canadiancatgreen caught a couple of little 1980s imports huddling together for safety amongst all those big, mean trucks and CUVs.
We’ve covered both of these cars thoroughly elsewhere, so I’ll point you the way:
Dodge Colt/Mitsubishi Mirage by Perry Shoar
VW Fox by Jim Cavanaugh
I am not normally big on 1980s econoboxes, but these two “off brand” examples have always been intriguing to me. I briefly owned (and really liked) the earlier generation of the Colt, and my generally warm feelings towards the Fox wagon are on record. The odds of finding two of these uncommonly seen cars must be pretty high.
Is that a US market front on the Fox (Polo); or a modification ? I’d suggest those two are buddies. We call those ‘Bread vans’, in England.
that was the standard us fox front end. I always liked the way they drove even with just a 4 speed but could never pull the trigger on one even as poor twenty year old looking for a cheap ride.
“Bread van”, that can only be the VW Polo Mk2 hatchback.
Both with seamed beam headlights – another rare sight these days.
This is a sight you NEVER see in Rhode Island. Those cars disappeared off the map here years ago.
Jimmy, the VW Fox is not a version of the Polo. It’s a Brazilian built version of the Gol, itself a Brazilian model, loosely based on the 1970s Audi 80/Fox.
I haven’t seen a Fox around here in ages, probably not since the early 90s. Had a particular interest in the two door wagon as it’s longer lines came off better than the Golf.
The Fox was brought in as a price leader for VW. I suspect it’s Brazilian production gave it an advantage over the German produced Golf.
VW doesn’t seem to want a part of the low end of the US market anymore. They have never imported the Polo here. While the Mexican built Jetta sedan is cheaply trimmed, it isn’t cheap to buy, while the Golf and (now) Golf wagon are finished to a higher standard.
Those lucky Canadians got a price leader from VW a few years ago, the “City Golf”, a Brazilian built Mk 4 Golf, with taillights and front clip updated to fit with the newer VW styling themes. A rather tidy package. I saw one sitting in a used car lot here in metro Detroit. The lot owner said it wasn’t for sale, it was still wearing Ontario plates, which makes one wonder why it’s in a used car lot in the first place.
used car lot is really mysterious in metro Detroit. There are quite handful of reserved cars in the back for various reasons, and sometimes the model is quite odd.
…and sometimes the model is quite odd.
You do see oddballs around here from time to time, samples that other companies are using for evaluation. Besides the big three, Nissan, Toyota and Hyundai have engineering and test facilities here. One day, coming home from work maybe 5 years ago, I passed a European Mk 2 Focus. I could see that the driver had a laptop set up in the front passenger seat, so he was probably monitoring powertrain performance.
I don’t that that is the case with this City Golf as that is an old model. While the City Golf was sold in Canada 6-8 years ago, the Mk 4 platform and powertrain in it dates back to the late 90s.
Yes, those prototypes. Quite a handful of students drive them in engineering universities around this area with manufacture plate. Sometimes those cars come quite early ( I keep seeing the current Mustang hanging around since mid-2013, and the prototype was spartan enough to have crappy lights and down to ground interior. ) He eventually got another one closer to production model in the last semester.
MK4 was squeezed pretty tight to get a tiny bit juice out of it near the end. They reserved it for China, South America and Canada ( when does Canada go with them? ) for few more years.
and Canada ( when does Canada go with them? ) for few more years.
I wish a few more would leak across the river. The one in the pic was still in the used car lot tonight, still wearing the Ontario plate. It’s been there since January. I wouldn’t mind having one of them to bash around town, as the US spec Mk4s are getting very long in the tooth.
According to Wiki, Canada had the City Golf, renamed Golf City in 08, from 06-2010.
I used to spend a lot more time in Dearborn and saw some odd things running around, like a 72 LTD, with a 73 front clip on it. Saw a Mustang II on I-94 about 6 months before they hit the dealers.
Given the Beetle’s long and storied history here, it’s interesting how quickly VW threw in the towel to the US entry-level market once the Japanese gained a foothold. I guess the ill-fated Westmoreland, PA factory was their last shot at trying to compete in the low end, and once it closed, that was it.
Of course, the new, basic, decontented Jetta that was introduced a few year’s ago seems to be doing quite well, to many reviewer’s surprise.
Of course, the new, basic, decontented Jetta that was introduced a few year’s ago seems to be doing quite well, to many reviewer’s surprise.
VW grabbed some low hanging fruit for a while with the “giant leap backward”, but they have been sneaking content back into the car: a few slight, and inadequate, interior trim upgrades and a return to independent rear suspension. The difference between the Jetta sedan and my wagon which was built on the previous series Jetta/Golf platform, is stark.
The sedan’s entry level engine continues to be the pathetic 2L. The new 1.8T is no bargain either. It may be a bit quicker off the line than my 5 cylinder, but it’s the buzziest, thing imaginable. The sound is like driving a wheezing 80s vintage econobox.
