50 years of the VW Golf: A success story
The VW Golf first hit Germany's streets in 1974. The compact car quickly became a bestseller, finding fans all over the world, including in the US, where it's known as the 'Rabbit.' We find out why it's still so popular.
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00:00 For 50 years now, the Volkswagen Golf has been living life in the fast lane.
00:06 The zeitgeist poured into automotive form, a bestseller that's moved over 37 million
00:12 units worldwide.
00:14 So what makes the most successful model in German automotive history so special?
00:21 Nothing.
00:22 There is nothing exceptional, but everything fits.
00:27 It's simple, it's clear, and I think he was ahead of the time.
00:33 And that means a call for everybody.
00:36 The Golf, sold in the US as the Rabbit, hit the market in 1974.
00:41 Two years later, the sports version, the Golf GTI, generated new hype.
00:46 The compact car changed the industry, even establishing a new category of vehicle, the
00:50 Golf Class.
00:52 Its creator was Giorgio Giugiaro, awarded the title "Designer of the Century", the Italian
00:58 visionary has worked for numerous car manufacturers.
01:03 Volkswagen commissioned him to develop a successor to the VW Beetle.
01:07 He took a fresh approach to everything, angular instead of round, front wheel instead of rear
01:12 wheel drive, smaller but more spacious.
01:18 I'll take you through the most important features of the Golf.
01:26 First up, the sloping hood, then the steep rear end, and the low waistline.
01:36 All together it creates a harmony that you might not consciously notice, but you can
01:54 feel it.
01:55 Over the years, the VW Golf hasn't changed much.
01:56 Now, in its eighth generation, it's had only slight modifications.
01:57 Each new generation recalls the previous model.
02:00 VW doesn't want to drive away customers with completely new designs, after all.
02:05 When selecting a Golf, buyers should know what they're getting.
02:09 Some of them will remain loyal for a lifetime.
02:14 You live with it, you identify with it.
02:19 Somehow that expression "Generation Golf" is true.
02:24 Generation Golf.
02:25 The catchphrase used by Volkswagen's marketing department also gave German author Florian
02:30 Illius a title for his book.
02:33 Published in 2000, he used the term for people born in West Germany between 1965 and 1975.
02:40 Trendy, consumer-oriented, and apolitical.
02:43 Everything the Golf was supposed to represent.
02:46 The Golf stands in the middle.
02:49 Stands in the middle in a very nice way with an ambition to be the best of the middle.
02:56 With no ambition really to become, I don't know, the sportiest, the most stylish, the
03:03 most emotional car in the market.
03:06 Just to be a good car.
03:08 With that recipe, the Golf was a market leader.
03:11 At times it's been the world's best-selling car, with fans from South Africa to Brazil.
03:17 Even aged 50, the mid-range car is still in its prime.
03:25 Volkswagen's first purely electric, compact car, the ID.3, hasn't been selling so well.
03:31 Now VW is instead focusing on the next-generation Golf when it comes to e-mobility.
03:36 That will likely be fully electric.
03:39 The cult car simply never goes out of fashion.
03:50 Everything fits together.
03:53 It's like a hit song where the notes come together in such a way that they create a
03:57 wonderfully harmonious work of art.
04:02 The VW Golf has been a global favourite for 50 years.
04:06 But can the electric version keep pace with the success of its combustion cousin?
04:11 We'll be watching.
04:12 [Music]