El Ocho Vocho

I speculated earlier that the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf, unavailable in base form in the United States and Canada and unavailable in any form in Mexico, might be available in base form in the New World once VW's Mexican factory in Puebla took over production of the venerable hatchback from the home factory in Wolfsburg.  Volkswagen of America president Kjell Gruner spoke on that possibility for the first time ever this past week.

Gruner has become aware that Americans have been asking for more variations of the Golf because the high-performance GTI and R editions are increasingly out of reach - a far cry from the more affordable Golf that Americans remember debuting in 1975 in the States as the Rabbit, when it only cost $2,999 - $18,564 in today's dollars.  The entry-level GTI currently starts at twice that much.  Americans who love Volkswagen still appreciate the practicality and versatility of a hatchback, and they - we - have always been VW's most loyal customers.  With only the Jetta and the Tiguan within reach for many if not most American VW customers, Gruner is certainly interested in reintroducing the base Golf here once production of the car commences in Puebla. The lower costs of production in Mexico - the whole reason the Mark 8 Golf is being made there in the first place - will make such a move possible.

Maybe.  Because right now, cars made in Mexico are subject to a 25 percent tariff, which would make it not impossible to offer the Golf here but would certainly make it difficult.  The profit margins on affordable cars are so thin that it's hard to make much money on them, given the costs that go into developing the cars have been rising thanks to more regulations and more tech.  And Volkswagen of America no longer has larger midsize cars like the Passat and probably not enough SUVs to offset losses on affordable-car sales.  So Gruner would undoubtedly like to see the Mexico tariff reduced to 15 percent, which would put it in line with the import taxes on cars imported from elsewhere.  Will that happen?  That's anyone's guess.

But, given Gruner's desire to keep the Golf and Jetta available in the United States as the souls of the brand, it seems like the base Golf could finally arrive here after all.

Would I buy one?  At this point, probably not.  I've invested lots of money to keep my sixth-generation Golf as new, and I'm wary of getting a new Golf that has more tech than I know what to do with.  I may not want a Mark 8 Golf, but I'd like the opportunity to buy one.  Or, as women always like to say about boyfriends, "I don't want to marry you, but I want you to ask me."  I want Volkswagen to offer me the chance to buy a 2027 Golf in base form, even if I ultimately decide against it.  

But if I can get an eTSI hybrid like the one I rented in Germany last summer, I might be tempted . . ..

Vandalia Vendetta

Until this past Saturday, Vandalia. Ohio was best known, if known at all, as a suburb of Dayton and the location of the junction between Interstates 70 and 75.  

Now it will be forever known as the town where Donald Trump, in a rally there, laid out his doctrine for a reign of brutality not only in the event that he wins back the White House but also in the event that he doesn't win the White House. 

In the Vandalia Doctrine, as I call it, Trump declared that there will be a bloodbath if he doesn't win, as that will mean the election was rigged against him and the Republicans and that elections will be rigged against the GOP ever after.

So, there will be bloodshed and violence from Election Day through the holidays all the way to Inauguration Day.  In other words, they guy who wants to make America great again will make America like Newark. 

Oh yeah, a few takeaways from the Vandalia rally:

Trump wants to impose a 100 percent tariff on imported automobiles. So that Golf GTI that now costs thirty thousand dollars will coast . . . sixty thousand dollars.  You think VWs are too expensive now . . . 

He also said that some migrants "are not people."  So, that means that some migrants are illegally transported pets?  What's wrong with bringing cats and dogs into this country, Trump?  Not that you'd ever adopt one . . .

Oh, and by the way, one of Trump's supporters standing behind him held up a sign that turned President Biden's surname into an acronym: "Biggest Idiot Democrat Ever Nominated."    All right, Democrats, here's your homework: Come up with an unflattering acronym of Trump's surname - "tRump" or calling Trump by his ancestral German name ("Drumpf") won't cut it.

And if Trump supporters are out for blood after Election Day, perhaps Americans should consider anew the Second Amendment right to self-defense.

Running Off the Road

Good news - Trump is backing away from imposing tariffs on foreign cars, giving trade negotiations between the United States and the European Union and Japan six months to produce an agreement.  

But get this: Trump is also ready to impose the tariffs at a moment's notice, and he and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross have decided that certain imported cars and car parts "threaten to impair the national security of the United States," because Detroit contributes technological advances to military contractors, and thus imports are a threat to U.S. expenditures on research and development involving national security.

So my Volkswagen is a threat to the security of the Republic.  Who'da thought?

Wonderful.  If Trump's tariffs should go through, Americans will be paying 25 percent more for imported automobiles and may be forced to consider buying American - which means buying SUVs or crossovers because Detroit can't be bothered to make much of anything else these days.  The idea of cars from other countries being threats to national security is ludicrous, given America's military superiority on this planet (and it's nice to see we're still superior at something) and given the lack thereof in American automotive engineering.  Left unmentioned is that the tariff on foreign cars and foreign auto parts would have adverse effects on the European and Asian automakers who make cars in the United States - and most of their American factories are located in the Republican South.

As a VW enthusiast, I'm worried, you'd better believe I am.  Tariffs might be the deciding factor in Volkswagen of America's decision on whether or not to kill the standard Golf in America - heck, it may even kill the more expensive GTI and Golf R as well! - and it might limit VW's plans to make and sell electric cars here.  Other brands would undoubtedly be affected, as would at least one Detroit automaker - the Chrysler Group, which is now a collection of American brands owned by a multinational company based in Italy (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles).  Trump's tariffs, if enacted, would wreck untold havoc on the U.S. auto market.

The bright side?  A lot of voters own foreign cars and would never even consider buying a domestic model - and some of them are Republicans.  Congressional Republicans may actually break with Trump on this one.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, by the way, said it best: "I would be very surprised and extremely disappointed if we decided that Volkswagens are a threat to America's national security and we imposed a tax on American consumers in that category."