasing short term profits with devastating long term effects.

He mentioned some VW training centers being shut down at a time when we need the training the most due to the technical complexity nowadays. Anyone know what specific training centers to which he might have been referring?

 

[privateTDIjet]

I wouldnt buy any car without a engine belly pan. I see on some newer models they only come with maybe a 1/3 plastic sheet covering under the engine and it just doesnt seem enough. The usual profiting off of the common joe's ignorance

 

[oilhammer]

I agree with him, but it isn't just Volkswagen. They've all done some pretty awful cheapening of things, and they've all just started thinking "if we put enough bling and connectivity and features in the infotainment system, nobody will notice we decided to not paint the entire underside of the car, or put garbage Chinese or Korean tires on it, or that oodles of parts are from China, or the engine components are half plastic and don't last".

I had a broad in here last week, with a 2022 Tiguan, that hit a traffic cone (a TRAFFIC cone... made from squishy rubber) that was stray on the highway, and it not only broke an enormous hole in the plastic oil pan, but completely broke off the plastic windage tray and the plastic oil pump pickup. Luckily she shut it off right away and coasted to the side of the road. But still... a traffic cone? Something that, by design, is supposed to be pretty harmless to a vehicle? Come on, man....

 

[jmodge]

Sadly bling sells, shows the general gullibility being taken advantage of

 

[dieseldonato]

I agree with him, but it isn't just Volkswagen. They've all done some pretty awful cheapening of things, and they've all just started thinking "if we put enough bling and connectivity and features in the infotainment system, nobody will notice we decided to not paint the entire underside of the car, or put garbage Chinese or Korean tires on it, or that oodles of parts are from China, or the engine components are half plastic and don't last".

I had a broad in here last week, with a 2022 Tiguan, that hit a traffic cone (a TRAFFIC cone... made from squishy rubber) that was stray on the highway, and it not only broke an enormous hole in the plastic oil pan, but completely broke off the plastic windage tray and the plastic oil pump pickup. Luckily she shut it off right away and coasted to the side of the road. But still... a traffic cone? Something that, by design, is supposed to be pretty harmless to a vehicle? Come on, man....

My mother in law hit a fawn with her 22 chevy equinox. Glancing blow off the drivers side front bumper. (Even got to see it on video, she has a dash cam in it. Poor deer still had spots.)
blew out the fog light assembly, cracked the bumber, tore the inner fender liner(its fabric great design ), and cracked the headlight. Messed up the plastic diaper stuff under the car too. Couldn't believe how easily it flew apart. The whole front of that thing is cheap plastic crap. Insurance paid an arm and a leg to fix it.
I think at worst with the jetta(mk4) I may have needed a new head light, and possibly pop a dent out of the front fender.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I thought that video was spot on. And I agree that it's not just VW, but VW did have an unusual hold on its dedicated owners, which they've squandered. One could argue about when it started to happen, but it's gone. There isn't a new VW that I would want to buy, and that's sad.

 

[Nuje]

Certainly on this side of the pond, I have zero interest in anything that VW has produced since I got my 2015 GSW. Which, to the true purists, of course, is already an over-complicated abomination.

But with the implementing of SFD to block VCDS (and other VW-centric scan / code / adaptation tools), and that coinciding with the entire car getting a lot more computer module-dominant/reliant, there's exactly nothing compelling me to look at anything from VW anymore.
Taos would be the closest, but to the points above, it's so obviously a "how much can we cheap out and still sell a bunch" product.
Gone is the "surprise and delight" like we were just talking about in another thread in discussing the Mk4 Jetta's luxury-car-like externally hinged / dampened trunk support.

And really, I want a car-shaped car; not a small SUV (and definitely not a monster like the Tiguan or Atlas), so where does that leave me? Looking at my Mk4 and Mk7 cars and being happy with "ride 'em 'til I die".

 

[privateTDIjet]

Why the hell is the average consumer RUNNING towards lifted egg shaped cars?

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

The average consumer is pretty dumb... How else do overpriced, jacked up, obese, giant old school lengthwise engined sedans with no trunk lid get 20% of the market?

 

[Nuje]

The average consumer is pretty dumb... How else do overpriced, jacked up, obese, giant old school lengthwise engined sedans with no trunk lid get 20% of the market?

What's the old George Carlin joke? Something like, "Think of how stupid the average person is....then realize that 50% of the population is even more stupid than that!"

 

[turbodieseldyke]

I had a broad in here last week, with a 2022 Tiguan, that hit a traffic cone (a TRAFFIC cone... made from squishy rubber) that was stray on the highway, and it not only broke an enormous hole in the plastic oil pan, but completely broke off the plastic windage tray and the plastic oil pump pickup

A guy told me once he was riding his motorcycle about 40-45, came upon some squishy orange traffic cones & decided "I'm gonna kick one". Broken foot.

Speed is a force multiplier.

 

[oilhammer]

Why the hell is the average consumer RUNNING towards lifted egg shaped cars?

Having has the [dis]pleasure of driving my BIL's CRV into work today, about 50 miles, I totally agree. What an abysmal turd. No clue why these things are so popular.

 

[jmodge]

I prefer maintaining dupuytren's contracture and tendinitis from wrenching, rust growth, and sourcing used parts to the reality of buying something new.
Although, I without a doubt, prefer the IDEA of buying new. Unfortunately, that looks like the same thing as taking my money and buying lotto tickets. I think I could handle the disappointment of losing my money on lotto tickets over buying a lemon. Both would require foolishness on my part.
I have many other stoopid things to do first....