Don't worry, Ted; Tebby is just messin' with you.
VW's gear spacing is perfect for it's purpose- getting the car moving in traffic and still being able to run at legal highway speeds with such low horsepower. If you want your car to go like a bat out of hell (with shorter spacing between gears to take advantage of the engine's power output) AND have decent highway speeds, a 4 speed ain't gonna cut it. If you go to a longer 1st you lose that stop light "jump". Closer 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears are incredible to drive (and will make your car SO MUCH MORE FUN! 
). You've got to drive a car with close gears to appreciate what they can do. But then (and this is the trade-off) max highway speed (3500rpm) tops out somewhere between 50-60mph (depending on tire size and the ring & pinion used). Pretty hard to have it all, when you consider the constraints.
I've done it (in a Cal Look bug); a 4.375 (short for acceleration) r&p, stock 1st and 2nd, 1.48 3rd and 1.12 4th (instead of the 1.31 3rd and .89 4th) and with a 1750 (69x90- this was before 90.5's were on the market) the car went from being a high 15/low 16 second car to running mid 14's in the quarter mile. It came with a price, though- 3500 in 4th produced a mind numbing 52(?) mph, and it took forever to get anywhere on the highway. The answer- a 5th gear.