thanks for the thorough reply jake.
the changes in '78 i agree with. i think that if i wanted to find the ideal rabbit, with the least amount of work to get it to where i'd like it, i'd choose a '78. other than motor improvments, '78 is where the major improvements end in my opinion.
'80-81 rust proofing improvments. i have to disagree but i would like to hear where they made improvements. i think that the fact that we see a lot more US-built rabbits on the road (IMO) is not so much because they had better rustproofing, but because they are newer and more of them sold. also, the gauge of metal used in the US cars was thicker than the early german ones. it takes longer for rust to take a US-built completely out of commision vs. an early german. i have been under the carpet/interior in many of these mkIs... US rabbit, german rabbit, caddy, cabriolet, jetta... and in my opinion the german ones are made with much more care. the seams and welds are cleaner, the seam sealer and floor treatments seem to be put on with some thought, and the general impression i've gotten from this whole experience has been to find a clean german-built that hasn't been abused and hold onto it. i no longer hold the US-builts in as high a regard purely because of their poor build quality (IMO). for example... german-builts usually have a small piece of cloth over the drain holes and it looks like someone took the time to ensure water would drain properly. the US-builts i've seen have all had seam sealer coming oozing up out of those holes, plugging them and letting the water sit.
visual improvements? yeah, we'd be chasing our tails... (personally i'll give german-1, US-0 here).
trim packages.. i disagree that they yielded any 'improvements' other than gauges, wider wheels, wheel liners (all parts that can easily be fit to earlier rabbits). again we're getting into personal preference for a lot of this (IMO: GTI airdams are ugly US-styling, fender flares are rust breeders, more lights.. more electrical problems, power steering is added weight in a car that doesnt require it, etc etc etc... it all adds up to more weight and brings the mkI closer to where VW landed with the mkIV - i haven't driven a mkV yet to make that comparison).
'83 i agree..
'84, just wondering... what is different about the seats? i've fit many mkII seats into rabbits made before '83 with no problems... and i know that german rabbit seats will fit into mkIIs. the front bumper supports were lighter in '84 - they were just metal brackets, not shocks. although lighter, they treat the rabbit unibody with less respect in an accident as they have no dampening function, so not really a clear improvement IMO. in fact, i prefer the earlier shock-style because they can be drilled out, setting them closer to the body than anything VW offered from the (PA) factory. even better than those were the original 1975 german bumpers... closest to the body of all, and lightest.
what you mentioned about quality degredation of the '81-later westmo cars i agree entirely with.. and it seems to me that the longer VW kept producing cars at that PA plant, the worse the quality got until VW finally had enough and sent the work to mexico.
its no secret that the PA plant was a huge mistake for VW... :cry:
edit: and i have to say...i suspect i'd be singing a different tune entirely if we were comparing 1975-1980 german rabbits to 1981-1984 german rabbits. its more the workmanship of the US cars, the lower quality of many of their bolt-on parts, and the american styling cues that make them an inferior vehicle, in my opinion, of course.
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