You seem to be ranting to yourself Whatever floats your boat. Covering the sun with one finger is not going to fix the problems at VW which at present time are overwhelming and will take more than stealing away MINI's ad agency

Get off your high horse..."Oh Thank God I am better than that!" We are taking aboiut cars, inanimate objects, not your girlfriend so chill out and relax .

 

You have been using real aggressive words and disrespectful statements which has nothing to do with the topic. You are BASHING, your words are far away from critism, and you know that. Guess what would happen if someone called the MINI pos? You are intolarent...

 

Shame on you

 

I love rabbits. They are so sweet, If they are done nicely, not like these, they are simply rediculous.





Go to this site, it is too cool
http://therustyrabbit.com/

 

 

2006 VW Polo GTI: (This is proof positive as to why Volkswagen Northamerica is made up of a bunch of clueless *******es that think that by bringing silly and outdated model names are going to save it from bankruptcy)








So here is my question to you VW fans... Which one would you take, the overweight dumb looking "RABBIT" or the sleek, lighterweight, better handling POLO?

I think you should re-direct your anger against the honchos at VWoA for being so clueless/out of touch with reality and not bringing this competitive car over here. The POLO IMO is much more of a legitimate competitor to the MINI Cooper than the porker Mark V Rabbit/GTI.

 

2006 VW Polo TDI 5 Door



60MPG!

I rest my case...

 

Oh Really? Please show me all the "disrespectful" statements I have made on this thread so far......

I think the only intolerant figure in this discussion is YOU!

 

Well, I mean -- those are just two of the disrespectful things you've said (and they both came from the same post. I don't feel like flipping back through pages and collecting, and I think they illustrate my point adequately.

Oh yeah: you also called people who don't vehemently hate VWs "apologists" which is a fairly well-loaded word.

Two things here:

1. The only person making loaded, irate comments and accusations is... um... YOU. Yet I do find the irony entertaining, so thank you.

2. You said it all: IN YOUR OPINION. You can't deride people angrily on the basis of YOUR OPINION. In the very legitimate opinions of many, the MINI is a troublesome and silly-looking thing. You'd say they're wrong. You'd be mistaken because it's not fact: it's OPINION.

In MY opinion, I LIKE the old VW Rabbit. I also really liked my Dodge Omni. Others will disagree, to be certain, but their own vehicle preferences have not one single thing to do with mine -- or those of anyone other than themselves. So, for the sake of us, a Rabbit re-birth is kind of cool. Unfortunately, as has been said, it's got such a low price point (which is necessary) that many people will buy it just because it's affordable and not necessarily because of the heritage. On the other hand, I think it's great that consumers in that price point may be given the opportunity to learn about it, should they so choose. It's practically un-elitist. I likey.

My mother has a Golf: she loves it. Hasn't caused her any problems at all. My schmoopie ( ) has a Jetta: he loves it. Hasn't really been an issue for him. I have a MINI: I love it... and yet I've practically adopted the dealership as my new mailing address. We know that C4 has the perfect MINIs, which drive on water, because he tells us all the time. But just because C4 hasn't had any problems with his cars, and some people have had problems with some other cars does NOT make ours a superior marque (there is no second 'e' in the word marque, btw) and it REALLY doesn't entitle you, C4, to belittle all other car manufactures on the basis of a few opinions you can scrape together that happen to be in agreement with your own.

If I felt like investing the time I could round up just as many disfavorable opinions about the MINI.

We get that you don't like them C4 -- and some of us are never going to agree with you. So why bother continuing the hositlity? It's just making you look silly and, honestly, kind of nuts... Get out in your perfect MINIs and motor, for buddha's sake!

 

Omtoast, so you are know Scuderia's MINI attorney? Let him speak for him self, thank you very much.

See VW fans that refuse to acknowledge the mess of a company VW is jump out of the trenches like zealots and accuse anyone that does not agree with their "love for all things VW" as intolerant and irrespectful and a total ****.

I honestly don't care and I will stand by my comments until VWoA comes to their senses and improve the quality of the cars and bring over the POLO pictured above.

