Christmas is fast approaching–where did the time go? That recently reminded me of two MK III Jettas I spotted during a long walk back in September; a matched set, in fact. So allow me to spread a bit of Curbside Christmas cheer…
Actually, it was a good and productive walk on which I spotted and shot two future CCs before returning home. These days, Jetta MK IIIs are not seen very frequently around here, even though they were all over the place when they were still in production, from 1992-1999. Here in the Midwest, rust eventually got them if electrical problems already hadn’t. This emerald green one is in pretty nice shape despite side moldings gradually escaping from their proper place; in fact, one has already gone AWOL. This must be an uplevel example since it has a sunroof, alloys and even a spiffy rear spoiler.
What really made me take these pictures was finding both of these Jettas at opposite ends of the same block. Besides, the red and green reminded me of Christmas: “Ah, wouldn’t this would make a good December Outtake!” And here we are with two very Christmasy VWs, wouldn’t you say? What’s more, both of them are remarkably rust-free.
The red one has all of its side moldings, but paint not nearly as nice as the green one. The brighter shade on the front end leads me to believe there was a fender-bender and subsequent repair some time ago. The repaint looks nicer than the factory finish, and they even redid the pinstripe on the front fender.
Since they’re on the same block, maybe the Jetta owners are buddies who help each other fix their Vee Dubs when one breaks down. Or perhaps the red one was there first, and later the neighbor bought the slightly fancier one to one-up the other guy? Who knows, but it’s kind of fun to imagine.
Back when I had my XR4ti I desperately wanted to find one of these in a scrapyard. The front bumper is a pretty easy swap and cleans the nose of the XR up nicely.
My brother has a Jetta of this vintage. The trim is falling off of his too. He just spent two weeks with a welder then copious amounts of spray-on rockerguard patching up the body and floorpan so it would survive another winter.
I had one of these. Yes, I too had to reglue the body side molding before it completely delaminated. Yes, I too experienced electrical problems and other issues that made me question both the product engineering and built quality of Volkswagens. I traded it at just over 36k miles. I will have to see years of data demonstrating that Volkswagen has made substantial reliability improvements before I step into a Volkwagen or Audi showroom again.
I bought (leased) one of these new in 1995, a red one. The red fades on these (and other older VW’s and Audi’s) as it was not clearcoated from the factory, but the matallic colors WERE clearcoated. If you wax one (even when new), the first time you do it you look in horror at your formerly white towel that turns a dark shade of pink VERY rapidly.
The ones pictured are at least 1995’s, the years before that had black rub strips. The green one is for sure a 1995 as you can see the JettaIII script on the back, I believe in 1996 it just became the Jetta again (no “III”) Those alloy wheels were a common option on the GL and standard on the GLS, steelies with fairly homely hubcaps were standard. That spoiler was an option, never standard except on the VR6 model. I’m pretty sure both of these are GL’s, I believe the GLS (relatively rare) got body color mirrors. Engine was a 2.0 4cylinder (not so lovingly called the 2.slow…)
Mexican production meant (in those years) somewhat shoddy assembly, I remember my shift linkage fell apart within the first few thousand miles, the AC went in to be fixed repeatedly. Sold it in less than 2 years. It was a solid cruiser but other than that not nearly as fun as the ’86 GTI I had a few years earlier.
The black ones were by far the most popular (but not common ) and in CA at least commanded a premium at the dealer. (Just like Honda CRX Si’s a few years earlier)
My wife-to-be bought a 1996 Golf GTI the next year, also red, also the same 2.slow engine but with an automatic, and together we had similar issues with both cars. After she finally sold hers we stayed away from VW until our current Touareg.
Who knew that the next generation would be considered even worse (MkIV) and really put VW on an eventual downward spiral which they are only now starting to emerge from.
Funny how those Jettas seem to have disappeared mostly, here in Europe, 3rd-gen Golfs are still EVERYWHERE, probably the most common 90s car on the roads, although Opel Astras might still be close in presence. The Escort of those days on the other hand….
IIRC the Golf outsold the Jetta about 10 to 1 in Europe, over here it’s pretty much the other way around.
I thought I met up with that green Jetta yesterday at the SA Thrift Store. Almost a perfect twin except for the Muscatine plates.
Normally that car wouldn’t attract my attention but after seeing one here…
I’m thinking there are more CCs on the road than we think. The “CC Effect” just makes us more observant.
I was shocked to see an 84-85ish Vette cruising around Northpark mall yesterday.
After Xmas I’ll definately be picking up a Camera!
These were crappy cars, a friend had one that went from new car to decrepit pile faster than any other car I’ve seen. One of its “fun times” near the end of its life…..he went over a railroad track and all the windows came down at once….just fell right into the doors.