Glenn's "Rubee"

The above is a picture of my Volkswagen New Beetle, resting peacefully here at the top of Stevens Pass in Washington. It is a 2006 Salsa Red turbodiesel model with the total Black leather interior, sunroof and the Monsoon sound system. In addition, it has the factory 17 inch wheels and Michelin tires!

I adopted "Rubee" on Saturday, April the 15th of 2006. She was purchased to replace "Limey" my beloved 2002 New Beetle which I traded in. I have owned 4 New Beetles: 1998 Red Sport model with 2.0 engine, 2001 Vortex Blue with the 1.8 turbo engine, and a 2002 Cyber Green Tdi with the 1.9 engine. In addition my wife owns a 2009 Special Edition convertible; the "Blush" (metallic white gold) model with red leather trim.

Currently (as of October, 2009) Rubee has around 44000 miles. No engine or transmission problems thus far. I replaced the tires at about 42K with some nice Yokohama rubber. However the rear hatch has been a source of annoyance. It has been in to the dealer and adjusted 4 times and still is not right. When the switch or the fob button is pressed, the hatch releases only "some" of the time. Usually the button has to be pressed twice to get it to release. Not a horrible problem but annoying nevertheless. I am told by VW that this is a fairly common woe with the 2006. But of course they have no sure fix for it... The 06 Tdi models with automatic came with the new DSG transmission (direct-shift-gearbox). This is one slick shifting Tiptronic transmission; I absolutely love it BUT it needs to be drained and refilled at 40K intervals. Do NOT forget as this is one very expensive tranny! In addition this summer I installed "scuba" seat covers. These are made of scuba material and are custom-fit. They are black with red inserts and look sharp and protect the original leather.

While Rubee came with the Package 2; which contains 17" alloys and tires and the optional satellite radio, she came with Sirius and I prefer XM. The interesting thing is that the modules are nearly identical and are interchangeable! I found a willing person that swapped his XM for my Sirius. It is a very easy swap on the NB. If you would like more info check out: