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If i had a good place to store and work on this, I wouldn't be selling it... but I don't so I am. This is a completely ridiculous VW rat rod. It currently runs and drives fine, but the brake lights stopped working so I haven't driven it far in a couple of weeks. About two months ago I grove around 500 miles in a weekend. I'm not going to claim it was comfortable, but the car had zero problems.

If you're looking for a reasonable daily driver, you should absolutely not buy this car. It has one seat, no interior, no heat, questionable wiring and really requires ear plugs for long drives.

If you're considering buying a bright yellow Lamborghini to drive slowly and get attention, I promise this will attract more (and more positive) looks. You will get used to having your picture taken. It literally caused an accident while parked as someone drifted across the road while looking at it. I had an approving, positive conversation about it with a 1%'er at a gas station.

I bought the car mostly as is from a local guy who worked on it with his two sons. It has so many unique touches I don't even know where to start. Sanded down to bare metal, rusted, then sealed with epoxy. Road sign fenders (and the beginning of an interior). License plate inner fenders. License plate dash. Raised coil-over suspension and brand new all-terrain tires. Headlights are apparently from some 1920's truck. Chopped & snubbed nose front end. Trimmed engine cover. Welded roof rack with snowboard bolted on. Stinger header.

Beyond the rat rod nature, major issues are: Floor is solid, but has some riveted in patches and could stand to be replaced. I have a quote of $1400 including labor from a very reputable VW restoration shop. Heat channels are solid & in good shape.

Boots on the axles are in rough shape and work but should be replaced eventually. I have a quote of $490 to replace both axles including labor from the same shop.

The brake lights just stopped working. It's been very cold, and it's possible one of the switches froze up.

The fuel gauge just stopped working but is likely just a bad connection. Working on getting that fixed before it leaves.

Other than that, it runs strong, shifts fine, stops fine, and drives straight.

Additional Parts not yet installed:

1920's horn & chain pull switch.

Lots of additional road signs.

Miscellaneous mirrors and other bits that could be welded on.

If it doesn't sell in the next couple of days, I'm taking it in to get the floor, axles, and electrical issues addressed. I just thought I'd see if someone was interested that might want to do the work themselves.

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Auto blog

German judge 'inclined to dismiss' hedge fund lawsuit against Porsche

Fri, Feb 27 2015

Last year, around two dozen investors, including hedge funds, leveled a 1.4 billion euro ($1.95 billion at the time) lawsuit against Porsche in connection with the automaker's attempted takeover of Volkswagen in 2008. The Stuttgart Regional Court dismissed the case. Around 19 of those plaintiffs are heading back to court to appeal the ruling and still hope to get 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion). However, according to one German judge, the chances for success aren't any better this time around. "On balance it's our view that we consider the lawsuit, or the appeal, to be unpromising for several reasons," Gerhard Ruf, a judge in Stuttgart, said to Reuters. "We are inclined to dismiss the case." The court's ruling on the appeal will be announced on March 26. The investors' case hinges on Porsche's strategy surrounding the botched takeover. The sports car maker said that it wasn't trying to control VW, when in fact it was. These hedge funds had bet against Volkswagen stock, but the share price surged when Porsche's plan inevitably came to light. Investors have sued the sports car company multiple times since then in attempts to recoup billions of dollars. However, none of the lawsuits have been successful, whether attempted in the US or Germany. Former Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and and CFO Holger Haerter might still stand trial for the alleged stock manipulation, though. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Matthias Rietschel / AP Photo Government/Legal Porsche Volkswagen lawsuit hedge funds porsche lawsuit

$1.4B hedge fund suit against Porsche dismissed

Wed, 19 Mar 2014

Investors have canvassed courts in Europe and the US to repeatedly sue Porsche over its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen in 2008 (see here, and here and here), and they have repeatedly failed to win any cases. You can add another big loss to the tally, with Bloomberg reporting that the Stuttgart Regional Court has dismissed a 1.4-billion euro ($1.95B US) lawsuit, the decision explained by the court's assertion that the investors would have lost on their short bets even if Porsche hadn't misled them.
Examining the hedge funds' motives for stock purchases and the bets that VW share prices would fall, judge Carola Wittig said that the funds didn't base their decisions on the key bits of "misinformation," and instead were participating simply in "highly speculative and naked short selling," only to get caught out.
With other cases still pending, the continued streak of victories bodes well for Porsche's courtroom fortunes, since judges will expect new information to consider overturning precedent. If there is any new info, it could come from the potential criminal cases still outstanding against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and CFO Holger Härter, who were both indicted on charges of market manipulation.

VW to relax ambitious US sales targets?

Fri, 16 May 2014

The Volkswagen brand sold 407,704 cars last year, a 6.95-percent decline compared to 2012, and it's down a further 8.36 percent through the end of April 2014 compared to this time last year. In order to to put the sales football between its Strategy 2018 goal posts, the brand would need to add 100,000 more sales every year to achieve the lofty 800,000-unit target. Coming to grips with how unreasonable that is, VW US CEO Michael Horn has said, "For now, we have to have realistic targets."
The reasons for the brand's slow-down are imprecise, but lots of folks are throwing lots of reasons around. Last November, VW Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech told Bloomberg, "We understand Europe, we understand China and we understand Brazil, [but] we only understand the US to a certain degree so far." Analysts say the brand hasn't had midsize and compact SUV offerings, especially an overdue retail version of the CrossBlue, and the ones it does have are priced too high for their segments. It "didn't introduce enough new engines, or alternative technologies or model variants" for the Passat and Jetta. It devoted so many resources to China that the US market suffered. It was being outspent two-to-one on advertising by competitors. Its J.D. Power dependability ratings aren't high enough to overcome its past. It "has never really taken the US customer seriously." And so on.
There's still no official admission of defeat concerning the target, but reading between the lines there are some VW execs that appear to accept it won't happen short of some deus ex machina. Still,

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