While many thought the manual transmission would have gone extinct by now, numerous car manufacturers continue to offer vehicles with a stick shift. These cars, such as the Volkswagen Jetta GLI, are often targeted towards car enthusiasts but VW has now started to promote the GLI’s shifter as a security device.
In a new commercial released by the company, a pair of friends are shown driving the punchy Jetta variant through some city streets. When they pull over and park, the driver opts against locking the car, much to the dismay of his passenger who asks “Aren’t you gonna lock the car?” The driver’s response? “Nah, it’s a stick shift.”
As the friends walk off, the passenger replies “What are you talking about?…You 100 percent about that?”
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What’s particularly funny about the commercial is that immediately after the two are shown walking away from the unlocked Jetta, text appears on screen which reads “Legally we have to tell you that you should always lock your car, so you should lock your car.”
It is a little strange to promote the Jetta GLI’s transmission as being some kind of anti-theft device but there have been numerous reported cases of vehicle thefts being thwarted by the burglars’ inability to drive cars with manual transmissions.
Beyond the Jetta’s inclusion of a stick shift, it is made particularly appealing to rev-heads thanks to a punchy 2.0-liter TSI engine delivering 228 hp and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) of torque. The car also includes a VAQ torque-sensing limited-slip differential, sports suspension, and variable ratio electric power-assisted steering.
https://youtu.be/wApqm7VYlno