That’s essentially the gist of most (if not all) the reviews. Yet, amazingly enough, the new, cheaper, bargain-basement Jetta sedan has sold well since its introduction.
Quite ironic, since the old, early eighties, made-in-USA Rabbit was criticized for being softened-up specifically for American tastes and it was categorized as one of that car’s biggest failings.
Yet, amazingly enough, the new, cheaper, bargain-basement Jetta sedan has sold well since its introduction.
The cheap Jetta came out in 11, and sales increased 54% compared to the nicer, more sophisticated, previous generation, selling 150,515. In 12, if fell off to 146,478. Fell again to 141,259 in 13 and held about even at 141,354 in 14. So, yes, you can argue that the cheap Jetta has been better received than the older model, but it hasn’t gained momentum after the first year.
…the old, early eighties, made-in-USA Rabbit was criticized for being softened-up
The US Rabbit’s failure probably had more to do with poor reliability, poor dealer service, and people getting used to the gas prices of the day and moving to larger cars.
iirc, the US built Passat of today, and, for years, Accord and Camry built in the US have been larger and softer than their home market versions.
If you can live with the old durable but slow 2.O 8 valve and a stick, the base model is pretty affordable. I had a neighbor that passed and had a silver Fox sitting in the driveway for a couple of years, then one day around 2010 his wife had it junked. I believe he said it had a transmission problem, wish I would have made an offer on it. Always liked the look of the Fox wagon, simple and basic car.
If you can live with the old durable but slow 2.O 8 valve and a stick, the base model is pretty affordable.
I had a 2 litre/auto Jetta loaner when they were putting the bodyside molding on my Jetta wagon last year. What a dog. The car sounded like it was in pain as it labored to drag itself down the road. The trans didn’t do it any favors. I rolled around one corner and the trans must have dropped two or three gears at once, which it did with a bang, as the engine strained to get the car back up to 45.
That engine will not be durable working that hard, and, with the 2L, you still have to deal with changing the timing belt from time to time. VW is trying to position itself as a premium car in the size class, but then they turn out something that makes a Chevy Cruze look good.
I would never consider an automatic with this engine. With the 5 speed it will keep up with traffic, but won’t win many drag races.
They still use an 8 valve? I’m not up with what they sell here, but that shocked me. What next? Back to the L-head?
They still use an 8 valve? I’m not up with what they sell here, but that shocked me.
Yup, in their Mexican build price leader. The engine dates from, at least, the 90s, and actually felt pretty good in the much smaller and lighter Golf of the 90s. I scared a salesman once as I went blasting along in a 97 Golf with that 2L, reveling in the buckets of torque that my 1.5L Mazda couldn’t even dream of having.
Now, the tooling is probably completely depreciated. One cam is cheaper than two. Eight valves are cheaper than sixteen. A rubber belt is cheaper than a chain. The poor thing labors so hard in the Jetta it doesn’t give any fuel consumption advantage over the 5 cylinder, but it’s cheap.
Is that Colt a sedan or 5-door hatch? If it’s the latter it’s extra rare and Canada-only in that trim level.
Wow. Rare pair there, and a very nice find! Where I live, the Colt would be the rarer of the two–I think I’ve seen one of those in the past 3 years. The Fox, on the other hand, I can think of at least two examples in the area, one of which I see regularly. The wagon lines do work better and I love 2-door wagons in the first place, so I always liked them. Pity we never got a GTI version…there were some hot versions of the Gol in Brazil so it could have been done here too. Guess they thought it would eat into more profitable Golf-based GTI sales?
My family lives in northern Pa and for the last few years I’ve seen a VW Fox parked along Rte 15 with painted rear side windows a la a “sedan delivery”. A previous owner also lowered it…a bit too much in my opinion, and painted it Desert Tan.
I haven’t seen a Colt in years, even “regular” Mirage 2 door coupes are few and far between in my area.
Two weeks ago I ran across a 4 door 1st generation Tercel sedan, in factory pumpkin.
Fox wagon with Audi 5-cyl turbo, please.
Dad bought me a 1989 VW Fox brand new. I wanted the wagon but Dad was a Point A to Point B guy who insisted on a basic coupe in basic white. He did allow air conditioning. If I recall correctly it came with some speakers but I had to install a stereo. Signs of obvious cost-cutting in plastics for the dashboard and console, but the upholstery was sturdy and tweedy, the steering wheel had heft, and the gauges were nice. On balance, though it was one of the cheapest cars on the market, I never felt as if I were driving a cheap car.
My family went through three of that model of Colt in the 90s, used by my siblings. They were a decent chuckable econobox driving experience, practical and cheap to buy used, but short on durability. The first was reasonably reliable, but by the time the third began blowing gaskets, having electrical problems and developing terminal rust my dad swore off them.
I saw one recently in my town, the first I’ve seen in well over a decade. Even in California the rust took them out fairly quickly.