VW Golf is 50 years old

Folks,

We've got family in Berlin so I come over a couple times a year to visit. I'm in Berlin for a couple weeks and this morning was watching German TV and they had a five minute spot on the news about the VW Golf being 50 years old. They showed advertisements for the Golf across the years. Pretty neat.

There are so many nice mk4 VWs here.

Eric

When I was stationed in Germany, I found cars much, much better taken care of over there than in the US. Few if any clunkers driving around.

And now, we here can only buy the GTI or R versions... no regular Golfs, and certainly no diesels. What a shame. One of the most popular cars of all time, one of the best selling cars of all time, and the largest single car market on the planet and we cannot even buy one.

I currently have three fourth generation Golfs. Love them.

Lightflyer1 said:

When I was stationed in Germany, I found cars much, much better taken care of over there than in the US. Few if any clunkers driving around.

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You know about the TÜV , right?

Sure do or did back then.

oilhammer said:

And now, we here can only buy the GTI or R versions... no regular Golfs,

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AND, no more manuals. Starting I believe 2024s or 2025s.

Yeah, that makes me sick, too.

Speaking of loss of manuals, 2024 is the last year for a Wrangler with a 6spd.

Yet one more reason to buy a Bronco.

(man that Pentastar is a piece of CRAP engine.....).

The 2024 GTI 380 is the last "Golf" manual in North America. I thought about buying one, but I honestly don't like the car that much, especially the electronics and those stupid haptic controls. And I have no desire to own a car with a digital cluster.

My first new car was a MK1 Golf Diesel. I loved that car. Wish I still had it.

Shenandoah said:

Folks,

We've got family in Berlin so I come over a couple times a year to visit. I'm in Berlin for a couple weeks and this morning was watching German TV and they had a five minute spot on the news about the VW Golf being 50 years old. They showed advertisements for the Golf across the years. Pretty neat.

There are so many nice mk4 VWs here.

Eric

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Amazing. Well for one thing some mechanics here wont even work on a VW. Most arent familiar with them., and the ones that are try to rip you off.
I just need an Illegal to work on mine since they make them in Mexico and the Mexican populace are very familar with these cars . I have some good friends at work who are Illegals and they just love them. They want my car Vato! OOps hope I didnt trigger anyone!

oilhammer said:

Yeah, that makes me sick, too.

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Lightflyer1 said:

When I was stationed in Germany, I found cars much, much better taken care of over there than in the US. Few if any clunkers driving around.

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I believe in Germany they actually pay a living wage, suitable for prosperity , and the standard of living is better. Long shot on this one, you tell me.

The Mini taught me that the best layout for a car was engine crosswise in front leaving plenty of space for people and their stuff with a flat roofline that goes all the way back. Drove one of the first US market Golfs in 1975 and loved it but didn't have the dollars, got my Mini Cooper S in 1976 but didn't make sense as a daily driver so in 1978 when I had a better job and money I bought my first new car, a Golf 1 diesel. Replaced with a Golf 2 diesel in 1986 but never really replaced by a Ford Ranger pickup in 1997 (remodeling an old house), so back for a Golf 4 TDI in 2003 that's now kept in reserve. Then a Golf wagon in 2013 that was sold back to VW and replaced by the latest and greatest, a 2015 Golf 7.

If the Golf isn't the worlds greatest all around car, it's certainly in the top 5. Golf does everything well- good performance, fold down the back seats and you can sleep or haul whatever, all in a sturdy car that's cheap to run. Sad that after a half century of Golf success VW has been trying to hobble the Golf with horrible user interfaces and smother it with EVs that will never be Golfs, while VW NA pretends there's no market for Golfs as their deeply discounted SUVs malinger on dealers lots...

Shenandoah said:

Folks,....

There are so many nice mk4 VWs here.

Eric

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Can you bring a few back?

John Wesley Hardin said:

I believe in Germany they actually pay a living wage, suitable for prosperity , and the standard of living is better. Long shot on this one, you tell me.

