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Car of the Year

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Smiley Veteran Volks Folk

2,125 posts · joined Oct 2008 ·

#758425
Just heard on the radio that the Volkswagen Golf has been named Wheels Car of the Year. Nice work! Smiley
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.

pete wood 23 Windows of Awesome

6,828 posts · joined Jan 2004 ·

#758443
hate to say it, but the poxiest magna ever made was also Wheels car of the year. That award is not the measure of anything. 👎
"stoopid is stronger than axles"
http://drivingnotpolishing.blogspot.com.au/

colonel mustard Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,829 posts · joined Feb 2009 ·

#758447
hmmm. did not know that pete. but if they think any magna can win car of the year..... thats not something im willing to support.

jjwebb123 Wolfsburg Wizard

617 posts · joined Aug 2009 ·

#758473
yeah good on Volkswagen. check this out
it will make you wont one.lol 😂
"A car for the people, an affordable Volkswagen, would bring great joy to the masses and the problems of building such a car must be faced with courage."
Adolf Hitler At opening of 1934 Berlin Auto Show

silver Dangerous when poked

2,169 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#758503
Was also world car of the year
and i've got one 😂
Keeping it real !

wilderness Slammed & Awesome Dubber

88 posts · joined Aug 2009 ·

#758509
GO THE GOLF!!!!!!!
1958 Beetle (currently restoring)
Mk5 Golf Pacific TDi

donn Wolfsburg Elder

3,515 posts · joined Nov 2005 ·

#758512
P76, a car before its time if you can get a book titled " A Boot Full of Right Arms" by Evan Green then have a read, make you think twice about the Dakar
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!

amazeer Bishop of Volkswagenism

3,029 posts · joined Nov 2005 ·

#758573
I dont think the Wheels award is crap. At the time of judging the choices are sound enough.

I have 2 different friends, who dont know each other, that are big P76 fans. They had really bad build quality, but once they were rebuilt by the owner, great car. Apparently. All alloy V8. Being made by Leyland they probably couldnt expect more. Poms cant build quality cars in England how are they to do it here? Read Wikipedia article on them. Quite revolutionary.

The TM magna was also pretty revolutionary. An ingenious aussie invention. People wanted a bigger sized car without the expense of the big 6's. Worked a treat. Sold well. Took heaps of money away from Holden and Ford. Kept the mitsubishi factory alive for 20 years. Came in at the wrong time with our switch to unleaded fuel while making do with the old stigma astron engine, but didnt seem to matter. In 1985 driving a new TM/TN manga was a good experience. It wasnt until several years later that everything plastic on the inside fell off and everything metal on the outside rusted.

Poxiest Volkswagen ever made won the award too, 1974 Passat. Actually I dont know if they were poxy, i have never been in one, was too young to consider the experience if I had been and there arent any around these days to find out. But certainly one of the least popular models.

Yogie Moderator Custom Title Time!

1,608 posts · joined Jun 2003 ·

#758616
The P76 has a very vocal and loyal club base. The Targa Florio version is highly sought after. As said before, it was before its' time but suffered the usual build quality issues associated with Leyland. I have had 2 magnas over the years and several commodores. The commodores were much faster but the build quality on those is a lot worse than the magnas I have owned. They are a lot rougher than a magna as well. In fact, I sold my VN when it was only 6 months old as it was such crap quality yet they have won Wheels as well. They simply decide on how the cars test at the time, not how they last (or even look).

Yogie

t_tuffnut Wolfsburg Wizard

425 posts · joined Jun 2009 ·

#758621
I was always a ford fan, with a dormant vw enthusiast suppressed by years of association with Ford and Holden lads at school, and as such I thought that the magnas were all rubbish, to be driven by grandparents to the RSL.

But in august last year, my circumstances changed and I bought a cheap 3 litre 1995 magna from my parents, so I could spend more money on my bug. I gotta say, it changed my tune. It is zippier than my 94 fairmont, more reliable than my 05 focus, 88 and 90 pintaras and I have left a few rice burners for dead at the lights in a 3 litre auto.

Yes, it is a daggy car, with a rear louvre, horrible patterned upholstery and that burgundy colour that I am sure half the magnas in australia are painted, but if you want a sleeper for bugger all money, you could do far worse. I know the person earlier was raggin on an 85, but I thought I'd just put this side of the argument forward for a car which is often forgotten about.

That being said, I know i'd prefer a new golf!
1966 Bug

1973 L Bug

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#759600
The Holden Camira was also Wheels Car of the Year (in 1982) - now there's a pus bucket. I suppose it must have seemed fantastic at the time, but time tells a different story.

The VW Passat won the award in 1974, and the Golf in 1976. The Passat was a fantastic car (it was an Audi 80 with a VW-designed tail and and different grille). It sold 3,411 in Australia in 1974, more than the Superbug L and 1300 Beetle combined; 4,113 in 1975 and 3,945 in 1976. After that LNC Industries priced them off the Australian market. A pity, as they were way better than the Toranas, Cortinas, Centuras and Coronas of the time.

In those days the Wheels award was the only one, and it had all the credibility and prestige. Today it is only one of a number of awards, sharing the spotlight with the NRMA Best Cars, DRIVE Awards and the CarsGuide car of the Year awards.

The latest VW Golf has won ALL of those awards, as well as World Car of the Year, so that speaks for itself.

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#759788
The full report on the Golf winning is in the Feb 2010 issue, on sale now. The link to the webpage report on the Golf winning is:

http://www.wheelsmag.com.au/News/VOLKSWAGEN+GOLF+-+WHEELS+CAR+OF+THE+YEAR+.html?open&template=domWheels

The Golf has also just won the TopGear Australia Car of the Year award:

http://www.volkswagen.com.au/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/en_au/company/News.html

CarsGuide, DRIVE, NRMA/RACV Best Cars, Wheels, TopGear....surely the latest Golf is the most awarded car in Australian history?

Smiley Veteran Volks Folk

2,125 posts · joined Oct 2008 ·

#759839
Phil74Camper wrote:CarsGuide, DRIVE, NRMA/RACV Best Cars, Wheels, TopGear....surely the latest Golf is the most awarded car in Australian history?
Wouldn't surprise me. Great car.

Smiley
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.