Skoda Yeti - Top Gear "Review"

[K1W1]

I assume that you do know that Golfs were originally Rabbits in the USA.

[Transporter]

OT I know but where are Australian Tiguans assembled Germany, Russia, China or Vietnam?

Germany.

[Jarred]

reminds me of the review JC did of the renault clio and maybe the focus..? Same kind of silly presentation and comparisons, but somehow still manages to get the point across about the value etc of the car.

I think skodas are a good car, well built, solid engineering and great value! Pity about the poor brand recognition and poor resale.. (potentially)

[brad]

Question though - would you actually buy a car with that name? I'm not so sure I could. I would probably pay a bit more for the Tiguan to avoid the name 'Yeti' actually.

Hell Yeah! I'd buy it just for the name alone.

[brad]

poor resale.. (potentially)

resale so far is better than VW

[bobski]

I assume that you do know that Golfs were originally Rabbits in the USA.

No, I didn't. In Australia, Golf is a game, and I doubt many people would know that Golf has something to do with a small furry animal. But you see the point....

On that point, can you think of any cars that have been named after Australian animals? The Holden Kookaburra?

[brad]

On that point, can you think of any cars that have been named after Australian animals? The Holden Kookaburra?

Renault Kangoo??

[spaz74]

Holden Jackaroo was a piece of crap in the late 80's!

[triode12]

Actually the Golf was named after The Gulf Stream undersea current. The German spelling for 'Gulf' is 'Golf'.
This was in line with VW's naming convention of naming their cars after winds and currents. e.g. Scirroco, Bora, Vento, etc.
Somewhere along the line, the name Golf was associated with the game of Golf (pre-GTI).

The americans dubbed it the Rabbit as to differentiate it from the European spec Golf - a marketing thing.

[PassatB6]

Actually the Golf was named after The Gulf Stream undersea current. The German spelling for 'Gulf' is 'Golf'.
This was in line with VW's naming convention of naming their cars after winds and currents. e.g. Scirroco, Bora, Vento, etc.
Somewhere along the line, the name Golf was associated with the game of Golf (pre-GTI).

The americans dubbed it the Rabbit as to differentiate it from the European spec Golf - a marketing thing.

Also Passat is a trade wind and the Polo was named after Marco Polo who opened up trade routes not after the sport. VW did make use of the sporting connection, though, with the Caddy.

[BlackOctaviaRS]

I'd seriously consider trading in the Jetta half way through it's lease for a Yeti. What a brilliant car.

[K1W1]

The americans dubbed it the Rabbit as to differentiate it from the European spec Golf - a marketing thing.

No. It was called a Rabbit originally to overcome legal issues with the American PGA who own the US copyright for the name Golf I assume. Once that was sorted they renamed them Golfs.

[Jake02]

No. It was called a Rabbit originally to overcome legal issues with the American PGA who own the US copyright for the name Golf I assume. Once that was sorted they renamed them Golfs.

Yep, that's how I heard it too. The MkIV Golf was Golf and then, weirdly, the MkV Golf was Rabbit again. Now they're back to Golf with the MkVI Golf so maybe the next one will be Rabbit again, lol? But maybe we should stop talking about America?

[triode12]

No. It was called a Rabbit originally to overcome legal issues with the American PGA who own the US copyright for the name Golf I assume. Once that was sorted they renamed them Golfs.

Interesting - the book Volkswagen Golf GTI by James Richardson makes no mention of this. Thanks!

[Inego]

The wind story makes sense - but the original designers were clearly bilingual. Remember the standard golf ball gear knob?

Anyway, I hope the Yeti does as well here as in Europe. The Pommy motoring press (including performance mags like evo) have been raving about them all year.