[Steidl Guitars]

I'll be trading this car in for a japanese one. While it won't be half as fun to drive, and the interior quality will be inferior, i won't miss the countless visits to the mechanic.

And there's the rub, which holds for a lot of German iron.  Many are great driver's cars, with terrific engineering, but without Japanese reliability. 

Alas... indeed much like boutique audio gear! 

[jimdgoulding]

I've owned a Mazda 3 hatchback since they first came out.  The only thing I would have liked to have is a sixth gear, maybe the new ones do.  Man, I love going thru the gears on that puppy and the thrill of its acceleration.  The gear ratios provide for that real good.  It's has 90k miles on it and has never, that's right, never required anything other than oil changes and tire rotation, and brake pads.  A girlfriend of my daughter had a factory souped up Rabbit and it was a thrill for the same reason plus it was a much faster 6 cylinder with a sixth speed.  Still, I was and am partial to my model car.  On balance, I just love it.  It runs like a top.  Happy trails.

[jimdgoulding]

Oh my, I don't own the 3 after all .  It's a Protege 5, the 3's earlier sibling.  And my daughter's friend's sled was a GT version of the VW Golf.  If the Mazda 3 has a suspension like my car, and why wouldn't it, it's a blast to drive.  It really hugs the road in and out of tight turns.

[IronLion]

I can vouch for the 3- its an incredibly good car and lots of fun to drive.  Only downside is the relatively poor mileage- in real city traffic in DC, I get about 21mpg.  If I drove mostly highway, I would probably average about 27mpg.  Pretty bad for a NA 4 cylinder.   

[ltr317]

Oh my, I don't own the 3 after all .  It's a Protege 5, the 3's earlier sibling.  And my daughter's friend's sled was a GT version of the VW Golf.  If the Mazda 3 has a suspension like my car, and why wouldn't it, it's a blast to drive.  It really hugs the road in and out of tight turns.

Jim - What were you drinking or smoking?   

[doorman]

On my 3rd. VW.
Passat, Golf, now an '11 Golf wagon.
Went for the 2.5L gas this time, the last one was a TDI, which got fantastic mileage, but when you factor in timing belt change intervals @ 90 K +/- the gas engine makes more sense for me.
Reliability has been about average in my experience. No better worse than a host of other marques I've had.
YMMV, of course!
Best,
Don

[jimdgoulding]

Jim - What were you drinking or smoking?   

I gotta wonder myself.   I must have smoked a bottle of wine and drank a joint.

[jimdgoulding]

I keep fooling with the idea of adding a CAT back muffler and one of those L&N bypass air filters.  My air filter filament is from L&N and I do clean it periodically.  Just tryin to get some more performance.  Some road tunes that seem to stay in my car are Freestylin' by Greyboy, Live at The Lighthouse '66 by the Jazz Crusaders, Jefferson Airplane Live at Woodstock, Albert Collins' Frosty, and The Best of The Clovers. It's pretty spirited in here but, dang, if I haven't misplaced Arc Angels (self titled).  Dunno why you would want to know that, but, what the hey .  If I get around to doin those things, think I'll include some Canned Heat .

My dream car would be a '55 Lotus Elite .

[srb]

I keep fooling with the idea of adding a CAT back muffler and one of those L&N bypass air filters.  My air filter filament is from L&N and I do clean it periodically.

You're still smoking the wine!  My filter is a K&N element in the stock air filter box.  But I suspect your L&N filter filament and my K&N filter element are one in the same thing.
 
Steve

[jimdgoulding]

Yep, that's what I meant . 

[srb]

Yep, that's what I meant .

I understand.  You're an audiophile who owns tube equipment and it would be understandable for you to be thinking about filaments.  Now excuse me, I have to go change out my shock isolators.  I mean shock absorbers.   
 
Steve

[ltr317]

I keep fooling with the idea of adding a CAT back muffler and one of those L&N bypass air filters.  My air filter filament is from L&N and I do clean it periodically.  Just tryin to get some more performance.  Some road tunes that seem to stay in my car are Freestylin' by Greyboy, Live at The Lighthouse '66 by the Jazz Crusaders, Jefferson Airplane Live at Woodstock, Albert Collins' Frosty, and The Best of The Clovers. It's pretty spirited in here but, dang, if I haven't misplaced Arc Angels (self titled).  Dunno why you would want to know that, but, what the hey .  If I get around to doin those things, think I'll include some Canned Heat .

My dream car would be a '55 Lotus Elite .

I always wanted a 1960s Lotus Elan. 

[Nels Ferre]

I keep fooling with the idea of adding a CAT back muffler and one of those L&N bypass air filters.  My air filter filament is from L&N and I do clean it periodically.  Just tryin to get some more performance. 

I wouldn't do that if I were you. The only way to increase air flow on an otherwise stock engine is to decrease filtration. Decreased filtration isn't what I look for in an air filter. If you are looking for longevity, the K&N filters (and their knockoffs) are a bad move.

If you trade often, obviously it doesn't matter. Personally, I buy used. If I see a K&N filter, I close the hood, examination over.

[srb]

I wouldn't do that if I were you. The only way to increase air flow on an otherwise stock engine is to decrease filtration. Decreased filtration isn't what I look for in an air filter. If you are looking for longevity, the K&N filters (and their knockoffs) are a bad move.

K&N filters don't have increased air flow over new stock filters.  What they do is maintain more consistent airflow over time as they get dirty versus paper filters whose airflow is greatly reduced as they get dirty.
 
Steve

[Whitese]

my wife and I are on our 3rd VW, a 2008 Passat wagon...The cars have been fairly reliable, but the service depts have been horrendous, and this includes dealers in GA, MD and NJ.

[Nels Ferre]

K&N filters don't have increased air flow over new stock filters.  What they do is maintain more consistent airflow over time as they get dirty versus paper filters whose airflow is greatly reduced as they get dirty.
 
Steve

I will agree that paper filters have reduced airflow pretty quickly. That's because they are performing their intended function. "Free flow" filters do "perform" better longer because they aren't performing as well to begin with.

This can be proven with a UOA (used oil analysis.) Vehicles using K&N filters nearly always show increased wear particles unless the element is cleaned monthly.

Their oil filters OTOH can be quite handy, depending on the application. Nothing "special"  on the inside but has a handy hex on the can to make removal easy.