Considering its ordinary looks, conventional engineering and immense worldwide popularity, the Volkswagen Golf should be anything but a classic. Except that it is a classic. Because when the Volkswagen Golf went into production way back in 1974, virtually every other car became obsolete.
It started with the first-generation ("Mark I") Volkswagen Golf. VW found itself in the '70s still dependent on the ancient Beetle for a good chunk of its sales. VW knew that in order to survive, it was (mixed metaphor ahead) going to need to push all in on one big gamble, and then hit it out of the ballpark. That big gamble was the Volkswagen Golf.
The Volkswagen Golf was a direct replacement for the decrepit Beetle, and it succeeded by turning much of the Beetle's engineering upside-down. In place of the Beetle's rear-mounted, air-cooled flat-4 engine, the Golf went with a front transverse-mounted, water-cooled inline-4. Out went the Beetle's rear-driven wheels in favor of front-wheel drive. The Beetle had an oddly shaped trunk up front, where the Golf had a generous hatchback in the back. The Beetle's two-door body was all curves, while the Golf was a cleanly folded design by the brilliant Giorgetto Giugiaro that could be had as a three- or five-door. Simply put, the Volkswagen Golf was better than the Beetle in every conceivable way.
Also, to clear up any confusion, the Mark I Volkswagen Golf was sold in North America as the VW Rabbit. Go figure.
There are decades of history and hundreds of details to cover about the Volkswagen Golf. Everything from the introduction of both the transcendent Golf GTI and groundbreaking Golf diesel in 1976, to the development and announcement of the Golf Cabriolet convertible in 1980. And from the miserly models to the powerful R32. There's a whole book to be written about VW's ultimately failed effort at building the Volkswagen Golf in Pennsylvania alone.
But the most remarkable thing about the Volkswagen Golf — whether it's called Golf or Rabbit — is that after all this time, it's still built around the same straightforward idea.
