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Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee Martin
Known as the Audi 80 in Europe, and nearly identical to the Volkswagen Dasher in America.
Murilee MartinThe Volkswagen B1 Platform served as the basis for the first-generation Passat (aka Dasher in North America) and the 1972-1978 Audi 80, and it proved to be a respectable sales success in Europe. The Dasher didn’t go on sale here until the 1974 model year, but North Americans could score a sophisticated front-wheel-drive Audi 80 — badged as the Fox — a year earlier. The Fox didn’t fly out of the showrooms in huge numbers and most were used up and crushed before Reagan was out of the White House, but I managed to find this rare example in a Silicon Valley wrecking yard.
Volkswagen of America recycled the Fox name later on, when the unrelated 1987-1993 Brazilian-built Gol hit North American roads. This causes some confusion for parts-counter employees dealing with the handful of American Audi Fox owners, for the same reason that owners of Plymouth Voyager full-sized vans must deploy a great deal of patience at the parts store.
The 75-horsepower, 1.5-liter straight-four lives in the traditional Audi location ahead of the front axle. This was a very sophisticated car by 1973 standards, and its good fuel economy was a sales plus once certain geopolitical events jacked up fuel prices.
Most of these cars had four-speed manual transmissions, but the original buyer of this one spent the extra dough on a three-speed automatic.
This one appears to have been reasonably intact, before the junkyard vultures began tearing parts out by the roots. A restored Fox wouldn’t be worth big dollars, but it would be a conversation starter at car shows.
So modern!