There’s always likely to be a strong demand for swallowtail Golfs, GTis, and anything a bit special like a G40, Scirocco or hot Corrado. But what about the middle of the road cars that failed to get the pulse racing new that have since fallen through the cracks of collectability and risk becoming obsolete? Here are just some of the most vulnerable VWs facing extinction…

With classic status unlikely, a host of lesser known water-cooled VWs from the past are being lost from our roads – with the government’s ‘bangers and cash’ policy of offering money off new cars if you scrapped your old one accounting for many of the casualties.

While models that hold interest for one reason or another tend to survive and get handed down through various enthusiasts who do their utmost to keep them running, usually it’s the more mundane cars that succumb to the crusher first.

A prime example is the humble VW Derby. The booted version of the first generation Polo (1977-’81) was never popular in the UK and when the pipe-smoking first owners traded them in for something a bit more fashionable, there wasn’t exactly a queue of younger buyers waiting to take them under their wing. It just didn’t have the cool factor of the Golf – or the modding potential.

Indeed, when a friend of mine tried to sell a concours example Derby that he’d wrapped up in cotton wool a few years ago, he had trouble giving it away. In fact, I think he took just a few hundred notes for it in the end – and that was only because it had a valid MoT. The renamed ‘Classic’ from 1984 was similarly shunned for being, well, just too boring.

Frighteningly, according to How many left this lack of interest has resulted in most disappearing from our roads overnight, without us even realising it. According to its database, registered Derby GLS models plummeted from 1,569 in 1994 to just 45 today. As for the lesser CLS model, there’s only two of these currently on the road.

Despite being based on the evergreen Mk2 Golf, the booted Jetta is another car that’s consistently overlooked by enthusiasts. While the more interesting two-door sold on the continent has managed to gain a bit of a scene following, its lack-lustre four-door sibling has failed to stir the emotions. And again, it’s the poverty spec models that seem to disappear from our roads first. In 1994, according to the website, there were over 9,000 Jetta C models licences, while today there is just under 50.

We talked about the VW Santana on this blog a while back – and it too is in danger of soon reaching total extinction. Indeed, if you take the bread and butter CX version there were still 743 happily trundling around in 1994 whereas today – there’s none. Thankfully, two are SORN’d – but what state they’re in and whether they’ll ever go back on the road again is anyone’s guess.

Other cars likely to be at risk in the next few years include unloved entry level Mk3 Golfs, early Passats, LT commercials and probably a whole load of other models that we haven’t even considered…

Now you might argue that if these cars were just plain tedious and largely overlooked in the first place, what’s the point of getting all teary eyed about their imminent total demise today? Well, these cars all formed part of VW’s rich heritage and added to its diversity – and for that reason alone, surely they deserved to be saved.

The next time you see a forgotten, unloved and about to become obsolete VW – have pity and rescue it for prosperity’s sake.

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage