This photo makes me recall when my parents brought me along to shop for cars in 1976 when i was 11. In the VW showroom was a Rabbit four door hatchback, with a Beetle next to it. It was hard to contemplate these two cars being built by the same company at the same time.
I had similar experiences as a little kid, near my parents home, walking by East Motors (VW dealership) located on Montreal Road in Ottawa. The outdoor lot featuring Karmann Ghias, Things, Bugs, Scirrocos, Dashers and Rabbits. Such a curious and eclectic lineup.
“You can guess which one I’d want.” – This was not such an easy guess for me when I though of you up to your elbows in one Bug project and with some aging daily drivers. 🙂
Oddly enough those early VW Rabbit’s had what appeared to be a 2 BBL carby but was in the end two carbys in one, once you took it apart and mixed up the parts you were done for .
I don’t follow modern VW’s, are they still economy cars ? .
A base-model Jetta with the 6 speed manual is the only European sedan sold in the US that could be construed as an economy car, unless I’m forgetting something (there’s the Fiat 500 electric, but that’s not a sedan). And it’s arguable if the Jetta is European at all give it’s built in Mexico.
This photo makes me recall when my parents brought me along to shop for cars in 1976 when i was 11. In the VW showroom was a Rabbit four door hatchback, with a Beetle next to it. It was hard to contemplate these two cars being built by the same company at the same time.
I had similar experiences as a little kid, near my parents home, walking by East Motors (VW dealership) located on Montreal Road in Ottawa. The outdoor lot featuring Karmann Ghias, Things, Bugs, Scirrocos, Dashers and Rabbits. Such a curious and eclectic lineup.
Yes, when you wait 40 years to develop and build a new car, especially back then, the differences can be rather acute.
Ironically, the ’76 Beetle had FI, the Rabbit still had a carb.
Wow!! That’s a “Who’d a Thunk It?
FI was needed to help air-cooled engines run clean enough to pass emissions regs.
Nice! You can guess which one I’d want. Might want the other in a few years when we’re fully done with minivans.
“You can guess which one I’d want.” – This was not such an easy guess for me when I though of you up to your elbows in one Bug project and with some aging daily drivers. 🙂
I can probably fix any issues with the one on the left, but the other one? Not so much….
The one on the left has zero need for brand identification on the front. For the one on the right it is essential.
Oddly enough those early VW Rabbit’s had what appeared to be a 2 BBL carby but was in the end two carbys in one, once you took it apart and mixed up the parts you were done for .
I don’t follow modern VW’s, are they still economy cars ? .
-Nate
More like near-luxury, I reckon.
A base-model Jetta with the 6 speed manual is the only European sedan sold in the US that could be construed as an economy car, unless I’m forgetting something (there’s the Fiat 500 electric, but that’s not a sedan). And it’s arguable if the Jetta is European at all give it’s built in Mexico.
When I was a VW fan in the 70s I never imagined that VW would end up selling the equivalent of Buick station wagons.
Don’t besmirch the name of the Buick !
The one on the left will still be running in 15 years, the one on the right, not so much
I resemble this photo. The difference is that my aircooleds are tucked inside the comfortable garage and my mk6 GTi has to endure the driveway.