"Volkswagen vindicated by its new Rabbit"

Too bad the author didn't do his homework:

"It was a puzzle to anyone who remembered the shoddy quality of the Rabbit of the 1970s, when it was built in the United States. The factory eventually closed and production returned to Germany."

Not true. The vast majority of 1970s Rabbits did come from Germany until the 1979 model year when non-convertible models for the US and Canada were made in the US for 1979-1984. The factory stayed in production through about 1989 producing the Mk2 Golf starting in late 1984 and when it closed the production was replaced by Puebla production, not German production.

Everyone else in the car business is abandoning hatchbacks because Americans want big gas guzzlers that can climb mountains, for all the trips they take to the mall. Hatchbacks are still made and sold to the rest of the world.

[another] Mike

Way to paint with a broad brush, there. I guess that's why the Prius is a hatchback, and Honda, Toyota, and Nissan have all released new hatchback models in the US (Fit, Yaris, Versa) - 'cause those guys have no idea at all what they're doing when it comes to selling cars, right?

-- Mike Smith

Honda's been selling hatchbacks since they started, so? What's the number one class of vehicle in sales in the U.S.? Light truck/SUV.

I guess all those SUVs I see on the road, and that every car manufacturer now has one (they don't all have hatchback models), and it being the highest selling class of vehicle is because Americans love hatchbacks.

To say that Americans are overweight is not to say that all of them are. It is understood that it means "most" or "on average".

Americans don't like hatchbacks. They don't sell well.

Mike

hey do you know the size of the golf hatchback/trunk size. im looking to buy one but not sure howbig the trunk is.

thanks, Jordan

You could probably get the specs with a little web searching. Or you could go and measure one yourself. Check out

It may tell you the size of the hatch with the rear seats up. When you fold them down, the hatch is much bigger, of course.

I like hatchback cars. I've had three Saab hatchbacks. My wife has had several Honda Civic hatchbacks. The cargo area is much more useful than trunks in sedans. I currently have a Passat station wagon which is basically a long hatchback. I don't like SUV's because they're unnecessarily big for me. For all that extra size, you don't get a heck of a lot of extra interior space.

Tom Reingold Noo Joizy

Well, I like them, and I am an American. I definitely do NOT like SUVs or

4-wheel drive vehicles of any type. In going to the Mall or making a roadtrip on paved roads, they just seem like overkill and a big waste of resources.

Yes, I like them too and I think they're a waste for the same reasons you do. My point was not that ALL Americans don't like them, but that the most don't. SUVs are a larger market. Sad, but true.

Mike

for started you should tell us if you're looking at a mk2, mk3, or mk4 Golf (what year?).

Got it, and yes - it is sad.

Aren't most tail gates in SUVs a variation on the hatch back design. I have one (SUV) for the 'no liftover' effect I get when trying to put heavy items in and out plus the fact I can fit several adults comfortably in it on a longish trip. Same reason I have a Jetta Wagon (TDi), fewer worries about the old back with regard the liftover.

The problem with most earlier hatch backs is that they offer so little to the consumer v a standard trunk. Even the Golf still has a back wall of several inches you have to lean over to lift a box out of the back. That's just asking people to pull a muscle lifting stuff out of the car.

Regarding the light truck, keep in mind mini-vans (kid/grocery haulers) also fall into the catagory as do pick-up trucks used in business and light vans ussed in business like fedx and ups. So while there is no question the American consumer loves trucks, the truck covers a broad spectrum.

fundamentalism, fundamentally wrong.

I have the only "big" hatchback made my a major American car company, a Chevy Malibu Maxx. It works well for daily driving, and for transporting R/C model airplanes. As might be expected, there will not be a hatchback version of the next Malibu.

I'm hoping there will again be a Passat TDI wagon by the time I am ready to replace my Malibu. I get OK mileage, but would get 50% better with a TDI.

Before you start flaming me for talking about a Chevy on this group, I have a VW, an '86 Cabriolet, which is why I am here. The Cabriolets were made in Germany in '86, while the Mk II Golfs were made in Pennsylvania at the time.