(First Posted December 30, 2014) Procrastination is an evolutionary trait; why expend energy now when the wolf isn’t yet at the door? From the mid-50s on, VW knew it needed to eventually find a true successor to their aging air-cooled rear-engined cars, and spent some twenty years exploring various new designs and prototypes. Most were still rear-engined, but there were a few FWD ones too. But VW was so addicted to its cash-cow Beetle, and its plants were spitting them out so profitably at full capacity, it just couldn’t ever really be bothered to make the leap. But eventually the wolf did appear, and VW took the easy way out, with a Fox.
Even though VW developed the rep for being very conservative back then, it (and Porsche) created a constant stream of quite advanced prototypes. Most were rear or underfloor designs, but FWD was given some consideration too. This sub-Beetle class and rather Mini-ish EA 48 was developed during the 1953-1955 period, and was powered by a 700cc air-cooled twin (essentially one-half of the Beetle four) mounted ahead of the wheels and used McPherson struts on the front, a first anywhere for a FWD vehicle. But in 1955, VW couldn’t even keep up with the demand for the Beetle, so the EA 48 project was ditched. Why bother?
By the mid-late 60s, VW’s bigger and more immediate problem was in the classes above the Beetle, as buyers had higher expectations and the competition from more advanced designs was brutal. VW colossally botched its entrance into the true middle-class with its 411/412, it was still air-cooled and rear engined; essentially a Super Beetle on steroids. And it was essentially DOA in 1968, with its modest performance, relatively thirsty engine, and the other intrinsic shortcomings of the rear-engined car.
In 1969, NSU was taken over by VW, and rolled into Audi. This was just as NSU was about to launch its very advanced FWD K70, to slot in below the rotary-engine Ro80. Designed by Claus Luthe, the K70 had some very advanced features, an Audi-like longitudinal engine, and was very space-efficient. Its 1605cc was a development of the one used in its NSU1200, and ended up being rather thirsty itself, and performance wasn’t really all that great either. NSU didn’t quite have the resources to turn an advanced design into a real-world winner. And the K70s construction was rather complex, so it was hardly a cheap car to build.
VW pulled the NSU K70 from the market just before it was to go into production, in part because it was seen to be too close to their own new Audi 100. By when it became obvious that the 411/412 was not impressing buyers, VW changed its mind and slapped its own logo on the grille, and sold it as the VW K70; VW’s first borrowed FWD car.
The K70 did not get off to a promising start. So VW started development of a new middle-class FWD car of its own, the EA 272 (1972). It had a transverse engine, and was styled by Giugiaro. But an even more expedient solution was now very close at hand.
Audi’s brilliant new 80 (B1, Fox, in the US), debuted in 1972, with a brand new SOHC inline four engine (EA827), the first in a family of gas and diesel engine still in production today. The B1 was state of the art in its performance, efficiency, handling, and all-round capabilities. There was simply no point in VW spending development money to build an in-house competitor.
VW logically commissioned Giugiaro to graft a new fastback rear unto the 80, which also made a hatchback possible. although it was also available with a conventional trunk opening too. The Passat was launched in May 1973, and quickly eclipsed the somewhat larger K70, which went out of production in 1975. VW had found its FWD solution, and ran with it. And what it learned from the B1, it put to good use on the new Golf, which did have a transverse engine/transmission. Most of all, the Passat was able to finally put the venerable Type 3 out to pasture.
Instantly, VW had the arguably best car in one of the most competitive segments in Europe, and a quickly growing class in the US. Its timing in the US was of course fortuitous, as it arrived just before the first energy crisis. The very lightweight (∼2500 lbs) B1 platform always yielded excellent economy and performance, no matter which engine it had.
face lifted version from 1979 on
In the US, a carburated 1.5 L gas version made 70/75 hp in the first two years, and then was replaced by a brisker 78hp fuel injected 1.6. In Europe, a smaller 1.3 L version of the EA827 engine was the economy version, and at the other end of the spectrum, an 85 hp version of the 1.6 in the TS. And in 1979, the GLI version had the Golf GTI’s very zippy 11ohp 1.6.
For the 1979 model year, the Golf’s 1.5 L diesel four became available in the Dasher/Passat, with 48 hp and a 0-60 time of just about 20 seconds. But during the second energy crisis, the diesel engine became very sought after, and these rugged little oil-burners are still clattering away on the streets of Eugene, although typically not with Ronal Teddy Bear wheels.
VW also developed the station wagon version of the Passat/Dasher, which Audi appropriated as an 80 wagon in certain markets. Thanks to its space-saving design, it is quite roomy despite the B1’s modest 97″ (2470mm) wheelbase and 165″ (4190mm) overall length.
The pre-facelift Dasher/Passat used the Audi 80’s interior largely intact, with an attractive instrument binnacle and wood-grained trim. These cars were delightfully good-handling for the times, thanks to their light weight and well-sorted out suspension of coil/struts in front and a twist-beam axle in the rear. From a modern perspective, they are more like sub-compacts in terms of their size and weight. Obviously, a deeply quiet, plush ride was not part of their brief. These were true anti-Broughams.
Although I’ve never found a B1 Fox/Audi 80 in Eugene, there are still a fair number of these B1 Dashers around. This one is obviously owned by a VW enthusiast, and sports GTI wheels and quite possibly a larger and more powerful engine, which is an easy swap. Early cars came with the four-speed manual; a five speed became available a few years later. A three speed automatic was also optional, but not the best choice to take advanatage of the car’s inherently sporty nature.
But most of them are diesels, like this sedan that was for sale in my neighborhood a while back. It never sold. Diesels anything are in, but these are getting a bit long in tooth.
But they’re still out there. How much longer is an open question.
This one is no longer around.
And this tree pruner now carries his ladders on a Corolla wagon. Time dashes along.
But my favorite of them all is of course this pristine early coupe sporting a dramatic purplish paint job. How utterly dashing!
Related reading:
CC Volkswagen 412 – VW’s Deadly Sin
CC: Audi Fox/80 – The Mother of the Modern VW/Audi Era
I remember seeing these Dasher, Rabbit, and Scirocco. I thought the Dasher was the best looking of the three. I particularly with wraparound turn signals.
I bought the Dasher’s sporty, little brother…the Scirocco. It had the same 1588cc engine, but it was transversely mounted. Fuel Injection, front drive….these cars were the most advanced of their kind at the time.
Today I own a pristine 1981 SciroccoS
I bought a new 80 Scirocco S way back then…loved that car and probably would have kept it much longer but VW went and sent over the Rabbit GTI in 83 and after one test drive, I was hooked and bought one…most fun car I’ve ever owned!