To me is really irrelevant that your mother's, aunt, boyfriend, neighboor, etc, etc VW has been a model of solid reliability. That is purely anectodal evidence. Unfortunately, in the bigger scheme of things, the vast majority of consumers out there perceive VW's as problematic products with poor dealer support. Go and read all the "VW sucks" websites that abound in the 'net.

I personally know 2 people that have been burned out by VW and have vow to never go back. They loved their cars but could not deal anymore with the poor quality and crooked dealerships.

Lets agree to disagree but in all honesty some of the ones that look "nuts" are the ones that refuse to debate the fact that VW is in shambles and needs to be fixed, pronto.

Let the VW love fest continue!

 

. The only person making loaded, irate comments and accusations is... um... YOU. Yet I do find the irony entertaining, so thank you.

Really?, Prove it!

 

It cracks me up how OMtoast and company like to make "selective" quotations to prove their "points" meanwhile ignoring the discussion at hand. OMtoast, answer this, would you pick an overweight Rabbit over a Polo? Wouldn't you agree that VW should bring it over here and let the Golf be a Golf?

Wouldn't you agree that VWoA is blatantly out of touch here by not bringing a true and competitive entry level to the US?

Wouldn't you agree that the Rabbit is just a by product of "badge engineering" versus true substance?

That's the kind of debate I want to see here. Instead all I have been reading about is that I am an intolerant ****....

 

Nobody is calling you an Intolerant **** here, that is just your imagination, as a matter of fact, ***** would not bash VWs anyways , which is besides the point.

Polo is too small, i don't know if you have seen it in person, but considerably smaller than the Golf/Rabbit. It is highly questionable to gamble on a car which has little demand in US market.

MK5 has more than "badge engineering" (which is in my book "marketing strategy"), the car is totally different than the previous generation in every aspect.

You are blaming other people advocating me, just get a life

 

^^ Plus, I believe the two cars are in two completely different price brackets. Can't really compare a $14K-ish car to a mid $20K-ish car. A good many people won't (or can't) be deciding between the two.

Very Truly Yours,

Toasty
Council for ScuderiaMini

 

I think some of the Rabbit lovers in the forum would be happy to know that the first gen 1970's Rabbit is still being manufactured and sold in South Africa as the "Citi/Golf".

Take a look:

Rabbit, Run: It keeps going... and going...

Posted Apr 17th 2006 4:55PM by Chris Paukert
Filed under: Time Warp, Economy, Trucks/Pickups, Hatchbacks, Volkswagen

Given Volkswagen's recent announcement that it is pulling a Rabbit out of a hat Golf, and that Easter has just fallen off the calendar, we thought we'd remind readers that they can still purchase something very close to VeeDub's original bad bunny. That is, provided you call South Africa home.
In fact, Volkswagen's just announced that it's freshening the hot hatch icon. Known in SA as the Citi Golf, the 2006 facelift includes new rear light clusters and a reworked chin spoiler, among other alterations.
Inside, buyers and Windows-shoppers expecting the boxy hard-plastic first-gen era dashboard will be shocked to find that VW has massively updated the interior to appear more-or-less current. A split three-spoke steering wheel with metal-effect trim dominates the interior, and the instrument panel is slightly dated standard-VW fare, but SA consumers now have five new color choices from which to chose. Of course, the classic 'golf ball' shift **** has been retained.
(More photographs, information, and video links after the jump!)
With a starting price of 67,780 Rand (@ $11k U.S. dollars) and a 1.4-liter engine putting out 54 kW (74 horsepower) in base 'Chico' trim, the Volkswagen Citi Golf isn't cheap by American standards, but it is in line with local competition. Top-rung 1.6i models put out 101 horses and base at (around $16k U.S.). The pickup variant soldiers on in South Africa, as well.
From looking at Citi Golf, one might get the impression that VWSA's entire lineup is made up of Jurrasic castoffs, but interestingly enough, this Rabbit Redux shares showroom space with the current-generation Passat and Touareg. Perhaps this VW's less Rabbit and more Energizer Bunny, but its durability is nothing short of incredible. The reworked Citi Golf shown here is just now starting to hit dealer forecourts.
Check out these pre-facelift Citi Golf commercials, some of which trade on the 'Forever Young' theme:

• Aircraft Carrier (priceless)
• Quality Control (are they singing about what we think they are?)
• Digs
• Tattoo
• Garfield

Alright. So a few of us on the Autoblog staff have always had a soft spot for A1 GTIs with their sublime-for-the-day handling, hot hatch daddy rep and ridiculously cool tartan seat fabrics. This cinches it. We need a new project car.




