Present: Jetta - The Story

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The Volkswagen Jetta is an automobile produced by German automaker Volkswagen since 1980. Depending upon the model year, country of origin, and country of sale, it is sometimes known as the Atlantic, Fox, Vento, Bora, or Sagitar. It is essentially the saloon / sedan version of the compact car / small family car Volkswagen Golf, and spans five generations. The Jetta name was derived from the Jet stream, following Volkswagen's long tradition of naming cars for various winds.[1]

The Jetta bodystyle was developed due in part to the Volkswagen marketing group's observation that the North American market leaned more towards sedans as opposed to the Golf's hatchback configuration.[2] The new saloon variant was marketed as a more upscale car than its tailgated brethren, with nicer interior trim and a higher price.[3] This proved to be a wise move on Volkswagen's part, as the Jetta became the best-selling European car in the United States and Canada.[4] Over the years, the car has been offered in two and four-door sedan and five-door station wagon variants. As of 2005, over 6.6 million cars have been sold worldwide, with over 2.2 million alone sold in the United States. Since the original version in 1980, the car has grown in size and power with each successive generation.

Mark 1

The Jetta was introduced to the world at the 1979 Frankfurt Auto Show.[6] Production of the first generation began in September 1979 at the Wolfsburg plant.[7] In some markets, such as in Mexico, the Mark 1 was known as the "Volkswagen Atlantic", whilst it was known as the "Volkswagen Fox" in South Africa.[8] The car was available as a two-door coupe and four-door sedan body styles, both of which shared a three box shape. Like the Golf, its angular styling was penned at ItalDesign, by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Styling differences could be found depending on the market. In most of the world, the car was available with composite headlights, while in the USA, it was only available with rectangular sealed beam lamps due to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108. The suspension setup was identical to the Golf and consisted of a MacPherson strut setup in front and a Twist-beam rear suspension in the rear. It shared its 2.4 meter (94.5 in) wheelbase with its hatchback counterpart although overall length was up by 38 centimeters (15 in). The capacity of the luggage compartment was 377 liters (13.3 ft3), making the Jetta reasonably practical.[9] To distinguish the car from the Golf, interiors were made more upscale in all markets.[10] This included velour seating and color coordinated sill to sill carpeting.

Engine choices varied considerably depending on the local market. Most were based on 827 engines of the era. Choices in Spark-ignition engines ranged from a 1.1 L four-cylinder engine producing 37 kilowatts (50 hp) to a 1.8 L I4 which made 67 kilowatts (90 hp) and 142 Newton metres (105 ft·lb) of torque. Some cars were equipped with Carburetors, while others were fuel injected using K or KE Jetronic supplied by Robert Bosch GmbH. Diesel engine choices included a 1.6 L making 37 kilowatts (50 hp) and a turbocharged version of the same engine which produced 50 kilowatts (68 hp) and 130 Newton metres (96 ft·lb) of torque.


Volkswagen briefly considered producing the Jetta in a plant located in Sterling Heights, Michigan in the USA.[11] However, due to declining sales in North America, the decision was postponed and finally scrapped in 1982.[12] The site was subsequently sold to Chrysler in 1983 and is still in operation as of 2007.[13] This generation was also produced in Bosnia under the joint venture Tvornica Automobila Sarajevo (TAS) for the Balkan area.[14]

Safety

Volkswagen was an early adopter of passive restraint systems. The first generation cars could be equipped with an "automatic" shoulder belt mounted to the door. The idea was to always have the belt buckled thereby doing away with the requirement that the driver and passenger remember to buckle up. Instead of a lap belt, the dashboard was designed with an integrated knee bar to prevent submarining underneath the shoulder belt.

In crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Mark 1 received five out of five stars in a 56 km/h (35 mph) frontal crash test for both driver and passenger protection.[15]

Testing and Review
North American specification

The first generation was met with generally positive reviews. Testers found the car handled precisely, however the lack of power steering contributed to heavy steering when parking.[16] The brakes worked well for a car of the day, but some brake fade was evident. The ride was taut but firm in the typical style of German cars, with large bumps being well absorbed by the suspension but smaller undulations coming through. Reviews differed on noise levels, some found the car fairly quiet, while others thought the engine contributed to higher noise levels.[17] Critics found the seating comfortable, but noted that the rear seat lacked sufficient head room. Most major controls and displays such as the speedometer and climate controls were well liked, but some secondary switches were not well placed or intuitive. The aforementioned automatic seat belts in some markets that were attached to the door frame made it impossible to forget to buckle the belt, but it was difficult to enter the car with a package in hand. Writers liked that the luggage space was generous, especially for a car of its size. Additionally, numerous storage areas also gave practicality to the sedan. In one test, the car scored nearly as high as the more expensive Passat/Dasher and the Audi 80/4000.