It’s been eons since I’ve seen a VW Dasher, but they were all over the place when I was a kid. My normal ride to soccer practice in elementary school was a noisy, black, diesel hatchback that belonged to a friend’s mom and had definitely seen better days. I remember 7-8 of us kids piling into that car, which probably made life for the VW oil burner very difficult, and I remember she was always complaining about it (apparently it broke down often, but I don’t remember it ever leaving us stranded). At that age, even just the fact that it was a stick-shift was enough to make me think it was cool.
A couple of us convinced a friend to buy a wagon that seemed clean. Turned out to be a dog. This was ten years ago when I was still seeing them about. These days, nada.
In three door form, this is a very attractive car. And that colour is spot-on. Wagon is nice looking too.
It’s really interesting to see how the VAG-Group got the upper hand in Europe in the past 20 to 30 years. Sure, they had the Golf, a bestseller from day one. Other than that it was more or less small beer compared to the endless and successful model line-up from Ford and Opel in the seventies and eighties.
And look what happened. Now the VAG-Group succesfully covers all car segments while Ford and Opel only slid downhill. Name any car segment and the VAG-Group has one or more models to offer. From near-bankruptcy in the early seventies to a company that basically dictates and fully dominates the Euro-car market 40 years later.
Regarding the Passat, the 1996 B5 was the most crucial one. It marked the beginning of the end for their main competitors’ D-segment cars. The Audi 80 and its successor A4 were other VAG cars that turned things around. Those and the letters “TDI”.
I’m a big fan of their segment coverage. Them and BMW have taken Sloanism and applied it in a far more advanced manner. Doesn’t make the Bentley range any less ugly though.
The discussion’s been had before within these pages, but if FiatPar is going to get anywhere, VAG is the best-practice example to model themselves on.
Fiat’s current line-up in Europe has become very small. Apart from the Panda it’s an endless variation of the 500 model.
I sure hope we get to see some sort of Alfa Romeo revival. I don’t think it’s impossible. After all, look what happened to Maserati.
If the 159 successor looks like this it would be fine with me. Much better than the current My-Little-Pony Alfas with their cute frog eyes. An Alfa should look anything but cute. Überholprestige ! That’s what we want ! Oh wait…what’s the Italian word for that ??
One thing that makes me wonder is how people who constantly rag on Lincoln for pushing deluxe-y’d up versions of mass market Fords and occasionally jump on Lexus for being a plush Toyota, give Audi a pass.
It’s because folks are nostalgic for the giant Cadillacs and Lincolns of yore. Never mind that the world has mostly moved on. Audi has always been quite consistent. One can’t really accuse them of having changed over the decades.
“Audi has always been quite consistent”
Consistently unreliable, consistent jaw-dropping depreciation.
I recently had a salesman at an Audi dealership tell me to “never buy a German car. Just lease them. It’s cheaper in the long-run.” The real money in these cars is the “certified used,” so Audi makes money on both ends, but especially the back end.
I have a client with a 2010 A3. It’s hard to keep running now.
Consistently breaking the bank in repairs…….
Great read! I need to start reading more into VW’s history during the middle years.
about 2 years ago i saw a white b1 dasher wagon in town. pockmarked with rust all over it was quite a sight. the rust even bled from the spots onto the unaffected paint. i still wonder how it got that way. hail damage? chemical spray? regardless, once i realized what it was and the fact that i was behind it on a 2 lane road with no possibility to pass i just settled down to enjoy the leisurely trip to town. would love to drive one. not sure i would love to own one.
And still you know, back in the day the Renault 16 was the more practical all-rounder.
Never understood why VW did not immediately made a hatch of the Passat-Dasher.
Let’s face it, the Passat had Renault 16 written allover itself.
And these Passat-Dashers were not particulary good cars, I mostly forgot about them, contrairy to the much better looking K70.
I owned a Dasher for a while in the mid 1980s and liked the car a lot. However, it rusted even in my area of the country that does not suffer from the tin worm; and every time it rained it would leak water onto the passenger’s feet. Build quality was not what it could have been. But it was a fun car to commute in and toss about.
Excellent article and research Paul. Thank you.
I find the 1972 EA 272 concept very interesting. What an advanced design for 1972. Many elements of it’s exterior design were still seen in VW products, like the Scirocco, 15 years later.
I always admired the first gen Dasher (and Rabbit) for the honesty of their design.
Frugal, practical, and cheerful at once. Besides their advanced design and engineering, it was their bold lack of pretense (by North American standards), that made me like them over the PInto, Gremlin, Vega, etc. It was refeshing to see cars like this mass marketed in NA at the time.
That says it very well, Dan. Unpretentiousness speaks of self-assurance. That communicates confidence. That style, or apparent lack of it, remains in VW’s designs as much as is possible in the modern age of overstyled, doodled-on automobiles.
This is the car that put me off VW for all time. I bought a ’75 Dasher coupe with 16,000 miles in 1977. Mine was beautiful in Miami Blue with black upholstery. It had a great chassis, and the 1471cc engine would sing like a Wagnerian tenor, but it was so fragile in every other respect. A real shop queen, it quickly got so that I was spending the equivalent of a car payment in monthly maintenance. Finally I sold it, and used my reliable Raleigh Record 10 speed for daily transportation. Remembering this car makes me grin, though. I used Arco Graphite motor oil in it. That was the filthiest stuff! The graphite would get all over me, and my clothes. Hmmm…Maybe the car was rebelling against its diet?
“Maybe the car was rebelling against its diet?”
I suspect it was. That Arco Graphite crap was on its way to ruining my Olds 455 4bbl when I had the good sense to stop using it. Fouled the plugs and turned the rear bumper black with exhaust soot.
From car to bike. That rings a bell with me. I did that as well and it is the basis of my relatively good health/fitness. Those years of riding moped/motorcycle and driving car had me loose all cardiopulmonary vigor. The 10 and 12 speeds reversed the course.
I had some exposure to the K 70, early Passat and Audi 80. My brother had n Audi 80 and while it was a very comfortable car it had significant understeer in particular at Autobahn speeds. A friend had a Passat and it served him and his family well. I recall he had to replace the valve stem seals. Another friend had an Audi 80 and she lost it because the carburetor caught on fire and the molten metal entered the cylinder head.
Bad head gaskets were costly to repair because the shops were often unable to pull the head off without damaging it.
Despite all of these issues they were often the best vehicles to buy in their days. VW had one huge advantage: an incredibly large distributorship and legions of loyal VW owners who became more affluent as West Germany’s economy was booming. VW could sell anything in Germany. You had to wait several weeks for delivery.
I also recall talking to a guy who used a company Passat Variant (station wagon) for his service calls. He often had to make runs into Czechoslovakia (as it was called then) and ran it at top speeds. He said he could only do that safely when he placed his heavy tool box in the passenger’s foot well. When he did that it ran like on rails.
And if anyone mentions the Audi 80 I have visions of Michelle Mouton and Walter Roehrl tearing up the rally scene.