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Is it true that German might fail inspection for dents and cosmetic stuff?

gearheadgrrrl said:

The Mini taught me that the best layout for a car was engine crosswise in front leaving plenty of space for people and their stuff with a flat roofline that goes all the way back.

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That's open for debate. My uncle just gave me his '99 986 Boxster for my birthday. He had it mothballed in his garage for the last 7 or 8 years since he bought a Saturn Sky Redline- which he also rarely drives. Before that he had a 1st gen miata that he turbocharged before he gave it to my cousin (minus turbo). He must have his eye on something new because he wants to sell the Sky too. Anyhow, both the Miata and Sky have a pitiful amount of storage, while the Boxster has a surprising amount in the back and front. It may only have 200 hp, but it's very linear and much like the 5mt Miata, a joy to wind out. That Porsche flat six makes a beautiful sound. The mid-engine layout may not be the easiest to work on, but it has it's advantages. Can't wait for summer!

Has the IMS bearing been addressed?

I agree, the Porsche boxer six engine makes a wonderful sound.

Mid-engine is probably best for handling dynamics, but the packaging is usually horrific. Keep in mind that a Boxster is longer than a Golf and only seats two with less overall storage.

The exception is a front mid engine van, the Toyota Previa. The engine was on its side under the front seats, inside the wheelbase. That van was the same length as the same era Camry and seated 7 with good storage behind the third row. One of the best cars I've owned.

oilhammer said:

Has the IMS bearing been addressed?

I agree, the Porsche boxer six engine makes a wonderful sound.

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Yeah, he blew up the original motor and we swapped in a new drivetrain from a a 986 wrecked by a mechanic that worked for the shop of the LN Engineering owner. He had retrofitted it shortly before getting stopped by a tree.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Mid-engine is probably best for handling dynamics, but the packaging is usually horrific. Keep in mind that a Boxster is longer than a Golf and only seats two with less overall storage.

The exception is a front mid engine van, the Toyota Pervia. The engine was on its side under the front seats, inside the wheelbase. That van was the same length as the same era Camry and seated 7 with good storage behind the third row. One of the best cars I've owned.

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It's not much fun to wrench on, that's true. It definitely won't be my daily, though my cousin in Austin has been driving his old MX-5 as a daily for the last 15+ years. I really enjoy wrenching on (and driving)that car when I get a chance. She's finally decided she wants something bigger with AC and an automatic for the Austin traffic. She only wants to spend in the 7-9k range. She test drove a Tiguan the other day and didn't like it. I think she's leaning toward a Mazda 3 hatch now. I had her looking at Golfs too, but they're really surprisingly somewhat scarce down there.

John Wesley Hardin said:

I believe in Germany they actually pay a living wage, suitable for prosperity , and the standard of living is better. Long shot on this one, you tell me.

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One thing they do in Germany is prepare their young people to make a living wage. At 13 years of age their school children, use that term children loosely, are enrolled into a trade program. Healthy meals are easy to find there according to my son. Recycling and composting is common also.

Another nice factoid about Germany:

Germany doesn’t see race—or at least it pretends not to. Racial categories that are commonplace in the US and UK—such as white, black, and Asian—don’t exist in Germany. The government doesn’t see any need to measure the number of ethnic minorities in certain schools, universities, and jobs, because it doesn’t want to divide its citizens. The prevailing argument, which holds in much of Western Europe, is “if you don’t want to create racism, you have to avoid using categories,” says Simon Patrick, a senior researcher at the National Institute for Demographic Studies. Everyone is German, the thinking goes, and should be treated the same across the board.

Amazing what you can do if you don't constantly have a bunch of idiots trying to put you in groups. They also don't have to pay for a giant military, we do that for them. No need to contribute to multi-national things, either. We do that for them as well.

But in the end, I'd say any American who thinks Germany is "better" would probably miss it here. They have good and bad, too. The lukewarm showers would probably keep me away, LOL.

We have it pretty good here in spite of ourselves

Germans also save time and conserve energy by not bothering to have much of a sense of humour.