[Source: Volkswagen South Africa]

It has a sweet interior and 30+ years of quality control built into it. Heck if they sold it here I would buy it over the bloated MK5 Rabbit impostor.

 

Volkswagen launches new Polo GTI

Posted Apr 4th 2006 4:25PM by Stuart Waterman
Filed under: Tokyo Motor Show, Hatchbacks, Volkswagen


VW continues its new model push with a performance version of its Polo. The company borrowed heavily from the Golf GTI to come up with its new Polo supermini, which hits selected markets this spring, after having debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in late 2005.

A significant step up from the last Polo GTI, which delivered 125 hp, the new GTI model pumps out 150 hp, good for 0-62 mph in 8.2 seconds.

The baby GTI is powered by a turbocharged and intercooled 1.8-liter, 5-valve per cylinder, four cylinder engine. Other performance upgrades include 16-inch alloys sporting 205/45 rubber, and a lowered suspension with standard ESP. Oh, yes, and red brake calipers, too! More pics after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

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Reader Comments

(Page 1) 1. I'm not sure where I read this (probably AutoBlog), but the current generation of Polo is the same size as the original Golf I (aka Rabbit in the U.S.)

So is the Polo GTI really a "baby GTI" as you state in this post or a return to the original concept of a (truly-fits-in-your) pocket rocket?

Boy I wish they'd sell these in the U.S. I might have to move to Europe!
Posted at 4:41PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Brian Cabral 0 stars


2. awww...it's like a baby GTI! too bad we won't see it in the US...
Posted at 4:46PM on Apr 4th 2006 by tr 0 stars


3. VWoA foolishly hangs on to the notion that a decontented, overweight, 5 cyl. Golf is the answer to luring entry level US buyers, not a cool little Polo with a hot engine and cool plaid interior. Idiots.
Posted at 4:58PM on Apr 4th 2006 by jb 0 stars


4. Wow, i wish our "real" GTI looked this good. All of the design elements that just don't seem to work on the Golf GTI either work in this smaller scale, or have been improved. The lights, the grille, especially the back window.
Posted at 5:01PM on Apr 4th 2006 by JH 0 stars


5. 150 HP from a turbocharged 1.8L? Exactly how much (or more accurately how little) boost are they running?

With those specs I'd rather have the 1.9L TDI. It's a second slower to 60, but it gets a lot better mileage and has way more low end torque.
Posted at 5:07PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Jeff the Baptist 0 stars


6. not for me, but could be good for someone
Posted at 5:09PM on Apr 4th 2006 by How to Get the Girl of your Dreams 0 stars


7. The Golf, Civic, Focus, etc. have gotten so large it's no surprise that we're now seeing an increasing number of smaller cars. Even a Honda Fit weighs about 2,500 pounds, though.

Hopefully VW hooks onto this trend by finally offering the Polo here. I'm a member of the "smaller is better" crowd. Yes, you can easily fit three kids in the back of a Mazda Protege5.

The engine sounds like the same one offered here not long ago. Very easy to boost well over 200 horsepower with just a chip, from what I understand.
Posted at 5:17PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Michael Karesh 0 stars


8. I've always liked the Polo over the Golf. Civics, Corollas and Golfs are definitely getting bigger and bigger, turning into different beasts altogether.
Posted at 5:32PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Aki 0 stars


9. Where do I sign up for one? Great little car!
Posted at 5:35PM on Apr 4th 2006 by zeroSignal 0 stars


10. With the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris coming over to the US why oh why doesn't VW bring over the Polo?

More importantly why don't they also bring over this Polo GTI! Personally I would want something a little bigger, but I can see this pocket rocket selling well. Please improve the quality control and VW could have a winning lineup.
Posted at 5:43PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Mr. Fletcher 0 stars


11. That power output is dismal considering the dimensions of the engine. I bet they cranked down the boost to keep it socially acceptable. I'm thinking this may be a great candidate for big power increases via chipping.