I don’t like the purple Dasher. That can’t be an original color. I remember being excited about the new Dasher and Rabbit when they first came out. But according to Consumer Reports, they weren’t as reliable as the Japanese imports. I had a VW bug at the time, and asked a VW mechanic if he would recommend the new Rabbit, and he said keep the bug.
It’s not original. This is Eugene, after all. Wait until I show you a purple 1977 Grand Marquis.
I’m a 100 miles north of you in Portland, and I don’t see any Dashers or Rabbits here anymore, unless they’re hiding in a tree shaded driveway somewhere.
I have no idea why, but about two years ago, I got on a Dasher kick and bought a bunch of ’70s brochures for them. Apparently, the looks of the hatchback and wagon are just too much for me to resist. They’re kind of cool. Both the purple hatch and the orange wagon are the types of vehicles you just never see in Michigan, and they were uncommon here to begin with!
I remember the Dashers very vividly, because my godfather had a light blue ’77 sedan. He needed a second car in the family so he picked it up for next to nothing.
It was anything but reliable, as he was usually working on it every weekend. Off the top of my head I can recall some of the things that went wrong – both outside rear door handles broke, meaning that you could only open the back doors from the inside; locks stopped working; cold start valve malfunctioned; and the worst of all, the severe rust problems. By 1988 (he bought it in late ’84) the Dasher was a complete rustbucket, with holes all over the body, especially the rocker panels. In contrast, his other car, a ’78 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme – a car he bought new – was completely rust-free, which was surprising for a GM product of that era. He also didn’t like the VW’s CIS fuel injection.
I have owned three B1s. The first one, a ’76 Dasher wagon was acquired from my father. I liked it a lot, until it got broadsided in an ice storm and subsequently totaled. The second was a ’78 coupe with the new-for-’78 hatchback. A young guy at work blew a coolant hose and smoked the engine. I bought, put a boneyard engine in it, and sold it. The third was a ’78 Fox 2 door which I really liked, but would randomly not turn over. No amount of troubleshooting ever solved the issue, and I ended up selling it to a friend who was fully aware of the issue. It never happened to him.
The single biggest problem with these (and all water cooled VWs well into the 90s) is their fragile cooling systems. Combine that with a cylinder head that warped easily and quickly and many of these cars were dead before their time.
Cannot believe you have not found a Fox in Eugene. I should dig out the pics, and post them, of the ’75 2-door Fox I had for two years in the mid ’90’s. I swapped in a ’83 Rabbit GTI 1.8L, with all the good Audi intake/exhaust parts, and man, that thing ran like a raped ape. Would pass everything but the CV joint store. Broke one a year. But other than that, car was pretty reliable, but also a POS. The HVAC system was horrible! Not to mention the water leaks…ended up drilling drain holes in the back seat floorboards.
Finally, I get to read a CC about one of my most memorable new cars. (Notice I said memorable, NOT favorite.)
In September 1974, I traded my disintegrating Volvo 544 for a red 2 door Audi Fox, a twin except for having bigger/aluminum bumpers, to the red car pictured. Yes, this was a fantastic…heck, revolutionary small car for the U.S. (I owned a 72 Vega and 76 Pinto, both new, so I think I can speak with some authority.) Of those 3 cars, it had the SMALLEST engine (1.5 versus 2.3 liters) but being so light it was the quickest. And as a further consequence of it’s weight, it didn’t need power steering even though most of the car’s weight was on the front wheels.
The “flip side” was less than stellar reliability. And a few of the German solutions to car building were down right odd.
While scanning Craigslist this week, I found a diesel Dasher wagon for sale about 45-50 minutes away….depending on traffic. It’s a POST facelift model in beige but with “root beer metallic” accent panels along the lower doors and on the lift gate.
Until I found that car, 1999 model VWs have been the oldest water-cooled models. Oh, and VERY occasionally Rabbit convertibles from the 80s and 90s.
“And a few of the German solutions to car building were down right odd.”
That comment piques my interest. Which solutions exactly do you find odd?
The lug nuts on VW’s were always odd. The use of porcelain fuses was totally archaic by 1975. The insistence of putting the radio mast in a place it is guaranteed to leak. The use of really cheap interior panels, except in the L models are all examples.
I just saw an attractive silver wagon for sale on Craigslist in Orange County, CA last week. Still very nice looking cars, I really like the orange one above with the GTI wheels. I don’t think that shape ever looked old or out of style (well, to me at least). I’m a big fan of VW’s evolutionary styling method, keeps everything looking continuous and orderly. (I guess that’s the German in me speaking…”It will be like that because it makes the most sense. No arguments.”)
Good write-up, Paul.
I hear you….I’m most impressed at Audi’s styling evolution, although their very newest cars are beginning to threaten that. So much for the clean, smooth non-Bangled sides. I guess it had to happen.
I generally like clean, angular styling but my oh my do Audis make me yawn. I don’t think there’s been a single Audi I’ve truly liked over the past decade except the A5 and A7. To me, they are all just different lengths of sausage. BMW is back to that, too, although some of their models (2, 6) are nicely differentiated. But I hate any luxury brand where I have to look twice to tell the difference. It’s fine to have a visual identity (spindle grill, for example), but I like greater visual differentiation between lines. Why would you want an A8 if it looks so much like your employee’s A4?
I feel like Lexus does the best job of differentiating their cars, and although their visual DNA is a bit over-the-top, I’m liking them more and more and I love their interiors (although they are WELL behind the curve on powertrains). BMW is annoying me with their ridiculous model proliferation and Infiniti is wandering off into the wilderness so I would buy a Lexus, Mercedes or Cadillac over any other luxury brand. I’d even put Audi last, nice interiors be damned.
You want an A8 because it DOES look like your employee’s A4. Or exactly the other way around. In Northwestern Europe that is. A Lexus looks ridiculously over the top. A big no-no in the D/E/F segments of executive class sedans.
Let’s be honest, the latest Mercedes C-class is basically a smaller S-class.
“Evolutionary styling method”. Good point, and a reason for their success. In the past 40 years no one has ever thought or said “What the hell did they do to the Golf” when a new generation arrived.
It’s the Porsche 911 among the hatchbacks. And the one and only New Beetle.
+1
These used to be everywhere when I first came to Austria in the mid-90s and I borrowed one from a friend, as well as drive his dad’s facelift 90hp turbo diesel. They both had epic mileages but just kept going on (preventive maintenance was however carried-out). They were nothing special in any particular discipline, they just seemed to do what was required from them. And when the motor or the g/box went, you just made a visit to the nearest break-yard and got cheap replacement; an engine change was done in an afternoon and then you were back on the road. The perfect student car. Nowadays however you’d be lucky to see one on the street here; the hotter versions are in the hands of enthusiasts but the cooking models have been mostly melted or rusted to the ground… Oh yes: there was a very late, 5cyl quatro version, the perfect car for the Austrian countryside where winters can mean snow, snow and snow.
