MYTH BUSTER
IT’S NAMED AFER A 1 WIND
Interesting one, this. VW did seem to be fond of wind names – Scirocco, Passat (German for ‘trade wind’) and Golf, supposedly referencing the Gulf stream. The Jetta reputedly took its title from the Atlantic jet stream. However, in 2013, former VW advertising executive, Bertel Schmitt, looked into this, interviewing prominent VW personnel such as former VW boss, Carl Hahn. There was no evidence of a themed naming policy, either officially or unofficially. The Jetta has, in fact, had more than ten other names worldwide over its various generations.
IT’S A GOLF WITH 2 A BOOT AND REPLACED THE BEETLE
There’s rather more to it than that. Giorgetto Giugiaro created something that integrated a rear load area rather more successfully than most of the Jetta’s rivals; the headlamps, grille and bumpers were also changed. But the real differences were inside, where the interiors were more luxurious, with plusher velour upholstery and better carpeting. Incidentally, although many consider the Golf as the spiritual Beetle successor, VW regarded the two-door Jetta as its true replacement.
IT WASN’T AS 3 HIGHLY-REGARDED AS THE GOLF
Indeed it wasn’t, on this side of the Atlantic at least, where the allconquering Golf had all the glory. But over the Big Pond, where the hatchback phenomenon was much less pronounced and bigger cars with traditional boots – sorry, trunks – were preferred, the Jetta MkI and MkII were the bestselling European cars in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The secondgeneration Jetta outsold the Golf by two-to-one in North America, for example.
Richard Gunn
Debunking the most common old wives’ tales