Sounds like the only competition for my MINI Cooper S. They should bring it on!
Posted at 6:04PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Jon Lind 0 stars


12. Great! The proportions and design look fantastic for what a GTI should be! The (Golf) GTI weighs 3,308lbs and the (Polo) GTI weighs 2828lbs at least that is a little more hot hatch. There is an original GTI in my neighborhood and this here Polo GTI looks like it should be the MK V (Golf) GTI. What happened to hot hatches!?
Posted at 6:12PM on Apr 4th 2006 by New Yorker 0 stars


13. Yes, it bothers to see Europeans and even Latin Americans getting all these fine vehicles and here we are, just being offered what Big Brother decides what's good for us.

Good thing it's changing though, judging by what we are seeing now (the Yaris, Versa, and the Fit.)


Posted at 6:13PM on Apr 4th 2006 by GCH 0 stars


14. Sharp little car, but that pig nosed grille filled with black plastic just reads cheap.
Posted at 6:28PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Tom Design 0 stars


15. Is this just another VW model for enthusiasts in the U.S. to wish for?

Seems like a never ending stream of stylish and powerful VWs that we won't get.

Could be that VWs best cars would be too costly to sell here unless they're "decontended" for us. That company hasn't done squat here since the BUG days of the '60s; the current GOLF is almost old enough to vote!

Hard to see why a few people (aging hippies, maybe?) keep loving VWs considering what the company offers buyers in the U.S. Might be nice if VW improved its service record, too.
Posted at 7:29PM on Apr 4th 2006 by iQuack 0 stars


16. Glad you brought up ageing hippies. I live at ground-zero for our Jerry-worshipping, soap-dodging friends (The Upper Haight, SF). Here are my observations:

Ageing hippies that have made some money, yet still dress like guitar-techs tend to live in Marin, yet come down to the Haight on weekends. They absolutely always drive either a late-model Corvette, or a Ford F-150.

Those who came in the sixties, hung around, and still live in the same two-thousand square-foot, $200/month rent-controlled apartment, always drive delapidated Volvos that spew out god-knows-how many polutants, yet still have Save the Earth stickers on them. These self-rightous *******s are currently trying to get all street parking banned, safe in the knowlege that they have nice garages to store their wrecks in.

Then their are a gang of "free spirits" who live in the neighborhood in converted school buses and decrepid Winabegos. They pay nothing in taxes, yet use all our social services, and still demand a payout.

Not forgetting the software-engineer ageing geek hippy in his Prius, the weekend boomers visiting the Haight to recreate the summer of love and parking in my driveway in their brand new Explorers and Yukons, and my favorites, the Harley-riding clowns who race around the streets setting all the car alarms off on a Sunday afternoon.

As soon as I can get a Bentley and drive around with a One Less Hippy sticker on it, the better.




Posted at 8:20PM on Apr 4th 2006 by fizzandpop 0 stars


17. This looks exactly like the 1.8T that's been in the VW's and Audi's. So with a bit of tuning, ala chipping, expect and easy 200hp.

It would be great if they brought it into US and Canada.
Posted at 8:31PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Wall Man 0 stars


18. And I'm not in possession of one of these....why?

Oh, right.
All the cars I want are in Europe, and I'm in the US.
Posted at 11:48PM on Apr 4th 2006 by Eric 0 stars


19. This current Polo is bigger than the Golf I; it's actually between Golf II and III in many dimensions. Car inflation is insidious. I read in German magazine that VW is planning a smaller and cheaper "Jetta" for the NA market based on Golf IV platform. The new multi-link rear suspension in the new Golf/Jetta costs $500 more than the previous, and that is hurting profitability in the very price competitive NA market.
Posted at 12:15AM on Apr 5th 2006 by pauln 0 stars


20. Great comments, fizzandpop, and what you say is correct.
I live in S.F. so got a laugh out of the truth.

I'm near the Embarcadero, so not many hippies around here for which I'm thankful--they were boring in the '60s and their leftovers would be especially repulsive now.

