November Golf update - weird press release

[jv]

Not one of their finest - seems somewhat lost in translation:

"WORLD PREMIERE IN NOVEMBER: THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN FOR AN EXTENSIVE GOLF UPDATE

• The history of this German bestseller features many record breaking milestones
• For 42 years a Golf has been sold every 40 secondsaround the world

Wolfsburg, 13 October 2016– The countdown has begun: in early November, Volkswagen will be introducing a major update for its most successful model – the Golf. This best seller has been around for more than four decades. An entire generation has been named after it as Generation X is known as “Generation Golf” in Germany. No other European car has sold better. By the end of last year, 32,590,025 Golf cars had been sold. In effect, therefore, over the last 42 years someone, somewhere in the world, decides to buy a new Golf every 40 seconds. Record-breaking statistics like these have shaped the car's history. And Volkswagen democratises progress to this very day with the Golf.

• 32,590,025 vehicles by the end of 2015 – the Volkswagen Golf is the most successful European car ever.
• 21,517,415 vehicles– 2002 saw Golf sales overtake the hither to most successful car in the world: the Beetle.
• 10,000,000 vehicles – by 1988 the Golf had already broken through the ten million vehicles barrier.
• 1,000,000km – in 2003, a Golf Mk1 driver broke through one million kilometres on the clock. More “millionaires” followed.
• €188,938– the most expensive Golf (Generation V) was auctioned in 2005; the first owner was Pope Benedict XVI.
• €10,156– the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's first Golf (Generation II) was auctioned in 2012.
• 2,120 Golf cars per day– this works out at more than two thousand new Golf cars being produced and sold every day for four decades.
• 730 days for the first million– only two years after its debut, the millionth unit of the first Golf was delivered.
• 650 PS for the enthusiasts – the most powerful Golf ever was the GTI W12-650. It was presented in 2007 at the GTI meet at Wörthersee.
• 155 countries – today the Golf is manufactured in five factories (Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico) and exported to 155 countries.
• 5 drive worlds – the Golf is the only car in the world which is available with electric, hybrid, petrol, diesel and gas powered engine options."

[fredgroves]

You've gotta love a German press release.

They missed a bit: "•21,517,415 vehicles– 2002 saw Golf sales overtake the hither to most successful car in the world: the Beetle." I'm sure "Nazis" should be in there somewhere... Actually when I first skimmed this post I did think "hither" said "hitler" lol

[jv]

Haha, same for me!

Anyway, there's more:

• The history of the Golf began in 1974 with a revolution
• Golf Mk1 sold 6.99 million cars, becoming an instant bestseller

Wolfsburg, 14 October 2016 – Volkswagen is preparing a major update for the Golf. The world premiere is coming up in November. It will be the update of a style-icon. Head of Design at Volkswagen Klaus Bischoff says: “There are only a few cars in the world other than the Golf which have so consistently continued to develop their design from generation to generation.” Bischoff goes on to explain: “Vehicles which successfully manage an evolution of their design over decades have the potential to one day be celebrated as an icon. The most prominent example of such a development is the Porsche 911; in the high volume models segment, however, the Golf is clearly a member of the automobile Hall of Fame.”

Retrospective: 1974. The year when ABBA won the European Song Contest with “Waterloo” and Germany won the World Cup for the second time. The year when Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman in the most legendary boxing match of all time. The year when Volkswagen presented the first Golf.

The first generation was an instant success; the successor to the Beetle achieved sales of 6.99 million. Klaus Bischoff says: “The step from the Beetle to the Golf was revolutionary. The change from the air-cooled rear engine to the water-cooled front engine created a completely new vehicle layout.” Round became square – a paradigm shift. Bischoff, Head of Design at Volkswagen explains: “The main design elements of the Golf Mk1 were the side profile with its upright, solid C-pillar; the distinctive wheel arches; and the horizontal front with the slim grille and downwardly protruding head-lights – present to this very day in every Golf.” These are stylistic features of the most successful compact car design in the world.


So who was revolting in 1974?

[fredgroves]

So who was revolting in 1974?

Every worker in the British car manufacturing industry?

[jv]

^ good answer.

Here we have another shocker:

Wolfsburg, 18 October 2016– The Golf is unique, forgery-proof. A design icon. In November, Volkswagen will show how this unique gem has evolved with its update of the Golf. A masterpiece in automotive design continuously refined over seven generations. A phenomenon, because the Golf is one of the few affordable cars in the world that is truly classless.

Experts agree – the most defining moment in the history of the Golf came in the late 70s when the decision was made to create the Golf MkII by further developing the Golf MkI's design DNA. And so the “Golf Phenomenon” came about – the Volkswagen of all Volkswagen cars; the perfect image of the brand; a compact car with a classless status reaching out to all levels of society.