Transverse FWD best for all around, mid engine best for performance. Now that I can afford one I'm tempted to buy a Cayman/Boxter or Corvette next time, But looking at the road tests and specs the Golf R is as fast as the Porsche and can easily swallow the contents of a Costco cart. Corvette is about the same price as Porsche and has almost no steel in it to rust, but MPG deserves a gas guzzler tax.

There's a lot more to driving enjoyment than speed. The NA MX-5 is neither fast nor quick, but it is extremely nimble and one of my favorite cars to drive. You can wind those cars all the way out with regularity and not worry about losing your license. For me, rear drive is also vastly more fun when pushing a car past 8/10ths. Front drive can be a lot of fun too, just not so much near the limits.

J_dude said:

Germans also save time and conserve energy by not bothering to have much of a sense of humour.

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I’m going to bite my tongue on how I know that’s true

I hope it’s not genetics

turbobrick240 said:

There's a lot more to driving enjoyment than speed. The NA MX-5 is neither fast nor quick, but it is extremely nimble and one of my favorite cars to drive. You can wind those cars all the way out with regularity and not worry about losing your license. For me, rear drive is also vastly more fun when pushing a car past 8/10ths. Front drive can be a lot of fun too, just not so much near the limits.

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This is why I love the beetles. Recently almost had a chance to buy a gorgeous red 94 miata with silky tan leather. Had 80k on it and had been sitting for the last 5 years in a guys garage. Ran and drove (needed general tlc from sitting) $3k. Sold in the first 30min of being listed. I barely missed it.

oilhammer said:

Another nice factoid about Germany:

Germany doesn’t see race—or at least it pretends not to. Racial categories that are commonplace in the US and UK—such as white, black, and Asian—don’t exist in Germany. The government doesn’t see any need to measure the number of ethnic minorities in certain schools, universities, and jobs, because it doesn’t want to divide its citizens. The prevailing argument, which holds in much of Western Europe, is “if you don’t want to create racism, you have to avoid using categories,” says Simon Patrick, a senior researcher at the National Institute for Demographic Studies. Everyone is German, the thinking goes, and should be treated the same across the board.

Amazing what you can do if you don't constantly have a bunch of idiots trying to put you in groups. They also don't have to pay for a giant military, we do that for them. No need to contribute to multi-national things, either. We do that for them as well.

But in the end, I'd say any American who thinks Germany is "better" would probably miss it here. They have good and bad, too. The lukewarm showers would probably keep me away, LOL.

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They waste less time coming up with a new stealthier dieselgate

oilhammer said:

Another nice factoid about Germany:

Germany doesn’t see race—or at least it pretends not to. Racial categories that are commonplace in the US and UK—such as white, black, and Asian—don’t exist in Germany. The government doesn’t see any need to measure the number of ethnic minorities in certain schools, universities, and jobs, because it doesn’t want to divide its citizens. The prevailing argument, which holds in much of Western Europe, is “if you don’t want to create racism, you have to avoid using categories,” says Simon Patrick, a senior researcher at the National Institute for Demographic Studies. Everyone is German, the thinking goes, and should be treated the same across the board.

Amazing what you can do if you don't constantly have a bunch of idiots trying to put you in groups. They also don't have to pay for a giant military, we do that for them. No need to contribute to multi-national things, either. We do that for them as well.

But in the end, I'd say any American who thinks Germany is "better" would probably miss it here. They have good and bad, too. The lukewarm showers would probably keep me away, LOL.

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Hmmh... Could be wrong but I didnt think Germany had a lot of ethnic minorities. I believe many other countries throughout Europe dont allow other races in their country because they want a sovereign nation. I dont think theres Mexicans in China ? Or Blacks . I believe we are one of a few multicultural countries in the world because we allow it.
However I do like German engineering in some aspects . In WW2 they had some amazing aircraft and firearms.
After all the company Volkswagen started in May 1937 by the Nazis and Volkswagen translates to "The Peoples Car" and has turned into the largest producer of vehicles in the world, but we already know that

jmodge said:

I hope it’s not genetics

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Maybe its Inbreeding