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 . . ..