The Car Geek: Long-Running Jetta

The Car Geek

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Long-Running Jetta

We know that Toyota and Honda cars are reliable. They have proven that to us in the past and they are continuing that tradition although I've been hearing about recalls after recalls from Toyota. Anyway, when it comes to reliability, Volkswagen is not far behind these Asian automakers. Want proof? Well, Volkswagen has one for you, a Jetta that has been running since 1986 and has 562,000 miles on it.

This car was discovered by Volkswagen of America after it announced that as part of its Diesel Heritage Search, they will locate the Volkswagen diesel vehicle in the United States with the highest mileage. And they have found it in the 1986 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Diesel which I think still has its parts in good condition just like Oil Filter Canada. The vehicle is owned by Syl Schmid of Blue Rock, Ohio. The mileage on Mr. Schmid's car was recently verified by the American arm of the largest European automaker and Byers Imports, a Volkswagen dealership in Columbus, Ohio.

Steve Keyes, Volkswagen Public Relations Director said: "Mr. Schmid has a story that is like so many of our diesel owners; he loves the longevity of the engine and fuel economy that his diesel Volkswagen has delivered these last twenty years. Throughout all of entries that we received for our Diesel Heritage Search, we found many VW owners who were passionate about their cars and the economic benefits of the diesel engine."

Fuel economy is indeed one of the strong selling points of diesel engines. The way that the fuel is burned and the amount of power it produces means that you would need to burn less fuel to get the amount of power that you would get by burning more gasoline fuel. But the emission of diesel engines has been in question in the past. But today, Volkswagen is leading the charge in the development of clean diesel engines which was exhibited by its subsidiary Audi in the two latest staging of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Winning the endurance race with a diesel race car has elevated the reputation of diesel engines not only among racing enthusiasts but among consumers too.

The Jetta owned by Mr. Schmid was originally leased by him for three years. But I think that the reliability and the good performance of the Jetta made Mr. Schmid decide to keep it so he bought the car after the lease period. More than half a million miles have been traveled by the Jetta but its powertrain and its muffler is still the same that came with it when Mr. Schmid leased the car.