Retrospective: 1983. Germany is thrilled when the German Ulf Merbold is launched into space on “Columbia”. Meanwhile Michael Jackson's album “Thriller” rockets into unimaginable heights of sales and is the best-selling LP/CD on the planet. Apple presents its first mass-produced computer “mouse”. That autumn, meanwhile, the second-generation Golf is launched.

The Golf MkII became bigger and more aerodynamic. The designers staying true to the Golf MkI's DNA while creating progressive new details. Radical new features in the rear: the Golf MkI's rear lights were right at the bottom just above the bumper – in the Golf MkII, they were moved much further up. In 1983 no other car had this. A bridge between the generations, the C-pillar configuration remains typical to this very day. In the words of Volkswagen in 1983: “The Golf must remain a Golf. So no redesign should move away from the Golf concept – yet it should still be a new car from bumper to bumper, abiding by the fundamental principles: concept continuity, progress in detail and quality.” It was the formula for world success.

[Daz Auto]

Here we have another shocker:

Tune in next week when they discuss how crap the Mk3 and Mk4 were.

The Mk4 Golf was on a list of top 10 worst German cars.

[jv]

Hang about, what do we have here? Yep, more delicious prose:

Wolfsburg, 21 October 2016 – The third Golf came onto the market in August 25 years ago. With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear: Volkswagen ushered in a new era of safety with this model. On the one hand, the Golf MkIII was the first of the series to have front airbags, starting in 1992, while major advances in car body construction also resulted in significantly improved crash safety. The third generation, however, also made a great design leap: it was the first Golf with a wedge shape that was as dynamic as it was aerodynamic.

Retrospective: The roots of the Golf MkIII date back to 1985. While Mikhail Gorbachev was taking over leadership at the Kremlin in Moscow, and 17- year-old Boris Becker was sweeping his opponent from the court in the final at Wimbledon, in Wolfsburg the development of the third Golf was officially launched. In February 1987, Chief Designer Herbert Schäfer submits nine different models of the next Golf to the Board. In the ensuing months, the results are discussed and further refined until the very best design emerged in December and it could move beyond the drawing board. In 1991 the Golf MkIII is ready for series production. Herbert Schäfer: “In the first step from Golf MkI to MkII we made the car bigger, provided more powerful engines, and improved its handling. In the third generation, design now takes precedence. We have found a look that typifies the Golf: it radiates quality and safety.”

Thanks to the significantly wider track the car has a powerful stance on the road and, as opposed to the previous generation, the wheels are flush with the aerodynamically styled vehicle body (drag coefficient 0.30).

Although no detail, shape or radius was taken from its predecessor, this is clearly a Golf. The MkIII goes on to sell 4.83 million before its next regeneration.

[asm1]

My build week for my GTD is W/C 24/10 - I guess I wont get an updated one ?

[Exonian]

My build week for my GTD is W/C 24/10 - I guess I wont get an updated one ?

At least on a positive note, it'll be updated on the ones mentioned in jv's press releases if nothing else. 

[jv]

I know, you've been bursting with excitement for the next part.
Warning - contains outrageous 'style icon' claim.

Wolfsburg, 26 October 2016 – In 1997, the Golf MkIV was created under the direction of the Volkswagen Group Head of Design Hartmut Warkuß (1993 to 2003). Today, the fourth generation is considered a style icon – particularly because of its graphic clarity and fundamental C-pillar series design forming a bridge to the 1974 Golf MkI. However, the Golf MkIV was not only pioneering in terms of its looks, it was groundbreaking in its engineering as well. Volkswagen achieved a totally new standard of quality in this market segment with this car and thus became the first manufacturer to overcome vehicle class boundaries. With the debut of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) in the Golf (1998), the car continued to democratise safety. By 2003, 4.99 million units of the Golf MkIV, including all of its derivatives, had been produced.

Retrospective, 1997: Robbie Williams was transformed from a teen idol into a worldwide star with the song and slogan “Let me entertain you”; Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio wrote film history with the US premiere of “Titanic”; and Volkswagen presented the fourth generation of the Golf – in terms of design, the purest and clearest yet. Hartmut Warkuß says, “the Golf is a monument. A car that seamlessly followed in the footsteps of the globally successful Beetle. It made good sense to reinforce the company strategy in an evolutionary rather than revolutionary way. It is important to demonstrate a high degree of continuity.” And that's exactly what Warkuß did with the fourth Golf. However, nothing is copied from the Golf MkIII. On the contrary, not a single body panel of the entirely redesigned new Golf generation was taken over from its predecessor. The front window is flatter, the rear window is steeper, the roof extends even further back. Even Giorgio Giugiaro, creator of the first Golf design back in 1974, expressed his admiration for the new car: “The genetic material of the Golf is still evident in its fourth generation.”