I was in the market for a new car in 78. Loved the looks of the Dasher. They had just given it the refresh and I liked the quad headlight front a lot. Lusted for the two door hatch, loved the wagon.
A quick glance in Consumer Reports cured the lust. Listening to a coworker scream at the dealer about his Scirocco was just icing on the cake. Then there was the guy in accounting, whose Rabbit left a trail of blue smoke everywhere it went. Shook my head in dissapointment and got the POS Zephyr instead.
It only took 26 years for me to give Ford another chance, vs 36 years before I dared to buy a VW.
It’s interesting to hear how many problems people had with these, for a car with an overall good reputation. Did “reliable” in ’70s Europe just mean “more reliable than an early Alfasud or Austin Allegro”?
No, but we were told that a car was the sum of 20000 components, so we”d nod willingly when the salesman said that one of these components was bound to go wrong.
Against all odds my Renault 4 was simple and simply brilliant for an old banger of 7 years old.. Hardly any repairs except of course the odd exhaust and water pump and starter motor.
Of course the Japanese had just started……..and changed the game.
Forever !
That may be why simple cars of an earlier generation like the R4 and Beetle (and for that matter the Dart/Valiant) sold for as long as they did.
Hardly any repairs except of course the odd exhaust and water pump and starter motor.
We have gotten spoiled by the stainless steel exhaust systems of today. My 85 Mazda cost the local Midas shop a lot of freebies, thanks to their guarantee. The R5 would eat an exhaust pipe in a year.
Didn’t have the R5 long enough to have a water pump issue. The brakes and electrics were repeat offenders, then the body dissolved in 5 years. Except for the rust, the R5 really wasn’t that bad. About one big hit per year, which is what I had had with my 70 Cougar, vs the monthly trips to the shop with the Zephyr.
Did “reliable” in ’70s Europe just mean “more reliable than an early Alfasud or Austin Allegro”?
Must be the case, as every other low priced European brand was driven from the US market. I have heard there were times when VW nearly packed it in too. Bodies that dissolve in 4 years and chronic electrical issues are just not acceptable in the US.
A great point. Our expectations of reliability have changed so dramatically since the B1 was new. Remember the post of the Ford Granada a few days ago, or the GM X cars? Maybe by comparison the Fox and Passat were more reliable, although I don’t think so, as I recall a friend who bought a 2 door Fox new in 1974. What a revelation it was to drive to someone brought up with Buicks and whose import experience ran to a Volvo 144 and a Beetle and what an unreliable turd it ended up being with endless electrical and cooling glitches (like someone here has noted, I remember that its head cracked). He unloaded it for a 320i in 1978, not itself the paragon of dependability but a darn sight better than the Audi.
I think European manufacturers way back then did not do as good a job as the Japanese when preparing federalized versions – those were not identical to their European-spec brethren and the added emissions gizmos and other mechanical changes were not properly designed. My perfect example is the Audi 5000/100, a car known here to have held for more than 200,000 miles without any major disasters taking place; in the US it had a terrible reputation. As for rust, Japanese cars were just as bad (or worse) as the Europeans back then.
That’s a good summary. Another “perfect example” would be the Peugeot 504.
Rust was the Ultimate Car Eliminator in the seventies. Japanese cars were perfect mechanically, but they rotted to the ground as fast as anything from the UK or Italy in those days. Most of the car was gone after 3 to 5 years.
I always liked the looks of the VW Dasher although I prefer the earlier styling without the wrapped around headlights myself, I know someone who still drives his 1980 VW Dasher wagon Diesel around and he loves that it consistently gets 40+mpg in town, too bad these cars suffered a poor reliability record
I Always HATED the seats on these Passat-Dashers.
I’d crawl out of the darn thing after driving from Algiers City to Hassi ‘r Mel in the Sahara desert where I worked.
Of course this was an 8 hour drive approx.
Was glad when I finally found a 504 Peugeot.
Faster and happier to drive it through the desert !
@ JohannesDutch: what killed Ford/Opel in the 90s was partly bland styling (see 1st gen Mondeo, Vectra B), atrocious quality (esp. at Opel) and weak resale values (like all french makes). But they really missed the boat in moving their brands upmarket, as VW did very successfully starting with the 1996 B5. The real reason esp. Opel went downhill is their complete lack if brand equity. To re-phrase an old british saying “no-one wants to be seen dead in an Opel”
I had two B1 Passats and they were super reliable. No issues whatsoever despite both being bougtht for 500DM each in their 19th (respective 21) year of existence and then years of hard usage wirh no maintenance whatsoever.
I said this before: I am convinced the totally different view and reputation on these cars’ liqbility it must be a matter of proper servicing and maintenance, which was surely preseent everywhere in Europe – but probably not in the US?
it must be a matter of proper servicing and maintenance, which was surely preseent everywhere in Europe – but probably not in the US?
VWs suffered issues that cannot be laid on lack of maintenance. Failing ignition coils, windows that jumped out of their tracks, timing belts that broke before the recommended replacement interval. It didn’t seem to matter if the car was made in Germany, Mexico or Brazil. It hasn’t been until the last 10 years or so that VW has started getting it’s act together.
I would see the same pattern repeat: look in one year’s Consumer Reports and, while older models were terrible, the most recent couple years would look OK, as if VW got it’s arms around the problems. Then look in CR a few years later, and the model years that had looked OK before, were now falling apart, but the couple newest years looked OK.
The most telling thing: by the late 90s. a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty was the usual in the US. VW only offered 2 year/24,000 miles.
A somewhat bigger picture is that especially the VAG Group, but also BMW and Mercedes, completely ran over all other Euro-brands (and all Japanese brands for that matter) with anything that was bigger than C-segment hatchbacks. And even that segment is called the “Golf-class” as long as I can remember.
The D-, E- and F-segment belongs to them, big time. That process started with cars like the Mercedes W201, BMW 3- and 5-series, VW Passat B5 and the Audis 100, 80 and A4.
There is a B1 Fox in regular commuter service in Hillsboro Oregon, if you want to head north on a CC hunting trip. I’ve also seen some Dashers around.
My recollection is that in the 70s the US market Passat (Dasher) had a bad reputation for reliability so I never touched them, sticking to A1 cars (Scirocco and Jetta). Based on that experience a fuel injected car or a diesel would be OK since they are home maintainable with basic tools.
I’d forgotten these existed until this story.
Now I remember a grey one owned by someone’s parents when I must have been in kindergarten or first grade. I remember it being loud and smokey, but in retrospect, it may have just been diesel! Never rode in it, but it could have been the moment I realized that VW made cars other than the Beetle and the yellow Thing a neighbor owned.
