1986: The BMW E30 and Mercedes-Benz W201 are just expensive Jetta imitators

"German engineering" was a magical phrase to many American car shoppers during the middle 1980s, with visions of such technological masterpieces as the Mercedes-Benz W126 S-Class and Porsche 928 coming to mind. Volkswagen of America wanted to make sure that those car shoppers understood that the second-generation Jetta was just as German (built in Pennsylvania or not) as all those high-zoot machines coming out of West Germany at the time, so this magazine advertisement pointed out that it was superior to the BMW 318i, the Mercedes-Benz 190 and the BMW 528, while costing one-half or one-third as much.

Let’s check out those comparisons. In snow and ice, sure, the BMW 318i probably wouldn’t grip as well as the front-wheel-drive Jetta… but we’re pretty sure the rear-wheel-drive E30 would get better traction off the line in a drag race, especially if it had the optional limited-slip differential (not available on the Jetta). The 96-horse gasoline engine in the Jetta did make more power than the engine in the Mercedes-Benz 190… provided, of course, that the Benz had the 93-horsepower diesel engine (that almost no Americans bought). As for the interior-space battle with the BMW 528, front-wheel-drive beats rear-wheel-drive yet again. Still, these claims seem a little weasely; perhaps VW would have been better off with a profoundly accurate “way more fun to drive than the Corolla” pitch.

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