The first generation Volkswagen Rabbit has become a rare sight in the Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia area, but in the immediate vicinity of where I live, there are several that continue to roam the roads and live curbside. Easter Sunday, which is about rebirth, is an appropriate time to present this one, from the rectangular headlight period of 1980-83. Spotted outside of an apartment complex whose parking lot has many CC-worthy cars such as GM H-Body and A-Body sedans of the 1980s, it wears its original wheels, has mostly straight bumpers, and shows some primer spots indicating rust repair on what looks like a generally sound body. In its thirty-plus years, this Rabbit has lived several automotive lifetimes already, and appears to be ready for more.
A cheeky detail on this Rabbit is the round orange reflector on its grille, normally the place for the round VW badge. With brightly colored noses becoming popular on Easter Bunny themed cars in this area, this Rabbit appears to be on the leading edge of holiday style this season.
This blue Rabbit from the same period is in outstanding condition and is an outstanding early 1980s period piece–a Rabbit Diesel. Once seen in vast numbers during the years of high gasoline prices during the late 1970s and early 1980s, these early VW diesels quickly disappeared afterward, with the low power of their non-turbo diesels (1.5L with 48 horsepower in 1978-80, 1.6L with 52 horsepower from 1981-83) and glacial slowness (0-60 in 16.8 seconds and a top speed of 82 miles per hour in a 1977 Car and Driver test drive) no doubt a key factor in their falling out of fashion. This Rabbit Diesel continues to be an all-year daily driver, which I have seen quietly clattering around my neighborhood in sun, rain and snow for many years. If I ever see it with a “For Sale” sign, I will gladly give it a second life as a suburban/city runabout.
Wow these vehicles truly are survivors considering how fast they rust (unless that problem had been fixed by the 1980s) and their looks are nice because they look like a German Plymouth Horizon.
My mama had a brand new yellow 1976 Rabbit and I think the dealer had to go all the way to Rochester, NY to get one with an AM/FM radio. By 1987 or 1988 the Rabbit was a rusted out deathtrap and junked.
Would be 81 to 84. 80 Westmoreland did not have amber fender turn signals, they were in bumper. Thanks for the link to the old Car and Driver test. Fun read. Happy Easter!
I’ve seen a few here and there between Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. I’ve always liked this first generation and the second generation Rabbit/Golf the best. I particularly like the Diesel models. 🙂
I’m suprised by the low mileage figures, though. A friend’s dad had the first rare 77 Diesel the dealership his son worked for could get. It got 50 MPG highway, although his dad actually drove the 55 MPH speed limit in those days. He got over 200k trouble free miles out of that car.
My brother owned a gas Rabbit, and seemed to like it pretty well. Folks either seem to love ’em or hate ’em. Not much middle ground.
IIRC, the Rabbit was the second in the Compleat Idiot’s Guide series from John Muir. There was also one for the Civic.
My cousin had a gasoline powered VW Rabbit when she lived in San Francisco over 20 yrs ago. Although I never got to drive it, I rode in it a few times while she was living in San Francisco, and it seemed to be quite reliable. It was perfect for city driving.
I never understood why VW dropped the Rabbit name in the US. (Were they called Rabbits in other English language markets?) A great name for a nimble little car that’s almost economical enough to run on carrots and lettuce leaves.
“Golf” doesn’t work in the US; with an English meaning entirely different from the German. If you’re selling small economy cars, ya don’t want to invite comparisons to a golf cart! My wife still refers to any water cooled VW as a Rabbit.
Neat lil cars, but being a stereotypical Yank, I prefer the three-box Jetta.
Two rabbits mating. A logo I see on the hatch of older GTIs quite often. Neatly done, just like a factory logo.
Two very, very good looking vehicles. Interesting thing about the US Mk1 Golf is that the boxiness of the design works very well with the larger bumpers. Can’t say that about many Europeans. And the X5 is the best 5 door interpretation of the original Range Rover. Take away the kidneys and that’s exactly what it could have been.
A1 Golf/Rabbit….designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also designed the original Passat and Scirocco. That explains the timelessness of the design.
I believe Muir’s first “Compleat Idiot” publication would have been for the Beetle….maybe later there was one for the Civic…not sure…
I saw one of these around the apartment complex my sister had a few years ago. The poor thing was so rusted it looked like the various bumper stickers on the back were what was holding it together. I was amazed it was still on the road, but had I got a chance to look at the mileage, I’d bet it was well over 200K judging by the wear throughout the interior.
I’ve never seen one in that bad condition before.
Could have been a total anomaIy, I don’t pay much attention to cars like this to know the rust out rate of a VW Rabbit. I dunno if it sat out on a curb and got pelted with road salt for a decade and never washed or what happened to it. It caught my attention because it was in the kind of rusted and worn out shape that you typically do not see on the road.
I bought a new 1978 Rabbit early in 1978. I drove it for seven years and put over 115k miles on it. Mine was never parked in a garage and the only rust on it when I traded it was some surface rust where the radio antenna mounted to the fender; the paint was pretty badly faded, as was much of the interior. I never had any real trouble with mine, the only thing I can remember replacing, other than normal wear items, was the brake master cylinder. I can say that I got my money’s worth out of my Rabbit.
I’ve read that the oil pan on the original rabbit was defectively small and resulted in a very large number of rabbit engine failures when combined with american driving habits (I.e. Put gas in it and go). Apparently Germans check their oil level every fill up and experienced comparatively few problems. This may be one explanation for how few rabbits are left on the average american street!
There’s at least one of the diesels running around Richmond with a biodiesel conversion.
Now the pickup variant, on the other hand, I know of at least four of within 5 miles of my house. A very common uncommon vehicle, for some reason.