I just love the limousine liberals around here--nice people who never took (or passed) a class in economics 101. This is a great place to live if you can stand the Socialists who seem to run the city--nice weather when it's not raining, too.

Back to the subject of cars, there are plenty of late model VWs around here. They're probably owned by over-the-hill flower children who made successes of themselves after giving up the weed.

Posted at 2:14AM on Apr 5th 2006 by iQuack 0 stars

 

The current VW Polo should be about the size of the MINI, so your "Too small" to be brought here comment doesn't hold water.

Accept the fact that the Polo GTI looks better, its lighter, and probably handles much better than its porky Golf GTI cousin.

 

Until VWoA brings it here the Polo is a moot point.

Dealing with the existing line-up and renaming the Golf the Rabbit gets VW free press generated around the name and the $14,990 entry price into the VW line-up for a car that comes in a size Americans have come to expect. The GOLF was not a strong seller in the U.S. market to begin with, so again, I see zero risk in this strategy.

Dave

Disclaimer: I owned a 2000 Jetta VR6, didn't hate it, and don't think VW is on a suicide mission to exit the American market.

 

DiD (Thanks for jumping into the frey like a true gentleman)

I for one, don't see the reasoning behind VWoA refusal to bring over the Polo here. The new Polo GTI is a true direct competitor to the MCS similar size, similar weight, dimensions, driving demeanor and power.

OK, I concede that rebadging and decontenting the MK5 Golf to Rabbit will probably be a good move (But it remains to be seen for how long) to bring entry level buyers under the VW fold. But the Rabbit does not solve VW's problem in Northamerica of offering a truly low cost, hatch pocket rocket. The POLO could give the MCS some headaches in the US market.

The current Golf GTI is too big and bloated to be a truly direct competitor to the MINI.

 

I don't think VW wants to really compete in that market. Selling the MKV GTI as a more premium offering in the hatch market seems to be where they want to be. The path for VW is to get people to accept that the premium price they pay gets them a more refined experience in a fun to drive car. Trying to go head to head with manufacturers like scion on the low end, may hurt whatever extra cache VW does have as the one affordable european car maker with a complete line-up.

It might be interesting to see how the Polo did here, but I don't see the polo as the second coming of the NB in terms of sales. To me it seems more likely the Polo would become VW's equivalent of the Mercedes C-class hatch.

I don't really think it would. The MCS is already over $20k and those buyers realistically aren't going to consider a car that costs $15,000 or less.

My take anyway.


On that we disagree. A brand new bone stock Golf GTI did damn well for itself against tuned MCS's at one of our local autocrosses. Granted the driver has a large roll in autocross, but the potential is definitely there for a supurb handling car with good performance. Going past 200 HP, the 2.0T is also easier to get power out of than the MINI's 1.6 lump is. It remains to be seen what the true tuning potential of the R56 will be.

 

Thanks DiD BTW, nice pics on Vortexx

 

You have twenty posts in this thread. Twenty.

 

It is truely amazing that a certain someone won't argue with a site admin...even though he is falling into the so called "apologist" catagory, as set forth by our beloved C4...

chris - that is because he can't put one thought into one post... 1 post = 4 for him (on average)...

I think someone has a little too much time on their hands!

Less talking..more MOTORING!!!

 

The funny thing about this thread to me is that to read it you'd think that VWoA's primary sales came from hatchbacks. The real health of VW in American is dependant on the Jetta and the Passat (possibly the Touareg).

EDIT: there's no need to start ganging up on anyone. Let's try to keep a real discussion going, and not get this side tracked.

 

The 2 cars seem targeted to an entirely different consumer potential, given that the base models would be about $4000 apart. There are many who think the "justaCooper" is underpowered (note: I'm not one of them) and floats along on heritage (and, of course, handling). Does the Rabbit not carry the same potential? I mean, in the world of badge resurrection, VW hasn't done too poorly for themselves -- based on the Beetle. It'll get out the nostalgia crowd.

And I think DiD hit the nail on the head when he submitted that it probably wouldn't pay for VW to try and get competitive in the cheap-o hatch department. A nice, entry-level VW like the Golf /Rabbit is probably the niche they need to fill to keep the reputation of the marque where it is.