page_title: Volkswagen Golf Mk1
section_title: Volkswagen Rabbit/Golf (U.S.A./Canada)
hierarchical_section_title: Volkswagen Golf Mk1 / Regional variations / Volkswagen Rabbit/Golf (U.S.A./Canada)
caption_attribution_description: 1976-1978 Volkswagen Rabbit photographed at the 2008 Hudson Auto Show.
context_page_description: The Volkswagen Golf Mk1 is the first generation of a small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen. It was noteworthy for signalling Volkswagen's shift of its major car lines from rear-wheel drive and rear-mounted air-cooled engines to front-wheel drive with front-mounted, water-cooled engines that were often transversely-mounted.
  Successor to Volkswagen's Beetle, the first generation Golf debuted in Europe in May 1974 with styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign.
context_section_description: The Golf Mk1 was first introduced to the United States in 1975, but in that market the car was called the Volkswagen Rabbit. These early US Rabbits were produced in Germany and exported to North America.
  In 1978 Volkswagen began building the Rabbit at its Westmoreland plant. Former Chevrolet engineer James McLernon was chosen to run the factory, which was built to lower the cost of the Rabbit in North America by producing it locally. McLernon moved to "Americanize" the Golf/Rabbit (Volkswagen executive Werner Schmidt referred to the act as "Malibuing" the car) by softening the suspension and using cheaper materials for the interior. VW purists in America and company executives in Germany were displeased. For the 1983 model year the Pennsylvania plant went back to using stiffer shocks and suspension with higher-quality interior trim.
  Rabbit Diesels arrived in mid-1977 and were originally German-built. During 1980, production was shifted to the Pennsylvania plant, with the most obvious change being a switch from round to square headlamps. The color schemes also changed; period testers noted a lower quality of materials being used, although fit and finish was as high as on German-made cars. The US-market 1.5-liter diesel had a claimed 48 hp (36 kW; 49 PS) at 5,000 rpm. This model was short-lived, with 1981 Rabbits receiving a facelift with wraparound turn signals and larger taillights, while the diesel engine was changed to a 52 hp (39 kW; 53 PS) 1588 cc unit. The plant also began producing the GTI for the North American market in the fall of 1982, for the 1983 model year. 'Rabbits' were built in Pennsylvania until 1984. The first Volkswagen Caddy pick-up, based on the Mk1 Golf, was also created at the Pennsylvania plant.
  Canada continued to import the German-made Rabbit until the 1981 model year when Volkswagen Canada began to import the US-made version.
  The original U.S.-spec Golf saw use in a taxi fleet. The Yellow Cab Company of Lexington, Kentucky, bought eleven Rabbits in the late seventies as part of an effort to save money on fuel, estimating an annual savings of $135,000 in gasoline costs. Two other companies considered using the Rabbit as the basis for a taxicab. The Checker Motors Corporation and the Wayne Corporation both built prototype taxis using Rabbits with much longer wheelbases than factory. Checker built one prototype and Wayne built three, but neither project went into production.
  For 1981 the gasoline powered Rabbit received a fuel injected 1,715 cc (104.7 cu in) engine, an iteration used only in North America, which offered 74 hp (55 kW). The carburetted versions were discontinued.
  The Volkswagen Rabbit GTI, the North American version of the high-performance Golf GTI, debuted in Canada in 1979 and the United States for 1983. Assembled from parts made in Mexico, Canada, Germany and the U.S. in Volkswagen's Westmoreland assembly plant, it had the same Mk1 chassis, and the same A1 body type as the Mk1 Golf GTI that had been on sale in Europe since 1976, with a few exceptions. Key distinct features of the Rabbit GTI were its squared front end styling, and its alloy "snowflake" wheels. The interior came in red or blue felt and leatherette trim. The squared styling of the front end, particularly the wraparound direction indicator lights, gave it added safety and slight improvement in performance. Under the hood, the engine was a JH 1.8 litre four-cylinder gasoline engine that ran on unleaded fuel, In addition to being marginally larger than the regular engine it also had lightened pistons, bigger valves, a higher compression, and a free-flow exhaust as well as other minor improvements. The JH 1.8 L would peak in stock condition at 90 hp (67 kW), delivered through a close-ratio five-speed manual transmission. For 1984 the Rabbit GTI was back, now with an updated engine offering 100 hp (75 kW). In total, 30,000 of these 1.8 L Rabbit GTIs were built in Pennsylvania.
  When the Rabbit GTI first appeared in Canada, it featured the 78 hp 1.5 L (1979) and 1.6 L (1980) K-Jetronic engine and wide ratio five-speed tran
caption: Volkswagen Rabbit (1976-1978)
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