My VW died on the Autobahn

One of the perks of living in Germany is commuting on the Autobahn. As I happen to drive a VW Jetta, I like to think that it's back home (even if it was built in Mexico). I got my car in Boston, learning how to drive a manual transmission just to get it out of the dealer's parking lot. I took it on trips to Montreal, and it traveled with me to Korea, where it sat idle for much of the time...but it did get to see the cherry blossoms. All told, it's been plated in Massachusetts, Florida, Korea, and Germany.

Memories: My navigator for my US Road Trip

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Well, today, on the way home from work, my car had a critical failure. Apparently, the timing belt had decayed faster in Korea than the maintenance schedule expected. This had catastrophic results, with the auto shop's description of the damage in German:

"Motorschaden, Ventile haben auf die Kolben aufgesetzt!!!!" 

Yes, four exclamation marks after "Damage to the engine, valves are mounted on the piston!!!!"

Auf Weidersehen, mein treuer Reisebegleiter.

Related Links:

• More posts from Germany
• End of Tour Summary: Germany
• Greg's Road Trip USA 2002

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