funny thing happened at the auto parts store today

[gruppe-b]

i drove to the local Pep Boys to get some more Meguiar's car wash gel.a guy was following me closely on the way into the lot, driving a (non-STI) Subaru.he called over to me in the parking lot to ask me 'hey man,what's an R32?,never seen or heard of them before?!?'
i tried to briefly explain it's history~similar to a TT Coupe Quattro V6..like a GTI with a bigger engine and AWD,two different body style versions '04 & '08 and all that.
he asked if it was turbocharged or supercharged? "no,it's 'just a plain V6' but some of them are" i said,lol.he seemed to really dig it.i thought every 'car guy' knew what these Golfs were by now. i guess not,huh?
CSB,i know

[TOT]

I went to the local track to do kart racing and asked if I could do a quick session in my car while everyone is on lunch break (it's normally a road course, they do karts on Sunday). She said "Sure, that could work. In the rabbit?"

[fomin23]

Well, an older gentleman did ask me what kind of Pontiac I was driving. Vibe?
I was like "No, its a VW R32"

[mrdon]

I had a neighbor ask me a few weeks ago "that's a cool little car you got there...what is it?"

[benyates]

i've had bikers at deal's gap blown away that my 'little golf' had a 3.2 liter v(r)6 in it, and awd.


fun stuff

[DG7Projects]

I had an older gentleman at a gas station tell me: "you must get great gas mileage with that little car of yours"

I replied: "Not exactly" and showed him my engine. He was shocked.

[mrdon]

I had an older gentleman at a gas station tell me: "you must get great gas mileage with that little car of yours"

I replied: "Not exactly" and showed him my engine. He was shocked.

Ha!! My father-in-law said the same thing. Priceless!

[robocopywriter]

The guys who work in my local PEP Boys don't even know what it is.

[CISinjected]

The guys that work at my local auto parts store don't know what a coilover is.

[Nothead]

The guys that work at my local auto parts store don't know what a coilover is.

LMAO! The chain stores must pull resumes from the same pool.

Sent from my SCH-M828C using Tapatalk 2

[zooyorkpork]

most of the time my car just gets called a "GTI". i frown.

[nkgneto]

Sunday on the way to Menards a driver in a S2000 was behind me. He gradually passed me than traffic was slowing down so I had to really pass him up WOT!
The older driver also pulled into Menards when we got to the door he tells me I didn't know VW made that model. Same situation explained what it was he was impressed. Gave him my biz card so I'm hoping to detail it soon.

[Basil Fawlty]

pffffttt....fancy bumper covers and side skirts....

[TOT]

ACTUALLY...

[Mo3 R32]

most of the time my car just gets called a "GTI". i frown.

yea man that pisses me off and correct them asap. and i hate when i tell people i have a vw r32 and they say dont you mean a nissan skyline

[gnatman]

I got you all beat with my "Japanese" motor in my German car lol

[vdub_jetta]

went to a local Pep Boys to get my Bosch battery changed out since it was dropping cold cranking amps like crazy and car would turn over. BTW, turns out that the battery warranty of 3 years was exactly 3 years as of today!! I had a feeling it was getting close but had no idea it was on the day exactly. Got me a free replacement battery!!

but when i pulled up to have the guy verify and check it, he says "man that sounds pretty nice (referencing my exhaust", and i said "thanks, it's got a few things done", he then notices my short ram intake, and says " yup, you got an intake, that def makes it sounds that good!"

[nandosR32]

One time i race with 2011 BMW 328 sport and off course i winn when we stop at the traffic light the guy ask me you have turbo??and i say hahah it is stock.

[.:RForlife]

Haha dumb ass at parts store tried telling me the oil filter for my car is same as a 12v VR.
Asked me if I checked inside the door to be sure of my model.
Effing guy. I told him he doesn't know what he's talking about and moved to the next register.

[JDM-JTI]

older gentleman with a modified cabrio at a freaking VW specialty shop didnt know what a r32 was ..

then again a cashier at an advanced auto parts store literally **** his pants when he saw my car .. he almost got fired he was so all about it

and to NA R owners in here .. dont play it off like the car is fast to people who dont know what they are .. stock r32s are slow as crap

[Jonnymooshoo]

This thread x 10 in Canada.

