In the Volkswagen world, there’s a wide variety of factions reflecting each members’ preferences for different eras and models. It’s really no different than any other marque, but the VW crowd really does splinter off into some interesting subcategories. For instance, you can certainly be a part of the large contingent that prefers cars like this 1977 Volkswagen Rabbit, known as a Mark 1 – or MK1. But even within that niche, there’s another group that loves the so-called Westmoreland-built models, which represent the short era of U.S. manufacturing conducted by VW in Westmoreland, PA. This is one of those cars, and it’s a honey; check it out here on eBay.
By “honey”, I mean it is absolutely pristine and shows just over 63,000 original miles on the clock. The brown paint is just about as era-perfect as you can get and it appears to be in pristine condition. The four-door setup ensures no one will mistake this for a MK1 GTI, and that’s OK – the person buying this Rabbit when it was new was looking for the opposite of the GTI, which is to say a fuel-sipping commuter car. The good news is it has a manual gearbox, which isn’t always a guarantee when someone is shopping for a vehicle solely on the basis of it being an unexciting as possible. We should note, however, that first owner did swing for the fences as it relates to options.
That’s because it seemingly has every special feature you could order from your VW dealer, save for the automatic transmission. The woodgrain trim on the dash, the roof rack, air conditioning, and a clock in the cluster all point to this Rabbit being fully loaded when sold new. The Westmoreland connection is a significant chapter in VW’s history, even if it didn’t lead to the company finding much success with its Pennsylvania factory. As the seller notes, this is a very early U.S.-market Rabbit, manufactured during the first year of production in Westmoreland.
Those cars are coveted by certain members of the VW faithful, and you’ll still see them in Facebook groups noting if it a car that was spotted in a junkyard is a genuine Westmoreland model. Back in my junkyard hunting days, I found a next-generation Golf which had the coveted “Westmoreland front end,” as those later cars built in Pennsylvania received a distinctive nose treatment featuring rectangular headlights. These small details are what make being part of a specific marque clique highly entertaining, even if no one outside of your circle of gearhead friends understands your obsession. No matter what your VW preferences are, this Rabbit is pristine and deserves a close look by anyone hunting for an MK1.
This car always reminds me of the singer Harry Chapin, who was driving one when he died on the Long Island Expressway all those years ago. He worked himself to death raising money for world hunger causes. He also wrote some memorable songs.
Thanks for saying that, Harry Chapin was one of my favorite singers. I read up on that, apparently, it was determined, he had a heart attack while driving on the way to a concert in Albany, and a truck rear ended him, but they think he was already dead when the truck hit him.
Boy howdy, here’s a post bound to garner a few responses. The Rabbit, we in Beer City had a field day with that, and “Golf” was hardly mentioned, for fear of equal scrutiny. I realize AMC had some corny names too, but a Rabbit? Got to be kidding, get me another Pabst, boy,,,
The Rabbit had some mighty big shoes to fill. VW purists were horrified this is what would replace their cherished Bug. ( think TR6 to TR7) The Bug had gotten extremely out of date, and someone at VW had their heads on right, the Rabbit literally saved VW in the US. While Rabbit and Bug were sold side by side for a couple years, they sold almost 250,000 Rabbits in 1977, compared to less than 10,000 Bugs.
Just like the Bug of the 60s, the Rabbit revolutionized how we travel. Nobody can argue with that. An outstanding find, for sure.
I always say I learn something new on Barnfinds. But I wasnt expecting this…. I had always mistakenly though it was a Beetle. I didn’t know it was a Rabbit. Cats in the Cradle always makes me think of me with my kids. Always working to support them, time just races by. And of course Taxi……. Harry…… Keep the change…..
I wish he was around just to see what more he would have written and sang.
As for this Rabbit. I can’t get over the condition of this thing. I’m always amazed that cars like this, ones that were everyday cars, got squirreled away somewhere and pop up in places like here. Thank you Jeff. I enjoyed it.
Had a Rabbit in the 80s. Decent car and fun to drive but I preferred my LeCar. Much better ride and the 12 inch ground clearance really helped in the deep snow.
This must be a super early production Westmoreland because it has the German lights and grille. But I don’t know why anybody should care because everyone thought the PA-built Rabbits were too Americanized anyway.