VOLKSWAGEN CITI GOLF: DEATH OF A 25 YEAR-OLD ICON

After 25 years in production the Volkswagen Golf (Mk 1 or the A1 using its internal codename) has finally met its end. The last Golf 1 came off the production line at VW SA’s Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth factory on the 21^st of August 2009 amid much fanfare and plenty of tears. Factory workers who make up the bulk of company’s 5 100 workforce and been part of its existence, were emotional when saying farewell.

At a media conference today VW SA Managing Director Mr David Powells took us through the history of the Golf 1, now referred to in various guises as the Citi Golf. The idea first came about at the end of the Golf’s first production schedule which ran from 1978. Golf had come in as a successor to the legendary Volkswagen (aka Beetle) and filled those shoes with aplomb. Its replacement the Golf 2 or Mk2 was imminent and VW SA executives became nervous after seeing its launch price. Would the public move up a class with the new car? Would they accept that their precious Golf had become bigger, wider and invariably more expensive? Could VW SA stay in the entry-level market and most importantly, how?

After much deliberation it was decided to continue the Golf 1 but as a stripped-down model called the Econo Golf. The advertising agency responsible for VW at the time saw their prototype vehicle (Kalahari beige exterior, bad wheels, bland interior) and fell asleep from boredom. One of the creatives was a lady by the name of Jenni Button (yes, the same one) and she came up with the idea of targeting young customers with a funky, colourful and youthful car. Thus the RED, YELLOW, BLUE campaign was launched and the first cars only came in those colours. Ms Button has since gone on to become a fashion icon with boutique shops all over the place while the Citi earned its own place in motor history. Over 500 000 units of the Golf 1 have been produced in South Africa. Funny enough the initial estimates were that they would sell about 300 units a month and stop production three years later. Well from 1984 when the CitiGolf cars went on sale the market has been exceptionally receptive. Just then at the end of production in July 2009, 1 600 units were sold.

My late friend Steve Dlamini made a name for himself at the 2008 Johannesburg Motor Show when he asked how VW SA could be so irresponsible as to sell a car with such poor safety features (none really). Since then a driver’s airbag has been installed.

The CitiGolf has acquired a number of different model variations over the years including Golf CTI, Designa, Shuttle, Chico, Blues, Deco, DotCom, VeloCiti and CitiRox. In the process it gained features like CD/MP3 players, air conditioning, an upgraded interior and central locking.

Boy racers and wannabes start off from a Golf base and work their way up. Even official national rally championships run Citis. Heck Gugu Zulu just won his A5 Class championship in one of these just two weeks ago.

The cheap CitiGolf cost R7 630 to buy in 1984. Today the cheapest model comes in at R84 700. Therein lies the rub; continue escalating the “entry-level” Golf’s price and cement VW’s growing reputation as “rich people’s cars” or stop making it altogether? They chose the latter. And so 25 years has come to an end.

To send it off VW is launching a nationwide farewell campaign where selected fans from all the country’s major cities will be able to see a special car and write messages on it. VW assured the media that no one working on the closed Golf 1 production line would lose their job and that only a few suppliers would no longer work with the company as a result.

A new limited edition 1000-unit CitiGolf called the Citi Mk1 will go on sale as a hark back to the original. It’s powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder with 74kW. Only two exterior colours will be available; Black and Shadow Blue metallic. Features include 15-inch gunmetal alloys, chrome highlighting around the grille, dark taillights and GT-styled stripes in chrome foil on the sides. The interior has sport seats with partial leather, leather steering wheel, the original golf ball gear knob, floor mats with an Mk1 logo and red stitching detail throughout.

The special edition Mk1 will be priced at R113 500.