Volkswagen Rabbit
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Rabbit: The American-Market Golf
The Rabbit was the name used for the Golf in the United States during certain eras, including the influential first generation.
When the first-generation Golf launched in the US in 1975, Volkswagen sold it as the Rabbit, a name it kept through the early 1980s. This original Rabbit, including the US-built versions, helped establish the modern hatchback in America and spawned the first Rabbit GTI.
Volkswagen revived the Rabbit name in the US for the fifth-generation Golf from 2006 to 2009, before reverting to the Golf name globally. The Rabbit badge thus appears on two distinct, well-regarded eras of the Golf.
The Rabbit name is fondly remembered by American enthusiasts, particularly the early cars that brought practical, fun, efficient hatchback motoring to the US.