1997 VW Jetta GLX

May 1998 - May 2003

In May of 1998 I got the New Car Bug - always a bad thing! At the time I was driving a 1994 Saturn SL2 Homecoming Edition, which I bought in 1995 when I got to Chicago. It was a good little car, but it wasn't great .. and I demand perfection, dammit!

Actually at this point I really wasn't a car-guy (not that I am one now, but I was even less so back then). Living in Evanston, near the massive VW dealer there, I'd see loads of Jettas running around. Without realizing it, they started to catch my eye - I think because of the European (ie: boxy) shape.

As well as the new car bug, I was also thinking about driving a stick-shift; something I never thought I'd want to do, and something I hadn't done since I took drivering lessons in 1992. A car-guy friend at work couldn't say enough good things about the Jetta GLX - with the 170HP VR6 motor. I took a few test drives, and finally bought one.

Even though this was the third car I was driving (and second to buy myself), I almost consider it my first. It was such an awesome car, and I had so much fun with it. It was with me through good times, and bad, and took me to some amazingly fun events - usually coaster related!

In the time I owned the car I even made a few modifications, usually replacing worn-out parts with superior after-market versions - the most drastic being a slightly lowered suspension. I was never one to make changes just for the sake of it, but I did a few things:

Installed the wonderful European headlights (which included adding the Euro-light switch and disabling the retarded daytime running lights)
New front motor mount - much more firm than the stock piece
Installed the programmer wiper relay - which allowed me to set the intermittent delay to anything from 2 to 40 seconds just by flicking the stalk on/off
Six-Disc CD changer in the trunk (the car was pre-wired)
Disabled the door open chime (who drives off with the door open anyway?!)
H&R Springs and Shocks

When I traded it in for the Audi S4 in 2003, I really regretted it. In fact I actively still miss it.

OK, Here are the nerdy pictures:

Back to the car gallery..

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