July 25, 2008: New front grille!
Had my new "hole free" grille installed today. Looks good! On my request, VW corporate offices allowed me to keep my old grille (keeping it just in case I have any problems with running without the required front plate).
Tried installing the sill plates earlier this month but got them on crooked - the adhesive was very agressive - when I tried to reposition them, they were destroyed. Oh well, they didn't look that great anyway - cheap looking silk screening. Will look for other options.
Also talked further with ECS. They wanted to use a car that wanted all the mods they were going to do. I didn't want the lightweight crank pully, so I passed on the rest as well...