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Mark 2

he Mark 2 series is the longest running Jetta so far. Introduced to Europe in 1984 and to North America in 1985, the second generation Jetta proved to be a sales success for Volkswagen. The car secured the title of best-selling European car in North America, and outsold the similar Golf by two to one in that market.[19] Built off the all new second generation Golf platform, the car was larger, heavier, and could now seat five people. Exterior dimensions increased in all directions. Overall length was up by 10 centimeters (3.9 in), the wheelbase grew 6.6 centimeters (2.6 in), and the width went up 5.3 centimeters (2.1 in). The suspension setup was basically unchanged from the first generation, although refined slightly. Aerodynamics improved considerably, with a drag coefficient of 0.36.[20] With a 470 liter (16.6 ft3) luggage compartment, the trunk had grown nearly as large as some full sized American sedans.[21] Interior room was also increased 14%, which changed the EPA class from sub-compact to compact.

Cars built in Germany were assembled in a brand new (at the time) plant at Wolfsburg in Assembly Hall 54. The plant was heavily robotized in an effort to make build quality more consistent.[22] New innovations on the second generation included an optional Trip computer (sometimes referred to as the MFA) as well as silicone dampened engine and transmission mounts to reduce Noise, Vibration, and Harshness levels. In 1988, a more advanced fully electronic fuel injection system became available. This arrangement is known as the Digifant Engine Management system.


Jetta coupé

Like the Mark 1, the second generation was offered as a two-door coupé or four-door sedan. External changes throughout the series' run were few: the front-quarter windows were eliminated in 1988, larger body-colored bumpers and lower side skirts were added from 1990, and there were various grille and side-cladding changes.

In 2007, Volkswagen of America held a contest to find the diesel powered VW with the highest distance traveled on the original engine.[23] The winning car was a 1986 Jetta Turbodiesel found in Blue Rock, Ohio, and had 562,000 miles (904,000 km).[24] A local dealer verified the odometer reading. Notable on this particular car was that it also had the original muffler despite being located in an area subject to road salt in the winter.

Safety
German specification

In a crash test conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Jetta received three out of five stars for both driver and passenger protection in a 56 km/h (35 mph) frontal crash test. The Highway Loss Data Institute (part of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) found the injury and collision losses for the Jetta to be among the best of the small 4 door sedan category.[25] It was topped only by the Golf. Earlier models had the dubious distinction of having an especially high rate of radio theft.[26] Apparently, the mounting of the radio made it especially easy to remove quickly. To correct the problem, VW introduced a theft protection system to all cars. When the power supply to the radio was removed, it automatically went into "safe" mode. When plugged back in, it would not work unless a secret code was entered. This made it essentially useless to thieves, although provided a hassle to customers who misplaced their code card.

Testing and review

The car received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the car's excellent handling, as well as a roomier interior compared to the last generation.[27] Stiff shifting manual transmissions were a downside, and braking worked reasonably well although some brake fade was evident in the lower trim lines equipped with solid discs in front and drums in back. A number of reviews noted that the ride was stiff and busy, even though it did have good control typical of German cars. Despite additional sound insulation, road noise was evident especially on coarse pavement.[28] In top sport trim (sometimes called the GLI or GTX), some reviewers noted the car was a less expensive alternative to a BMW or Audi.[29] The sport trim added larger wheels, a stiffer suspension, and closer ratios on the manual transmission.

Worldwide production
Volkswagen Jetta King (China)

Besides the VW production base in Germany, this generation was produced in a number of foreign countries, including China, Nigeria, Mexico, South Africa, USA, and the former Yugoslavia. The Mark 2 Jetta went on to become the first Volkswagen model produced in China by Volkswagen's second joint venture partner First Auto Works. Production began on 5 December 1991. Initially sold as Complete knock down kits, local manufacturing has gradually taken over in the form of Semi-Knocked Down kits in 1992, and full local production in 1995.[30]

The car has had two revisions since its inception in China, the first facelift borrowed spare grilles left around from the fourth generation Volkswagen Passat in 1997. Production started in August 1998 and its name was changed to the Jetta King. The second facelift was revealed in March 2004 but had few noticeable differences compared to the 1997 facelift. On 29 July 2007, it was announced that First Automotive Works expanded its production of the Mark 2 Jetta by building a new assembly plant in Chengdu, Sichuan Provence in Southwest China.[31] The expansion is driven by the high demand for the car, a desire to expand in the western part of the country, as well as the long term goal of FAW to develop new derivatives from the car's platform independently of Volkswagen.

Mark3 - See Vento...

Mark4 - See Bora...