Parent Letter

The car has been the symbol of American teen culture since the 1950’s; the bigger, faster, louder, and heavier the better. The premise behind this was simple: take the biggest, meanest car you could produce, jam the biggest engine you could fit under the hood, mount on a couple of tailpipes and a four-on-the-column, and just drive. Gradually, the United States shifted away from their culture of big, loud, American made beasts, toward the more fuel-sipping, efficient, and safer foreign imports. For my first car, I would like a taste of either of these markets; a 454 Chevrolet Chevelle, the toned, American brute, or a straight-four Volkswagen “clean diesel” Jetta, the imported master of efficiency and safety.

As would be expected when talking about vintage muscle cars, concerns of safety and cost of insurance, fuel, and maintenance will arise. However, I think that these can be dispelled by the fact that, between my two grandpas, we can do most of the maintenance without the assistance of a trained mechanic. Most concerns with the Volkswagen would pertain to the common stereotypes of the diesel; loud, smelly, dirty engines that belong in tractors and semi trucks, not a small car. However, the Jetta TDI’s engine is, and is marketed as, a diesel that burns like a conventional unleaded fuel engine.

 Don’t we all enjoy a fine slice of Americana? And is there no better example that the muscle car? Mom, in 1966, your parents wed and drove away from St. Paul’s Catholic Church in a 1962 409 Impala Super Sport, a car known for its speed and unprecedented output of over 425 horsepower. Was your dad or mom ever killed or injured in a car accident? No, in fact they both carry very fond memories of their 409. And Will, didn’t your parents drive to their honeymoon in a 1970 396 Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport, a car with an available 454 cubic inch engine that had to be marketed at a smaller size so that the Chevelle’s primary market, teens and young adults, could even get insurance on them? They too were also never injured in a car wreck and even owned another Chevelle after they sold that one. So why can’t I, who has had their values bestowed upon by you, own a muscle car?

The Jetta TDI is the polar opposite of the Chevelle; small and fuel efficient with a straight four cylinder engine and front wheel drive. Being safe, reliable, and having the ability to practically be driven to the ground, it is the obvious choice for my first car. Also, being a diesel engine, it is even more fuel efficient than the standard gasoline engine. A common assumption of the diesel fueled engine is that they are noisy, foul, and grimy. While this may be true with most diesels, Volkswagen uses a turbodiesel engine, which has the benefit of improved gas mileage from the traditional diesel, but runs more efficiently than its standard counterpart. They tested around 54 mpg on the highway with a five speed manual, almost as much as a Prius, but without the risk of uncontrolled acceleration and recalls. Diesel may be harder to obtain, but with the mileage I’d be getting I don’t think it would be a problem having to look for stations with the fuel.

Cars are the true rite of passage for the American teenager. I would really like to make this passage into the world of real responsibility, probably with a Volkswagen Jetta TDI, mostly because the Chevelle would be fun to own, but too much to handle.