The Tradition Continues: New Golf is a well-executed, refined remake
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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In Germany, you can't travel more than a few hundred yards down the road without seeing one. They're everywhere--from beaten-up first-generation examples all the way through to shiny fifth-gen models that look as if they've just been driven off the showroom floor.
It's no great surprise, though. Since its launch in 1974, the Volkswagen Golf has ruled the German car-sales charts, regularly outselling its nearest rival two to one. But its appeal is not restricted to its homeland. In the past 34 years, the Golf has racked up more than 26 million sales worldwide, making it one of the most successful cars of all time.
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It's also little wonder, then, that the arrival of a new Golf is regarded as a significant event in Germany--even if VW decided to launch this sixth-generation model halfway across the Atlantic Ocean in Iceland.
The day after VW's new volume seller first fell into the hands of waiting automotive journalists, the German newspapers were awash in reports on the car. There's no such celebratory billing for the Golf here in North America, but with more than 41,000 sales in 2007, it still accounts for a large percentage of VW sales on these shores.
And what do we make of the new one?
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