When I got my first dealership job in 1974, a salesman had a Dasher wagon as a demo. He got hit head on by a drunk in Oldsmobile and totaled it. He was in the hospital for a couple of days, but swore the car and wearing the seat belt saved his life. The dealership owner kept the car and stripped all the parts off it and junked the shell. We had to put everything but the engine upstairs in the parts dept. The engine was installed in the ‘Volkstoter’, which was a cut down split window Bus pickup with a 5th wheel hitch and car trailer which was used for picking up and delivering customer cars, and delivering new cars. It would burn up the air cooled engines every couple of years, the weight and Southern California heat in summer would wear them out in about 20,000 miles, even with an external oil cooler. We were close to Kennedy Engineering and had an adapter made to install the Dasher’s engine in it, and that little engine worked great and never had to be replaced after the install. The 77 up were the better cars to get, the fuel injection was a huge improvement over the crappy carbs the early cars had. The other common problem was the manual trans shift linkage rods were weak, but there was an update that replaced the rods and linkage with stronger parts that should have been installed from the factory. Valve stem seals were another weak point, updated seals could be installed without pulling the head using compressed air to hold up the valves. There was a recall, the MQ campaign for the seals, which also applied to gas Rabbits and Scirocco’s and we did hundreds of free replacements which solved the oil burning and smoke issue. The recall only covered fuel injected cars though the earlier one’s had the same problem. I had them replaced on my 75 Rabbit and it used almost no oil after that. One good thing is these and the gas Rabbit and Scirocco engines were non interference engines, so if the timing belt broke it only needed to be replaced, the valves would not hit the pistons. Not so with the Diesel engine. Later the majority of these cars did come with the Diesel engine. Never noticed a rust problem, but this was in the land of no rust. They weren’t perfect, but the 77 and later cars were pretty good cars, The 3 door hatchback is a great looking car, and the wagon is pretty sharp also. I used to sell parts to people for Audi Fox’s also, other the the bumpers, grill and emblems they were the same car. Been a long time since I’ve seen on in the wild. The purple car is a great find.
Sorry for the double post, my computer is on it’s last legs!
When I got my first dealership job in 1974, a salesman had a Dasher wagon as a demo. He got hit head on by a drunk in a big Oldsmobile and totaled it. He was in the hospital for a couple of days, but swore the car and wearing the seat belt saved his life. The dealership owner kept the car and stripped all the parts off it and junked the shell. We had to put everything but the engine upstairs in the parts dept. The engine was installed in the ‘Volkstoter’, which was a cut down split window Bus pickup with a 5th wheel hitch and car trailer which was used for picking up and delivering customer cars, and delivering new cars. It would burn up the air cooled engines every couple of years, the weight and Southern California heat in summer would wear them out in about 20,000 miles, even with an external oil cooler. We were close to Kennedy Engineering and had an adapter made to install the Dasher’s engine in it, and that little engine worked great and never had to be replaced after the install. The 77 up were the better cars to get, the fuel injection was a huge improvement over the crappy carbs the early cars had. The other common problem was the manual trans shift linkage rods were weak, but there was an update that replaced the rods and linkage with stronger parts that should have been installed from the factory. Valve stem seals were another weak point, updated seals could be installed without pulling the head using compressed air to hold up the valves. There was a recall, the MQ campaign for the seals, and we did hundreds of free replacements which solved the oil burning and smoke issue. The recall only covered fuel injected cars including Rabbit and Scirocco though the earlier cars had the same problem. I had them replaced on my 75 Rabbit and it used almost no oil after that. One good thing is these engines were non interference engines, so if the timing belt broke it only needed to be replaced, the valves would not hit the pistons. Not so with the Diesel engine. Later the majority of the Dasher’s did come with the Diesel engine. Never noticed a rust problem, but this was in the land of no rust. They weren’t perfect, but the 77 and later cars were pretty good cars, The 3 door hatchback is a great looking car, and the wagon is pretty sharp also. I used to sell parts to people for Audi Fox’s also, other then the bumpers, grill and emblems they were the same car. Been a long time since I’ve seen on in the wild. The purple 3 door is a great find.
I must have been extremely lucky as I drove a 1978 VW Rabbit (purchased new) for seven years and 115k miles, without any major problems. Other than normal wear items such as front brake pads the only things replaced were the exhaust system, which rotted away after five years or so, and the brake master cylinder; which must have been made of unobtanium, based on the cost. I did change the oil regularly but other than that the car was just driven. It spent its entire life outside, which did cause fading to the paint and interior, but when I traded it away in 1985 it had only minor surface rust in a few places. I found the driver’s seat, with its knob to adjust back rest angle, to be very comfortable. I’m a pretty good sized guy but I could spend 8-10 hours at a stretch behind the wheel without any problems. I continue to read all of the horror stories that others experienced with VW’s from this era and all I can do is just shake my head. I have owned more than my share of crappy cars but the gen I VW Rabbit was not one of them. A happy, safe and prosperous new year to all.
K70 VWs are pretty rare here they were very expensive new so didnt sell well, Friends had a Audi Fox in Sydney it was nice to ride and light to tow I dragged it home for them a couple of times it was electricly challenged though when running seemed to go quite well, it began burning oil which sealed its fate another engine or an overhaul wasnt financially viable or obtainable so it was scrapped in favour of a Nissan Pulsar, I havent seen an early Fox in a very long time there seem to be none left here and 90s and 00s Audis sell for peanuts so perhaps the early ones were junked a long time ago.
This car was light years ahead of what other companies were offering in 1972. What kept the car buying public from racing to the VW dealer to buy one was a few things that today, we don’t think too much about.
First off, the car was expensive compared to what American and Japanese car companies offered at the same prices. There is an obvious value challenge facing the Dasher-VW vehicles when parked next to a Chevy Malibu, Ford Torino, Plymouth Coronet priced similarly. Why buy a Dasher when for thousands less, you can get a Valiant which was also angularly shaped and familiar?
Then there was the FWD. I mean, who was willing to spend thousands more for an unproven and who knows how maintainable thing like that? VW dealers weren’t known for being places where Americans could get affordable car servicing. Want to pay that sticker price, and then pay for the imported parts and labor too? The problems the early VW owners faced seemed to signal that VW was doing something we couldn’t afford.
Then there was that interior. Black Teutonic Bauhaus Moderne anyone? Not in 1972. It took Americans a decade to appreciate what was happening inside a German car. Americans enjoyed their air conditioning, their velour, their faux wood trimming, their hood ornamentation, and their rolling living rooms over VW austerity. What Americans cars lacked in computer engineering, quality and design was made up in comfort and affordability. It is more comfortable to cruise across town in a Monte Carlo, than experience road feel in a form fitting black bucket seat in a Dasher.
There is a real challenge for VW during these years. The company that leapfrogged over its competition, also leapfrogged over the market. The Dasher was ahead of its time, but it also almost put VW out of time before the market figured out that what it offered is what they wanted.
