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The VW Golf. The 3rd best selling car in the world. A car loved by millions. The Golf Started in 1974 as a replacement for the Beetle. Japanese sales were soaring as VW's started to plummet. The Golf was the "New spark" to rekindle VW. In 1974 the VW Golf made it's Debut at the Frankfurt auto show. The crowd seemed pleased with the Golf, but almost everyone said that it will never be as popular as the beetle. Two years later the Golf was selling better than anyone ever expected. That year the Golf became Europe's best selling car. The Golf has held that position ever since. It is true the Golf will never be as popular as the World famous Beetle, but it holds second place to it. The Golf never sold as well as it did in the U.S. as it did in Europe, mostly because the American market was never crazy about a hatchback. So what held the top selling spot in the U.S. you ask? Well, the sister car to the Golf/Rabbit, The Jetta. Please read on to learn more about this marvelous car, the Golf. The A2 Golf
The A2 Golf was introduced in 1985 as the replacement to the Rabbit. The golf proved more spacious and refined than the Rabbit. Production took place in one of three places as shown above. the first two years of production saw "American style" rectangular headlights, only to be changed in 1987 to the larger euro lights. The A2 Golf line saw the 1.8 litre 16 valve GTi in 1987 and the 2.0 litre 16 valve in 1990.
Trim levels:
Basic Golf
GL
GT
GTi
Wolfsburg edition
Engines:
1.8l FI gas (80 hp, standard engine)
1.8l FI gas (100 hp, used in the GTI)
1.8 FI 16v gas (87-89)
2.0l FI 16v gas (90-92)
1.6 diesel (85-86, dropped for '87 in the american market but were still made for the canadian market)
Golf with American Style square Headlights
GTI 16 valve
Another 16 valve Golf with Teardrop Wheels
The A3 Golf. Still a utilitarian hatchback, but it is was missing a lot compared to the previous A2. Gone was the Diesel, and gone was the 16v. The GTi wasn't introduced until 1994, and when it came out it had a puny power plant. in 1995 VW put a 1.8l turbo into the GTI and the VR6 was available as an option. Now VW was putting bikes and Snow boards on their cars and making new editions, such as the Music and city Golfs. The base 2 door golf was gone and the Golf carried more weight then the A2. The spark was still there, but not shining as bright.
Trim levels:
GL
GLS
GTi
Trek
K2
music
city
Wolfsburg Edition
Engines:
2.0 litre FI (115 hp, standard engine)
1.8 litre Turbo FI (introduced on 95 GTI as standard engine)
2.8 litre VR6 FI (Available as an option on the GTI)
Standard GL
GTI VR6
The A4 Golf was first released in Europe in '98, not to come to the US until April '99. The A4 Golf is in my opinion the best yet, mostly because the you can get a Diesel again. The A4 Golf is also the biggest Golf yet, weighing over 500 pounds more then the previous A3 Golf. The extremely narrow body panel gaps and a stiff body are due to laser welding techniques new to the A4 era of Volkswagens. The standard 2.0 litre got a redesigned head for better fuel economy, and the VR6 got a HP increase of 2 HP, making the VR6 174 HP. The base Golf (GL) is now a two door as found on the A1 and A2 generations and a Diesel power plant is now available after a lapse of thirteen years. The only problems about this car are said to be the Blue instrument panel lights ( some people like it some people don't) and the cable shifter (said to get lost in the gears). For the 2001 model year the Golf will be getting the 1.8 litre turbo power plant as the standard engine to replace the 2.0 litre. The GTI "GLS" gets all the goodies of the GTI "GLX" except the peppy VR6, instead it gets the stock 2.0 litre. All in all this is an excellent car and I hope more people will realize this and get a Golf. The US needs more hatchbacks.
Trim levels:
GL (2 door)
GLS (4 door)
Wolfsburg Edition
Engines:
2.0litre FI
1.8litre TURBO FI (2001)
2.8litre VR6 FI
1.9litre Turbo Diesel (TDI)
