Q-Chipped

Autotech says that "The Q-Chip for the 2.0L ABA engined cars provides substantial gains in torque and horsepower at all rpm. The Q-Chip totally changes your once docile (some say anemic) A3 into a spirited runner. Zero to sixty times (Vericom tested) improve by a full second! The car's ability to run to the new, higher 6900 rpm redline is quickened, and the motor becomes much more responsive, which is a nice change on this large-stroke motor. This is the perfect addition to any new Golf."

It took me a couple trips to the mechanics to get the Torx screw driver and drill out a decayed screw in the control unit case. The instructions were fine. It was a bit difficult to wiggle the control unit out of the area it was in. The wires that ran to the unit had a protective tape around them that was completely eaten through with 13 years of Kansas City weather, so I wrapped them all back up with some black electrical tape. Installing the chip went as planned. Once I opened the box, I made sure I was grounded so I wouldn't damage anything, keeping my hands off everything I didn't have to touch on the board.

Start her up. The iddle was going up and down a bit at first. I drove to the gas station right away going slow, letting the car warm up to its new leader. I decided to bring my octane as high as I could in this city. I usually run 91 octane but the chip calls for 93. Ryan with Autotech told me 91 would be fine, higher would yield the best results. BP who bought Amoco has the highest in the city it seems at 92 octane. Octane booster might work and I may try that once but 92 will have to do.

So the car was now warmed up and filled with higher octane. The Eurosport exhaust note changed a bit and the "car's ability to run to the new, higher 6900 rpm redline is quickened" part was felt immediately. It actually felt like someone had a tight grip on my Golf's neck for the last 13 years and just let go. It seemed like the q-chip allowed my other minor mods (Eurosport Exhaust, K&N filter, even Bilstein/H&R set up) to come to life. For $99 and a 1 second 0-60mph improvement, Autotech delivered.

Working for VW, the temptation to buy a tight new laser-welded GTI or even the whispering R32 that sits right next to me all day long is somewhat reduced by having a car that's paid off and fun to drive again.

See more pics of chip removal. Gave the engine a much needed bath afterwards.

Record 9-month sales!

VW posts record nine-month sales of 4.61 million vehicles

FRANKFURT (AFP) — Volkswagen, the biggest European automaker, sold a record 4.61 million vehicles worldwide in the first nine months of 2007, an annualized increase of 8.2 percent, it said Thursday.

VW cited "substantial growth in South America, (the) Asian-Pacific region and Central and Eastern Europe" as main contributors to the results.

"In the Asian-Pacific region, the Volkswagen group delivered 790,000 vehicles, 25.9 percent more than in the first nine months of last year," a statement said.

"Of these, 685,000 cars were sold in China alone, 30.2 percent more than in the previous year."

On Monday, chief executive Martin Winterkorn said the group was closing in on a full-year sales record of more than 3.5 million vehicles.

Volkswagen brand vehicles were the biggest sellers in the January-September period, with 2.73 million delivered to customers worldwide.

At the other end of the scale, the Bugatti unit "more than doubled its volume" with sales of 59 luxury cars.

Audi, another top-shelf brand owned by VW, sold 741,000 models in the first nine months of the year, while Bentley and Lamborghini contributed sales of 7,800 and 1,800 respectively.

Read the article