[jkarolyi]

The 2.0 is the latest iteration of the original 1.7 liter engine that came in the '75 VW Rabbit, VWs first water-cooled car. It's notoriously long-lived and tough, but perhaps the quality of assembly has slipped in recent years.

Do they make the engines in Mexico or import them from Germany? I know that most New Beetles and Jettas/Golfs are made in Mexico. Perhaps the assembly quality isn't the same when you pay your workers $3 an hour rather than $30.