I concur with almost anything you say except for your depiction of early Passat interiors.
Yes, that dash board´s plastic was stark black. But there was really not that much of it as it was a really tiny, fragile dash.
So to brighten it up there was fake wood veneer. And believe it or not…the seats featured cloths in chintzy greens, muddy browns and all sorts of other tacky colors.
And dont even get me started on those lurid exterior colors! 😉
But yes, driving early 70s Volkswagens certainly required affinity towards ascetic lifestyles.
I thought early Passat/Dasher interiors looked plain until I got a chance to take a long ride in one rather than just judging by photos. In real life, it looks quite elegant in the same way as ’60s Mercedes do.
Later Dashers got tucked-and-rolled “leatherette” upholstery, almost Brougham-like, as well as a tall, squared-off dash.
Would it be safe to say that the Dasher/Passat was to VW what the 850 was to Volvo? The two cars were basically the first FWD models from their respective manufacturers.
yes PJ…thats a very good comparison. The Passat really put VW back on the map.
No real comment on the cars themselves as they were fairly ordinary, but the shift from RWD to FWD was, at least IMO, the worst thing that ever happened to the auto industry.
If that was the case the auto industry wouldn’t do so well with it.
FWD made it possible to build cars lighter and smaller with the same amount of space provided to the inhabitants and their stuff. In light of rising fuel costs this did make sense.
Maybe the shift to FWD was the worst thing happening to people who liked to work on their own cars. But RWD isn’t the panacea of easy wrenching anymore either.
The worst thing that ever happened to the auto industry were the outside forces that led to the mass changeover to FWD. FWD was the response, not the cause, and I’ll argue from the maintenence point of view it was the marrying of the V6 engine to transverse FWD that was truly annoying. Inline 4(or 5) cylinders are quite easy to work on no matter which way the engine is facing.
True that, XR7Matt…
FWD is the difference of when the cars, such as the Corolla, went from being a fun-to-drive autocross/budget rally-racer, to a secretary’s car.
The 1968-87 RWD Corollas are coveted lil budget racers… with the right mods(twin sidedraft carbs, ITBs, Webers, headers, JDM swaps, turbos, rotary swaps, LSDs, etc), while the 1984-present FWD 4dr sedans are mere transportation in a sea of bland appliances.
As far, as the VW Dasher/Audi Foxes go… I remember seeing BOTH cars just SIT in front of my neighbors’ houses, around 1976-79.
One, was a green Audi Fox coupe, that was never used… the other, a light blue VW Dasher sedan, that got more use… but was a transportation 3rd stepchild, to the Pontiac Sunbird and Phoenix duo, the family owned.
I’ve seen 2 VW Dashers for sale in the New England area… both in good shape, but being a Consumer Reports reader and owner of quite a few 70’s and 80’s back issues… I rather admire these old skool, Fahrvergnugen, from afar.
I don’t think it’s fair to compare heavily modded old RWD Corollas to modern off-the-rack FWD Corollas. If you drive them back-to-back the way Toyota actually built them, the FWD ones are as good or better than the old RWD renditions, even if they don’t take as well to customizing.
I think I posted here a couple of years ago about the Dasher – the first car I ever owned. 1980 White 5-door w/auto, moonroof, stereo. So nimble. It was five years old when I got it. It gave me four years of semi-loyal service. The transmission, water pump, ignition switch and alternator were troublesome, and I junked it. But I loved the way it handled. It wasn’t very fast – 0-60 took 13 seconds at least. I wish they could bring it back.
I was a VW cool-aid drinking addict at that time. Two bugs, two Sciroccos, one Type 2. The best from a quality standpoint was the first (’68) bug. BTW, 20,000 miles is an OK life for a Type 2 engine. Here is the list of the problems with the ’77 Scirocco (traded in at 90,000 mi in 1983:
– Rust
– Faulty fuel distributor for fuel injection (mass air flow sensor stuck)
– Multiple broken ground strap on alternator – leads to battery replacement
– Multiple failed rubber air bypass tube at the cold start injector
– Broken alternator bracket
– Broken clutch cable
– Mufflers (multiple)
– Broken right front spring
– Premature deterioration of upholstery material
– Rust
– Fuse panel shorted out, nearly torched the whole car, I calmly disconnected the battery and called a tow
– Valve stem seals (easy DIY repair, before recall, got squat)
– CV joint
– Silver peels off the door mirror glass (all VW’s do this, why only them?)
– Beautiful when new but brittle and easily chipped paint
– Did I mention rust?
The car did try to pay me back with “Go-Kart” handling and good performance from its sub-1800 lb fly weight. But its poor construction was evident.
The ’83 that replaced it was better. I don’t think I had any repairs required beyond warranty items, just scheduled maintenance. The three warranty items were fairly serious defects – one of the door check brackets wasn’t welded to the body and the valve cover had a tiny hole in it. I asked the dealer to weld it up and slap some paint on it. No sir, we will order a new one. It took about a year to arrive. The hood insulator had oil in forever after that. The last one was the handbrake lever that rattled. The dealer said it was fixed. As I drove out it was obvious it wasn’t. I went around the block and drove it back into the service area and started yelling. They had to take one off a car on the lot to replace it. That was the last time I have entered a VW dealer for service. I won’t be back. Since then I have always placed quotation marks around the word “Warranty” when associated with VW. I remember the attitude of the Service Advisor – “You have broken our beautiful car!”.
Hello Claytori, Your experience with your 1977 Scirocco sounds much like my experience with my 1973 Fiat 128SL. The thrill of go-kart handling offset by maintenance misery. After 40,000 miles, I bailed out of my Fiat and bought a big gas-guzzling Buick Century Colonnade Coupe with a 350 V8! I went from 1.3 liters to 5.7! And I got nearly 190,000 trouble-free miles out of that old Buick before it got hit by a truck. This was back when Buicks still had Buick engines. Later, as the Buick got older, I dipped back into the econo-car trap again and bought a Renault Alliance. It was even worse than the Fiat! Gone in 9,000 miles!
As a one-time but long-yime NSU owner, I’m a little shocked that a 1600 cc version of the NSU 1200 four was found wanting. This little honey of a mill claimed 100 HP from a single liter, when tuned with twin Webers for the TTS sports model. My ’09 GTI needs fuel injection and a turbo to reach equal volumetric efficiency! Mine had only the lowly one-barrel Solex, but its 60 HP was plenty for a 1500 lb car. I always got around 30 mpg, fast or slow, city or highway, for the NSU sedan had as little aerodynamics as it had weight.
Certainly it was an advanced design, with SOHC, hemispherical heads and crossflow valve arrangement. There were five main bearings down below in the all-aluminum engine. The ease of valve adjustments would amaze any Bug owner– just use a screwdriver to lever off the spring clips for each individual rocker arm, the same screwdriver used to make the adjustments, all while standing up. The engines were never very long-lasting, though; I’d start seeing blue smoke around 80,000 miles. Has anyone here ever driven an NSU that distance? I did it twice, and there’s no car I’d rather drive again, unless someone tells me how to get a nice K70 to the USA.
