You rent it out to someone who’s booked and paid for an Audi….
Okay, okay. Skoda’s are apparently nowhere near as bad as they used to be. I remember as a youngster being terrified that my father might, as one of his brilliant cost-saving measures, buy a Skoda and that I’d be driven to school in it. Thankfully, familial support for the British manufacturing industry meant that I was saved from such ignominy. However, I also learned that it was better to walk to school than ever let my classmates see me in an Austin Allegro either.
Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, in Germany, renting a not-Audi. And do you know what? It wasn’t too bad. Okay, it was disturbingly underpowered and a bit plasticy, but it had four wheels and got me to where I needed to be. As an added bonus, when it did break down on a stretch of Autobahn with no hard shoulder, it had enough residual speed to coast to a parking spot. What more could you ask for?
What’s the difference between a Skoda and a Jehova’s Witness?
You can close the door on a Jehova’s Witness!
Yes, yes. Very droll.
Skoda’s are apparently nowhere near as bad as they used to be.
That’ll be why I refused to buy my parents’ off them when they wanted to get rid of it. My current car may have decorative patterns in relief, in a fetching orangey-brown, but at least it’s not like driving a tank without the ability to scare people out of the way. Did you get to drive it on any hills or uneven roads? That Golf floor plan with a couple of boxes on either end is great for making an event of parking on a steep drive as everyone gets out to watch, or rather everyone gets out so it doesn’t actually embed itself in the road.
I think what gets really dispiriting is the ennui of the pedals. You touch, you press, you kick, you stamp, you stand and yet it gives the same reaction. It’s like commanding teenagers; I’ll do it in a minute. You could slam down the accelerator instead of the brake and nothing would happen for an age and even then it’d be hard to tell which you’d chosen.
Oblig. Skoda joke: What’s the difference between a Skoda and a Mercedes?
Princess Diana wouldn’t be seen dead in a Skoda.
How bizarre, my comment claims to predate those I read before I started writing it.
IAF, I think something’s a bit buggered up again.
Well, IAF, that one’s easy to explain. The decent hard-working Czech workers at Skoda were probably a bit unhappy about the fact that they were not allowed to partake in all the monkey business at VW’s Wolfsburg HQ. Fully financed Hookers and Brazilian mistresses, free trips to exotic destinations and wads of cash for union reps selling their clientele down the river: Who knew so much fun could be had in Lower Saxony? After reading this made for tabloids fare, probably many Skoda workers felt a bit left out. Who would not forget to tighten a few screws here and neglect lubing a couple rotating watchamacallits over there under these circumstances?
This may make you laugh, but Skodas are considered upmarket “luxury” cars in India.
Anyhoo: The timestamps. I, er, only just swapped over from British Summer Time. I’ve changedthe first two now, so your comment looks odd. The database for the blog is completely buggered and I’m not quite prepared to put any more effort into fixing it just yet.
As for the car, it was weird. The build quality wasn’t that bad and many of the components seemed to be in exactly the same place as in the last generation Golf, and my memory’s still just about able to recall where all the switches were on that - so no problems looking for the windscreen wipers. And the volume of the radio seemed (I might just be imagining this) to automatically increase in line with the engine’s rpm - if that was deliberate, rather than just a wiring fault in the altenator, it’s a nice touch. But you’re right, pressing the accelerator at 70 kmh didn’t actually seem to do anything, changing down a couple of gears didn’t help either. Oh and having the button to open the petrol tank under the driver’s seat is, I’m sure, a great security device but makes one look stupid when sitting at a garage trying to buy petrol and when trying to read the manual for clues, discover that the car is an import from Spain and it’s in Iberian.
JCS: “Decent, hard-working Czech workers” - almost without doubt - and they basically just screw a product together - if it’s deliberately underpowered so as not to cut into VW’s market share, there’s little they can do about it. As for the VW “Lustreisen-Skandal” I’m sure VW could have spun that better. You know, some kind of “employee of the month” scheme: Assemble the most motors and win a “special” weekend in the bright lights of glamourous Niedersachsen.
plumpernickel: When you say “are considered” do you mean they really are upmarket, luxury cars, or is that just how they’re advertised?
Well, they are targeted at the upper segment of customers and are more expensive than mid-range cars pricewise and are also advertised as luxury cars.
http://www.skoda-auto.co.in/OctaviaClassic.html
I just bought (well ordered actually) another Skoda last week. They are basically just re-badged VW without the high price tags
Haddock: Look, it was a Skoda. I had to mock it after it left me stranded at the side of the Autobahn. At least when I bought a VW it had the good grace to die on the garage forecourt when I went to collect it….