I like the Volkswagen Golf. I’ve liked just about every iteration of it, even when it was called the VW Rabbit. Ultimately, it was the reason why I ended up liking hatchbacks in the first place, and it’s that bias that led me to driving the 5-door hatchback I have now. I would most definitely would own or would have had a Golf at some point by now, except for the fact that its price point has always eluded me by putting itself into a range that I just simply couldn’t justify for a means to an end like a car.
But it doesn’t mean that I can’t still be an admirer of the car still. I like its fairly modest appearance, while having a good deal of performance as well as the practicality of spaciousness and storage that most hatchbacks afford. During the riceboy days, most VW Golfs could compete or best most of their Japanese competition out of the box, provided the levels of trim were appropriately compared. And the aftermarket part culture was just as favorable and customizable to Golfs as they were anything made by Honda or Nissan.
When I was shopping for a new car in 2011, I put the Golf high atop my list, but had to take it off based on my financial situation at the time, because they were far too expensive and I was far too poor, and after my experience with the lemon, I vowed not another used car.
However I recently got to thinking about all the people I’ve met in my life that have happened to be Golf owners, especially since I’ve moved to Atlanta.
Firstly, my official career title is “senior graphic designer.” The next step up if I were to pursue it would be to become an art director. And the main reason why I cannot be an art director is that I do not drive a VW Golf.
Or at least it feels that way. Seriously, I’ve worked with, or know several art directors in Atlanta, and for whatever reason they all happen to drive Golfs. It doesn’t really make that much sense to me either why that is; for whatever reason when it pertains to those that are artists, or work in some sort of creative industry, Volkswagens in general seem to be a popular car of choice.
It’s not even all German/European cars either, but Volkswagens specifically. When it’s an Audi or BMW, that opens the gates to the pretentious upper-class rich douchebags, so they’re too much of tools for the Volkswagen crowd to accept, which is irony at its best.
But all these art directors, I know it’s just some aberrational coincidence, but it’s really funny to think about how not only do they all drive the same car, but they’ve all also got the same attitudes towards them. I use the term “Golf,” because that’s exactly what they are; but to all these guys, they drive specifically the level of trim they happen to have. And the best part is that all the fuckwits who thought they were the cock of the walk, because they drove “GTIs” aren’t king of the mountain anymore, thanks to the uber-Golf, the R32. And not nearly as many people drive R32s, because they’re rare, and way more expensive, but it’s still a Golf in general appearance.
It doesn’t require any reading between the lines that I don’t really particular care for a lot of these art directors I’ve known throughout the years. A lot of them were too full of shit, pretended like they were too busy and way too important, and often times got caught up in the political gamesmanship of whatever company they were working for, instead of actually working in the trenches with actual designers. Way too high and mighty on the pedestal they felt their job title entitled them to, and it reflected in their attitudes and how they treated others, which in my views, were never as reciprocally respectful as they received.
What really sucks though, and as petty as it sounds, it sours my general opinion of the Golf. I know that cars are a means to an end, and it’s kind of silly to use that as justifiable reason to avoid a car as an option, but if I didn’t nip a lot of my teenage prejudices already, I wouldn’t have the car I have now.
If the opportunity presented itself to me to where I could get a Golf without having to tax myself financially too much, sure I’d consider it. But no way the thought of douchey art directors could be avoided, and the perceptions I’d have to overcome as a result of it. An obnoxious price to pay for a car that I like, no thanks to their douchey drivers.
