The VW Rabbit was a significant car, both for VW and for the industry. While it wasn’t a groundbreaking car – others lead the charge in the market, like the Autobianchi Primula or the Mini – it did throw more momentum behind the front-wheel-drive compact hatch market than ever before. And at this point, most major manufacturers, including some like Mercedes, from whom you’d never have expected it, all have a compact hatch in their lineup. They also put momentum into the hot hatch field. So let’s take a look back at a neat interpretation of this influential car, this 1979 VW Rabbit for sale for $3400 in Oregon City, OR.
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Muscle Bunny – 1979 VW Rabbit
November 4, 20162 Waters Please – 1982 VW Quantum and 1978 VW Rabbit
January 27, 2016Until recently, VW was on pretty solid ground as a growing presence on the North American market, but let’s take a look back at a time when VW’s existence here was very much in question. The North American Quantum definitely epitomized that time, with a pokey 1-7-liter 4-cylinder, awkward styling, and a marketing strategy that didn’t know where it wanted to be – frugal and well-made like a Beetle, or spartan-lux like most of its European contemporaries. Indeed, there’s little except maybe the goodwill and better service network from the Beetle days to differentiate this from a contemporary Renault, and we all know where Renault went in the late 1980s. So let’s check out a remnant from those early water-cooled days, this 1982 VW Quantum for sale for $1299 in Portland, OR.
Westmoreland or Bust! – 1980 VW Rabbit Diesel
June 25, 2014While the Volkswagen cars built at the Westmoreland, PA are an interesting sidebar in VW’s production history (together with the South African CitiGolf and the Mexican Caribe), but their compromised interior design and quality, together with softened suspension, mean they’re not viewed all that fondly by enthusiasts. That said, survivors are few and far between at this point, and it’s interesting to look back and see what a former Chevrolet executive thought was the right strategy for selling more Rabbits in North America. Check out this 1980 VW Rabbit Diesel for sale for $2500 in Palo Alto, CA.