These were the cars that kind of sum up VW cars for me: they drive great, but they are reliability nightmares. I have come across a lot of Dashers, and they simply are not well built cars. They have CHEAP all over them and it’s obvious VW engineered the thing to make as much money as possible. It was too bad, since the cars drove well and had lots of room for their size. The rack and pinion steering was brilliant. It was just the cars couldn’t be driven for long without serious cash infusions.
The B1 Passat is still with is, being used as a taxi all over China.
Canucknucklehead,
In a previous post I had mentioned my godfather’s ’77 Dasher, which turned out to be the worst car he ever owned.
Years later, when I became an adult, we were having dinner and started talking about the cars we had owned over the years and obviously the Dasher did come up. My godfather is an industrial engineer. He told me that the VW was built to a rather cheap price point. In contrast, he pointed to my Volvo 240 that was parked in the lot outside the restaurant and he said that my car was built with craftsmanship to a high quality standard.
There is way more wrong with FWD besides just being hard to work on. They handle like crap, just well enough to function as a transportation appliance. They are worthless for any type of competition. And even with 4 cylinder engines, getting the engine out is a nightmare for a home mechanic. You need a hydraulic lift, and a special fixture to hold the engine/transmission/front subframe on most FWD cars. The car is put on the lift, and the whole assembly is dropped out the bottom. I have removed and installed a lot of engines on RWD cars, never one on a FWD car.
You need to try driving a FWD not made in Japan or the US and dont bother with junky Audis either get hold of a british Ford or a PSA product even a BMW Mini which is mostly PSA anyway and flog one of those down a twisty road far better roadholding than junky RWD anything.
As basic transportation for the masses the inherent high performance limitations of FWD aren’t necessarily something your average customer is going to notice, or at least lose sleep over. Besides which the intrinsic benefits of RWD don’t equate good handling either.
FWD in my opinion is the best layout for smaller cheaper cars like these, engines are usually inline fours so they’re easy to maintain, the bodies are usually fairly light so they aren’t necessarily penalty boxes with inline fours either, they have flat floors thus lots of space utilization, and they’re cheap for the manufacturers to put together since the entire powertrain and front suspension can attach to the body in a single movement on the assembly line(a benefit of rear engineRWD too).
Where FWD goes wrong is when it covers all segments, especially when it dips into performance. Transverse V6 engines can(very often) be a nightmare to work on, even just changing spark plugs. Large center consoles expected of basically anything from midsize up totally defeat all space utilization benefits, especially if there’s also an AWD option for the platform necessitating a driveshaft tunnel, and torque steer is no matter how hard it’s band-aided by the engineers reers it’s ugly head with the really powerful cars. Plus from a stylistic perspective FWD cars(particularly the common transverse layout ones) you’re stuck with the long front overhang and what’s even worse, completely flat dimensionless wheels due to the necessary wide placement of the front hubs.
good read: http://dougdemuro.kinja.com/german-reliability-the-greatest-myth-ever-sold-to-amer-1572026115
My parents let me drive our 1980 Dasher diesel two door hatch to high school. Tan on tan ,fun to drive very reliable but not at all cool. Saved my money and bought a little cooler ride (my 74 Javelin I still have). My Javelin was a great car but sometimes I actually missed that little Dasher.
My parents bought a 1974 Dasher wagon in ‘Rallye Green’ brand new (a gas crunch-induced replacement of MY beloved 1970 Dodge Coronet wagon–383/4-barrel powered…but I digress). It was a fairly austere vehicle-black VW-vinyl interior, no radio (but it had a clock), manual transmission. Fast forward to 1977–my mom is reading the paper and comes across a VW ad touting the Dasher as a “Luxury Car” (must’ve been an ad for the “Champagne Edition” they were selling at the time), complete with pictures of what was possibly the first Broughamified VW interior ever. Mom says “I guess we now own a luxury car….”
Fascinating history of the original Passat, a story I had never heard before. It shows just how big cars have grown over the years; the current Polo is probably about the same size as these early Passats. This is also the first time I have actually seen those Ronal teddy bear rims on any car; I always saw them advertised in car magazines in the early 1990s and thought they were silly, but they don’t look too bad on this vehicle.
We bought a new tomato red Dasher in 1974. We loved driving it, but it did require a lot of maintenance. It was the second of 9 VW vehicles we owned before swearing off them. Word was that they lost money on every FWD vehicle in those days, and tried to make it up using cheap parts. Cheap when the factory bought them, not cheap replacements from the dealer. We lived one block from the dealer at the time, and were on first-name terms at the parts counter. We made it through a lot of disasters, most notably the tragic carburetor, but rust finally killed it (in Michigan). RIP
Growing up as a kid in far Northeast Denver in the 90’s, a lot of this stuff was about 20 years old when I was a kid. Back then, the first crop of older residents was still thick in our neighborhood. A good amount of people had originally bought homes in the 70’s and were still there. As a result, many of their 1970’s automobiles were thick on the ground back then. Someone on 50th ave and Wheeling St had a Fox Sedan. It was tan over tan. I never saw the thing move but it was parked on the street for many years when I was a kid, and then one day it was just gone. I actually recall another home I’d always bike past on around 46th ave and Anaheim Ct that had what I assume must have been a fairly basic Quantum Wagon parked in the driveway for many years as well. Another car I never saw move, but was parked for years and then gone one day. On a side note, these days I reside down In Pueblo, Co. I have seen at least two of those old VW Rabbit pickups in action down here.
I bought a bright green 1974 Dasher 2 door and it was one peppy car if driven like a sports car. After putting 14,000 miles on it, I got hit head on by a drunk basterd and every single panel on that car buckled. It absorbed the crash energy and I only suffered a broken foot (bracing my foot behind the clutch) and a broken hand (bracing my hand on the steering wheel).
The face of the purplish hatchback said “early Honda Civic” to me. Then the face of the red wagon did the same.
I think there are some parallels between VW’s transition from the Beetle and AMC’s transition to Renault products. Both VW and AMC had been building cars with Stone Age technology for decades; the Beetle was simple and elderly when it came out and the Hornet/Pacer/Gremlin/Jeeps were pretty elderly and simple technologies. These were cars which could be fixed with a hammer. Neither AMC nor VW could really find a way forward for a very long time, although they knew that some sort of lightweight, FWD car was the future, the question was when, how, and with what? VW borrowed theirs from NSU/Audi, AMC got theirs from Renault. VW managed through poor quality to completely destroy its reputation as did AMC/Renault; a difference was VW had a sterling reputation before the transition and AMC did not. VW also faced the horrible economics and exchange rate nightmares of the 1970’s which led it to open the ill fated Westmoreland plant, and then of course Renault was building cars in Kenosha.
