Stopped in an Edmonton shopping mall on my way to take delivery of my new 2010 VW GTI. I saw the original(in North America) Mark I 1984 Rabbit GTI. 26 years after I bought one exactly like this I was getting a new Mark VI Golf GTI. It was weird to see this on this day. I mean you just don't see these anymore. It looked kind of sad there with a block heater extension cord wrapped around the front bumper, faded (original) paint with the subtle red pinstriping and blue velour seats worn to tatters on the drivers side seat bolster. Its angular lines and plastic wheel fenders nestling the 14 inch alloy rims looked dated, but I really wanted to bring this car home and give it some lovin'. This car had probably been well taken care of up to the last few years and really was not too bad, but if it was to be restored, it would need a lot and I mean a-lot of lovin'.
Anyway, being sentimental about a car is great, but that is where it should end unless you plan on hyping your dream to a reality show producer and getting Chip Foose to roll on this one. Otherwise it is an errand for fools with more investment capital than cents, so to speak. I did love that car and had so much fun driving it. It was quick but it wasn't fast. Did not stop me from trying to beat 455 TAs off the line, hell I'm sure I got props just for trying. I know for sure I got speeding tickets. Pushed the car like crazy. It was so well balanced, the suspension so composed that if you lost some rear traction the front end kept the wheels on the road and the 90 horsepower engine would pull you out of trouble.
Teleport me back to the 21st century and VW has remade the spirit of this old car in a similar, if more futuristic outline of it's former self. Five versions later the Mark VI for 2010 has grabbed it's real mojo back. Point 2 litres displacement bigger that the '84 1.8 with a direct-injected turbocharged engine is neck-snapping in a way the Mark 1 could be with a throttle jab in 2nd at 3500rpm. A jab at any speed in any gear with the 2010 version produces the same thrill. This car offers the same planted feeling I remember back in '84. Of course my expectations are indexed to the 80's; this Mark VI would have seemed like a Ferrari back in 1984.
The 2010 version grabs cues from the original in the subtle red pinstriping around the grill, the creases in the body sheet metal do all the pinstripe's talking this time around. The 18 inch "Detroit" wheels and slightly lower body give the GTI a planted stance that walks the talk.
The seats are a pleasant throwback, though my '84 had really nice red velour seats that did grab you the way Alcantara promises with strong bolsters that would hurt you if you did not execute your entry coordinates precisely. The Mark VI Jacky Cloth seats have strong but thigh-friendlier bolsters. Those kooky Germans, what is the McTavish tartan doing in here? Don't get me wrong, I love it, but what does the McTavish Clan have to do with car seats? (I'm actually pretty sure it is not the McTavish tartan-maybe the Stewart, as in Jackie?). It's the same thing as the Golf ball gearshift knob. If the Golf was not a Rabbit but the wind then the Golf Ball shifter is a clever German English translation joke. All the more to love about this car and it's history.
I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I did not feel I needed a convertible. A friend showed up with a beautiful metallic gold convertible Beetle. It was summer and I loved the open sky wind in your hair feeling. So I traded my GTI on a 1985 VW Cabriolet. Almost immediately I missed the tuned 1.8 litre engine and sporty handling. It was also a "pretty" car. I think that was the thing that go me the most. The GTI was a chuckable boy-toy that you could ride hard and put away wet. Cabriolet was more suited to parade use; you more rode in it than drove it.
The 2010 VW GTI fills the hole left by the memory of the Mark I. It also adds conveniences undreamed of in 1984. Bluetooth phone and streaming audio, touch screen display, an actual sound system with iPod connectivity, 6 CD/MP3 player with SD card reader, Bi-Xenon retina burners that actually turn to follow you around corners. Of course all kinds of fun-reducing electronic baby-sitters that do actually help keep the car on the road and make you seem like a better driver than you are(and more importantly, somewhat of an OFF switch for above). And then there's the smile-producer at he bottom of the right foot and one of the best steering wheels ever. That chubby, leather-wrapped-flat-bottomed-red-stitched masterpiece of industrial design gone right, though a little busy to the eye, feels like a gateway to the soul of this car.
Dave Murray
Anyway, being sentimental about a car is great, but that is where it should end unless you plan on hyping your dream to a reality show producer and getting Chip Foose to roll on this one. Otherwise it is an errand for fools with more investment capital than cents, so to speak. I did love that car and had so much fun driving it. It was quick but it wasn't fast. Did not stop me from trying to beat 455 TAs off the line, hell I'm sure I got props just for trying. I know for sure I got speeding tickets. Pushed the car like crazy. It was so well balanced, the suspension so composed that if you lost some rear traction the front end kept the wheels on the road and the 90 horsepower engine would pull you out of trouble.
Teleport me back to the 21st century and VW has remade the spirit of this old car in a similar, if more futuristic outline of it's former self. Five versions later the Mark VI for 2010 has grabbed it's real mojo back. Point 2 litres displacement bigger that the '84 1.8 with a direct-injected turbocharged engine is neck-snapping in a way the Mark 1 could be with a throttle jab in 2nd at 3500rpm. A jab at any speed in any gear with the 2010 version produces the same thrill. This car offers the same planted feeling I remember back in '84. Of course my expectations are indexed to the 80's; this Mark VI would have seemed like a Ferrari back in 1984.
The 2010 version grabs cues from the original in the subtle red pinstriping around the grill, the creases in the body sheet metal do all the pinstripe's talking this time around. The 18 inch "Detroit" wheels and slightly lower body give the GTI a planted stance that walks the talk.
The seats are a pleasant throwback, though my '84 had really nice red velour seats that did grab you the way Alcantara promises with strong bolsters that would hurt you if you did not execute your entry coordinates precisely. The Mark VI Jacky Cloth seats have strong but thigh-friendlier bolsters. Those kooky Germans, what is the McTavish tartan doing in here? Don't get me wrong, I love it, but what does the McTavish Clan have to do with car seats? (I'm actually pretty sure it is not the McTavish tartan-maybe the Stewart, as in Jackie?). It's the same thing as the Golf ball gearshift knob. If the Golf was not a Rabbit but the wind then the Golf Ball shifter is a clever German English translation joke. All the more to love about this car and it's history.
I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I did not feel I needed a convertible. A friend showed up with a beautiful metallic gold convertible Beetle. It was summer and I loved the open sky wind in your hair feeling. So I traded my GTI on a 1985 VW Cabriolet. Almost immediately I missed the tuned 1.8 litre engine and sporty handling. It was also a "pretty" car. I think that was the thing that go me the most. The GTI was a chuckable boy-toy that you could ride hard and put away wet. Cabriolet was more suited to parade use; you more rode in it than drove it.
The 2010 VW GTI fills the hole left by the memory of the Mark I. It also adds conveniences undreamed of in 1984. Bluetooth phone and streaming audio, touch screen display, an actual sound system with iPod connectivity, 6 CD/MP3 player with SD card reader, Bi-Xenon retina burners that actually turn to follow you around corners. Of course all kinds of fun-reducing electronic baby-sitters that do actually help keep the car on the road and make you seem like a better driver than you are(and more importantly, somewhat of an OFF switch for above). And then there's the smile-producer at he bottom of the right foot and one of the best steering wheels ever. That chubby, leather-wrapped-flat-bottomed-red-stitched masterpiece of industrial design gone right, though a little busy to the eye, feels like a gateway to the soul of this car.
Dave Murray