You gotta love how we fly under the radar some times... I took my car to a local car meet where 95% of the cars are JDM and most people didn't even know what they were looking at. I only drew attention when I cranked the ignition on to leave and people craned their necks trying to figure out where the "muscle car" noise was coming from.

[scktwrnch]

and to NA R owners in here .. dont play it off like the car is fast to people who dont know what they are .. stock r32s are slow as crap

Haha, people say 'jeez that must be fast' to which I reply 'ehh, three shifts to sixty.'

[gruppe-b]

Haha dumb ass at parts store tried telling me the oil filter for my car is same as a 12v VR.

^^no,actually that's correct.i was surprised to find that fact out only a couple of years ago,myself.
it seems that all VR6 Audis & VWs use the same oil filter--2.8,2.9.3.2--though not certain about the 3.6? i'd never owned a VR engined VW before this one.i only found out when i asked around on here,because i had trouble finding filters at parts stores(R32 wasn't in most databases at the time)

[CISinjected]

and to NA R owners in here .. dont play it off like the car is fast to people who dont know what they are .. stock r32s are slow as crap

You should follow around people with stock R32's to make sure they aren't leading folks on.

[Basil Fawlty]

and to NA R owners in here .. dont play it off like the car is fast to people who dont know what they are .. stock r32s are slow as crap

...straight line they're not fast, but I wouldn't say they're "slow as crap" in other applications.

[das-yeti]

I'm NA but very much not stock at all

[mrdon]

Personally, I don't care if she's not the fastest. This is the best car I've ever driven. I actually think that it is the perfect balance of speed and handling. I love every minute in it!

Back to the post;
Buying NGKs at Advance Auto Parts, the guy finds my car in his computer, looks at the price and says "wow! what is it? some kinda Lamborghini?" haha

[james dean r32]

I like that most people don't know what an R32 is.

[FigureFive]

The parts guy at the Clarkesville dealer had no idea what an R32 is when I called looking for ignition coils.

At the recycling depot I had an older (60s+) gentleman step out of his beige Camry and ask me, "They'll insure an R32 here in Nashville?" So, he had some idea of it as an uncommon car, but seemed to think it was on a par with bonafide exotics.

I just smiled and replied, "Yeah, as far as insurance and LEOs are concerned it's just a Golf. I don't mind that one bit."

Another time I had a guy in an F150 come up to me in a parking lot after I had passed him on the road and ask what I had done to the engine or if it always sounded that good.

The best was the lat 30s soccer mom (and MILF) with 6-year old in tow who was ogling my car as I came out of the supermarket. She said it made her miss her GTI that she had given up when she had her first kid.

[JDM-JTI]

...straight line they're not fast, but I wouldn't say they're "slow as crap" in other applications.

that mazda rotory truck would of destroyed any of our Rs through the dragon

[YikeGrymon]

I once explained what the R32 is to a curious guy in a parking lot by calling it the "body and interior, though a little nicer, of a fourth-generation Golf with the drivetrain and suspension of an AWD VR6 Audi TT."

He actually said to me "Buddy, I used to work for Volkswagen and I know they never made anything like that. But you get credit for doing this cool conversion yourself" (I have no R32 badges front or rear... not that they would have meant anything to this guy I guess). I asked him why the different bumpers, etc, then. He said he knew that anyone can buy just about any funky body mods for just about any car. I just said "True." So I showed him the R32 trim piece inside the door sill, and he scoffed a little and said "So? You could've made those too, for all I know." Dunno why he was so insistent. Dunno why he had nothing to say when I said "Why would I make this up?"

Finally I was like "What did you do for Volkswagen?" and he told me he'd been in finance. Still seems rather unlikely that he could be that clueless.

[Basil Fawlty]

that mazda rotory truck would of destroyed any of our Rs through the dragon

Don't bet your skinny jeans and horn rimmed glasses on it.

[Cspence]

Don't bet your skinny jeans and horn rimmed glasses on it.

[jmh2002]

Still seems rather unlikely that he could be that clueless.

Dont be so sure. The world is full of clueless people...

[JDM-JTI]

Don't bet your skinny jeans and horn rimmed glasses on it.

did you watch that guy plow through the turns? dude had NO fear whatsoever

and i wear 32/32 boot cut jeans .. no skinny jeans here haha