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Snopes confirmed it a while ago, but some people just need to try the Lumber Jetta stunt for themselves. Last week, the MythBusters on Discovery Channel asked the immortal question: Can a MkIII Jetta carry a ton and a half of lumber?
You can check out the video at the Discovery Channel, but for those of you who don’t want to watch the mandatory thirty-second ad… the car drives fine. I’m not sure how well it would handle freeway speeds, but to be fair, the original MkIII Jetta wasn’t really great on the freeway anyway…
22 Comments on “LumberJetta! The MythBusters Try A Real Load...”
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Really? I thought that my Mk2 was a spectacular highway cruiser for a 2200 lbs, 100 hp car. High revs aside, You could cruise one-handed with 110 MPH on the clock. VW even put a separate set of tire pressures on the door jamb for cruising at >160 km/h. You had to love the 500 mile range when cruising 80 MPH, too.
I would’ve expected the bigger, heavier, (slightly) more powerful Mk3 to be more of the same.
That’s like saying you thought a girl was hot for someone with only four teeth.
The power-to-weight ratio probably took a hit with the MKIII, I know that the MK3 GTIs took a hit in acceleration but it was partially from weight and partially the economy gear ratios.
What can I say: I replaced the Jetta with a Miata (following a duo of sport motorcycles). 3,000 RPM at 60 MPH was actually the lowest revving machine I’ve ever owned ;)
I suspect you haven’t tried the lumber test with the Miata yet, right?
So the Jetta, designed in a country with autobahns, is useless on a highway? What did I miss?
Well the original VW Beetle and the Trabant were no speed demons either.
But the Jetta was mostly a Golf to attract US buyers that was cheaper to build than the GTI.
My brother bought an early ’93 Jetta III new… it was slow, to put it mildly. My Fox had the legs on it most places.
It looks to me like the load slid off the roof and hammered down the back end. The Snopes article stated that the rear shocks were driven up through the floorboards. Mythbusters should have tried THAT.
Ok I’m laughing they have covered up the VW logo’s. You’ve got to ask yourself why when they haven’t tried to hide any of the other manufacturers names in other shows. (or maybe I just missed the covering them up)
Off the top of my head, I can remember Chrysler, Chevy(more than once)Cadillac, Toyota, Honda.. I’m sure there are more.
Are they afraid of VW lawyers or do they want $$$ to leave brand names in the video? Does that mean the other companies paid to leave their brand logo’s in the video?
I’m actually curious about this as the big glaring black and yellow cover over the VW logo is pretty obvious, and then the hubcaps etc etc.
They frequently cover or blur logos.
Why block some and not others? I don’t know.
I always giggle when I see the tape used to cover the truck name when they’re using a Ram.
I always thought it was to avoid complaints, though I’ve heard of only 2 cases where car companies ever had a problem with their brand being mentioned.
The MythBusters Try A Real Load
Kari Byron? Loads?
I see what you did there….;-)
I’ve got some lumber she can put on her Jetta.
My hoopty loving co-worker buys sub $1000 econoboxes then uses them as though they were small pickup trucks, carrying tremendous loads both in the cars and in a utility trailer.
He routinely adds a second set of rear springs to his cars, leading to such monstrosities as an ’89 Jetta diesel that didn’t reach normal ride height until there was at least 600 pounds of tools (and/or scrap) in the trunk.
You haven’t seen slow until you’ve watched that tired old beast’s remaining 38 horsepower soot down the road pulling a trailered ton with another half-ton on the seats and in the trunk.
I resemble that comment! I have a 2002 Golf TDI that I put VR6 Jetta wagon springs in (front and rear). It rides about 1.5″ higher than stock springs. I had 300 pounds of Quikrete in it yesterday and the back looked a little more normal. I did it mostly for handling though since the stock factory springs suck for handling. The increased ride-height is just a byproduct.
That dude that you know is brave to be using a Jetta diesel as a truck.
For some reason this topic reminds me of this classic “oops” video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAfZ1N56qjY
That is a classic video!
I hauled 1500+ pounds of retaining wall block in my ’98 civic, so anything is possible. The trick is to remove the passenger seat and put it all in the passenger compartment, so the weight is evenly distributed on all wheels. The tires were the suspension at that weight, and it felt like the vehicle didn’t have power steering.
I once used my ’78 Granada to haul home two 351 Clevelands a generous friend gave me. Removed the back seat and spare tire, disassembled both motors, and crammed everything in where I could.
Was almost down to the bump stops, but it handled the load. Granadas aren’t known for their speed, but the big 250 six had just enough torque to handle 1200 lbs. worth of cast iron Ford V8 with only a hint of strain.