The Grover Wheel

From the Editor:
My dad had a lot of cars, not all of them particularly exciting. Practicality tended to be a theme, but that didn’t mean he was unwilling to embrace the unusual in the pursuit of that goal. Case in point, his selection of a diesel hatchback, a rarity at any time in America, as his daily driver for the mid 1980s. His words are below, with a few notes from me to add clarity and additional information.

1979(to my recollection) Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel. Probably around 1984 when we actually acquired it.

Why a diesel? This question was asked by a crackerjack mechanic in Millis that worked on Volkswagens. I think he set some up for racing. 

Not mine obviously. 

Gas mileage I think is the big answer to the question. Cute, too, and I kind of liked the sound of a diesel. I think Maine became more accessible at 45 miles per gallon, and in fact, we may not have acquired our Rockland house and land in Waldoboro without this car. [Editor’s note: my parents purchased an old worker’s house in Rockland, ME, for approximately the cost of what a Volkswagen Rabbit costs new these days and the land in Waldoboro for the price of an options package. Things were different in those days. I remember a lot of time spent maintaining the Rockland house as we rented it out to pay for upkeep. But it was still a special place in our memories.]

There were some trade-offs. It was a bit hard-starting in winter, kind of small in size, but most of all a bit underpowered. I think the engine may have been a 1.5 liter with around 65 horsepower but I’m not sure. [Editor’s note: it was a whopping 48hp. If you check out the Suzuki motorcycle review I posted, it was only a few HP down. Not a racecar indeed.] I’m not sure if it was a four or a five speed. I think a five-speed manual transmission. [Editor’s note: almost certainly the four, based on the year.] It was so underpowered that I had to downshift multiple times on 495 at least one gear and at least two gears on the big hill on Route 1 in Waldoboro. But it handled well being front-wheel drive with tight suspension.

I had some trouble shifting when I first bought it. Brought to Midway Garage, “Green’s”, but he couldn’t figure it out. So on to the Volkswagen mechanic in Millis, I think his name was Dick Shine [Editor’s note: no childish comments.], finally corrected it. I think it was something about the clutch not fully releasing.

We had one accident with the car. Approaching Plymouth, MA, on Route 44 just before the on-ramp to Route 3. Solid traffic towards us. A kind person made space for a woman in a car to exit from the shopping center on our left. Mom said, “She’s rolling, she’s going to pull out right into us with her big car.” I floored the Rabbit—more like the turtle. Mostly past her but she clipped behind the rear wheel, sending us steering wildly to avoid oncoming traffic, ending up on the Route 3 on-ramp. She told police Mom and I were trying to kiss. Her insurance paid. Truth triumphed.

Come next winter, I decided to return to gasoline power. Sold the diesel.