I know that quality out the door for both the FWD VWs and Renaults were . . . terrible, but I’ll bet a lot of the problem was that dealers and outside mechanics had been used to servicing the old VW and AMC products, which could be fixed with a hammer. Confronted with the new, FWD tech which was basically from outer space, they didn’t really know how to fix it and so whatever quality problems came from the factory were exacerbated by an inability to deal with them.
0-60 in 20 seconds! We live in a golden age of the automobile.
Some paralells, but pretty weak…Yes VW was struggling with an old concept…air cooled, rear engine cars that they were stubborn to abandon, yet they invested in state of the art technology, fuel injection, new suspensions, quality materials and new styling. VW was still one of the largest manufacturers in the world and although sales were declining, they were still huge.They purchased NSU/Audi who did have more contemporary technology and used it for the VW marque.The Rabbit/Golf was a seminal car…although not necessarily original, it set the standard in style and performance for small cars…No one had a car comparable.
AMC on the other hand was on the ropes, poor sales, almost a niche player who was taken over by Renault. AMC didn’t use Renault to renew or update their marque, Renault used AMC as a marketing outlet. And the cars Renault produced couldn’t compare to VW…Alliance vs. Golf?
The biggest difference is where is AMC now…long gone. VW is the second largest car company in the world.
I always wondered why VW didnt just put its eggbeater and transaxle in the front and call it done, a shift linkage CVs and a steering system wouldnt have been that hard to engineer.
They did in small numbers, in truck form:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_EA489_Basistransporter
Wow never seen one of those, putting a car around that wouldnt have been hard surely.
The Dasher, Golf, and Scirocco are one of the best stylistic families that has ever been produced. Each looked appropriate to what it was but was clearly related aesthetically to the others. Clean, simple, sophisticated…ahead of every other mainstream car at the time.
The Passat and all the family members that came based on its platform kept the the Brazilian VW as number one car maker in Brazil for decades. They were affordable, reliable and had a decent performance.
Then, again, VW took too long to modernize its lineup and the brand lost its dominance and apparently it won’t get it back any time soon.
Audi marketed the 80 here in Germany as Audi 80 GT with an 1.6l, 2bbl Carb, 100hp for the ´75 model year. For 1976 they put in the 1.6 fuel injected engine, called GTE, with 110hp on tap. Audi didn´t make too many of them, with clearly less than 100 examples left by now. This motor got famous later on with the Golf GTI.
Attached is a Picture of the one I bought in 1993, restored it in 1994, and modified it over the years to a reliable runner using a 2.0l Motor, a 4+E gearbox from a later Passat, Koni schocks, Eibach springs, larger Passat Brakes in front and Golf II 16V Discs in the rear. I also reworked the cooling System so now it can run 120+ mph all day Long and won´t have any Problems in slow City traffic.
Since I felt getting too old for small, lowered cars with nearly no Suspension travel, I gave it to my son, who reaaly looks after it. This will always stay in our Family, my grandkids prefer that ride over anything else.
My classic ride is a 1971 Mercury Marquis Hardtop Coupe for more than ten years now. It´s a low mileage Survivor.
Was the K70 ever sold in the States? I’ve never seen one. Also, why was it such a sales flop? Too expensive? On paper at least, it looks like a great car and exactly what VW needed in the early ’70s.
Was that Giugiaro prototype really done independently of the Audi 80/Fox? It seems way too much like the 80 and how the Passat/Dasher actually turned out to be completely unrelated.
No, K70 wasn’t even officially exported to the United States and wasn’t considered a sales flop after shifting more than 200,000 units over five years unless you were comparing the sales figures of K70 against Beetle, 411, and new models.
K70 had a “heavy luggage” due to its NSU connection. The persistent mechanical failure and expensive maintenance of Wankel engines fitted to NSU Ro 80 was well-documented. NSU developed K70 to replace ill-fated Ro 80, but Volkswagen renamed it as its own model. The consumers were highly sceptical about K70 due its NSU connection despite the completely different engines.
The same sceptism is akin to the Oldsmobile diesel V8 and Americans. This engine had sworn Americans from diesel engines for many years in the 1980s and 1990s.
In the mid 1970s, Audi Foxes and VW Dashers were expensive cars in the US.
In the early 80s, a HS pal of mine had an Audi Fox–I thought it was really cool, fuel injected too! Big oil burner thought…
As to the comparison to AMC…I disagree. VW Beetle was a primitive car executed to a very high level of quality.
AMCs were primitive cars executed to ‘Detroit cheap’ levels of quality. They certainly were not more reliable than Valiants, Falcons, Corvairs, Darts, Mavericks, and Novas. If you got a good AMC, and a lousy big 3 car, yes, your AMC might, MAYBE, be as good as, or better.
If you got a Vega, then, perhaps the AMC was better. My aunt’s husband bought a Pacer in 1976. It was junk by 1982. But, due to stubbornness or stupidity, he got a 1980 Renault LeCar. That lasted even less…
And even in Europe, FWD Renaults were in the same category as FWD Fiats and Seats of the same era–maybe even worse. So hapless AMC, purveyor of American Cheap, had the thankless task of building Americanized FWD Renaults.
The FWD VWs were on par with period German and Swedish cars sold in the US–complete with comparable outsize parts and service costs…
When my sister bought her first (but not last) Honda Civic in 1982; we both couldn’t help but notice that the Honda’s small used car lot had 3 Dashers and one Socorro of this generation in the middle row.
The Honda salesman, a family friend, dryly commented that these four were the best of their V-Dub trade in cars, that most of them got “wholesaled out” immediately because the Honda dealership owner “didn’t want his reputation sullied by these POS dogs.”
My sister, balking at the price of a new Civic, drove one of the used Dasher wagons, equipped with automatic and dealer add on air conditioning, 25 K showing on the odometer.
She came back 10 minutes later, glared at me (?) while holding her nose, and signed the purchase agreement on the Civic.
My parents owned a ’77Dasher wagon. The car was nice, nothing extrodinary, but very reliable except for its high failure rate of its single disc horn. I remember the Dasher’s horn being replaced several times by the dealer. My Dad finally rigged up a pair of large Delco horns from a ’64 Oldsmobile that he got from a salvage yard, installed them in the Dasher, upgraded the relay and wiring and, wow, were those horns loud! I can understand why VW finally stopped using those weak, problematic, disc horns by the 80’s and switched to conventional dual horns that actually worked and could be heard.
Very tiny pedantic note to this excellent piece: while Audi did indeed take the Passat Variant for itself in a limited number of markets, it wasn’t an Avant—just a plain 80 estate or wagon. The Avant name only débuted with the C2 Audi 100 a few years later.
Quite right! Thanks; I’ve corrected the text.