VW to Stop Selling Passat in the US

 

My 2007 VW Passat in New Mexico

I was somewhat disappointed to read that Volkswagen will be ending Passat sedan sales in the U.S. after the 2022 model year (the car will continue to be sold in Europe).  I probably would not have been surprised had I known sales had dropped to about 23,000 last year (down from 78,000 in 2015).  Why do I care about this mid-sized sedan I once called "the German Ford Taurus"?  I had a 2007 demo model I bought at a discount and proceeded to drive for the next 10 years.  It road tripped from Taos to Savannah to Asheville, and I put thousands of miles on it for business trips in Texas and Oklahoma.   It even drove down the long unpaved road from Hwy 550 to Chaco Canyon (though we thought it might become a permanent fixture) and survived a snowy mountain crossing driving it through the Carson National Forest.   It was great on the highway and deceptively large in cargo space.   To sum things up: it was a great car for 9 of the 10 years I owned it and the best value for my automotive dollar so far.  Had I sold it in 2017 I'd probably have even fonder memories.  

I've also driven the Passat's more exciting cousin, the Audi A4.  My brother used to have an A4 R-line which was quite fun to drive.  Assuming Audi doesn't kill the A4 to make way for more SUVs in the line-up, that's a car worth checking out.  

Risk: Fat Raccoons

What a fat raccoon does to a VW Passat

So.... before last month I never considered raccoons much of a risk while driving on the highway.  Deer?  Yes.  Elk? Yes.  But an animal the Wikipedia claims weighs between 6-20 lbs never seemed like a reason for concern.

Well, the incident which resulted in the pictured damage happened kind of fast and I didn't have a chance to weigh the raccoon which chose to intersect with my moving vehicle.  What I do know is that the raccoon at issue appeared to be enormous of not morbidly obese.  I probably wouldn't have hit it had I not been driving down a relatively dark stretch of US Highway 87 near Victoria.  The obese animal at issue waddled out of a darkened median at a surprisingly rapid pace.  I attempted to swerve, but hitting a fat raccoon seemed like a better plan than flying into a ditch at 70 MPH.  Moreover, he actually ran toward my car as I started to swerve.  Despite evasion maneuvers, there was no way to miss said raccoon.

End result: $2,500 worth of damage.

Yes, that is the correct amount.  When I picked up the car from the body shop, I was handed a laundry list of damage caused by reckless wildlife.  Not only did he cause the body damage pictured about, he also dislodged the radiator and the turbo's intercooler.  Fortunately for me, I carry the full package of insurance on my car and I was able to drive a company vehicle for a week while mine was repaired.

Take-aways from this experience:

• Raccoons can seriously mess up your car.  Be alert for them.
• A reminder that no repair is cheap for a Volkswagen Passat (I've had prior experiences with body damage to this car: all expensive)
• State Farm was cool about paying for it.  I've gotten my money's worth from their collision coverage.
• Ellis & Salazar again did great work at a fast pace.
• It's really annoying for people to chastise you about hitting a sweet, innocent raccoon when you're looking at serious body damage to your car.  
• It might be time for me to buy a Tahoe.