More Powerful Than an Angry Hampster

Behold, one of the best ways to drive slowly: the Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel (1975-1984)

This particular one is from 1981, and sticks to the basic idea of putting a box on a box behind another box.

Though boxy, it's not ugly. This Rabbit has a sense that it was designed as a very competent, useful car. There's nothing unnecessary here.

It's a pretty small car, just look at the wheels in relation to the body.

But there's plenty of space.

You could hold a small game of football in back and still have room for the cheerleaders.

So what makes this car so slow?

This:
Buried under all those tubes, and almost completely hidden by the air cleaner, is the diesel engine. Depending on the size, it could make 48, 52 or 68hp.

So it'll do 0-60 in about a week.

But there's an advantage to this little diesel engine: mileage. The universe will probably end before you have to refill the tank.

While you're waiting to make the speed limit you'll at least be sitting in a nice place.

Yes, it is made of plastic, and its tan. But anything else just wouldn't fit this car's character. In a sense, it's an honest car. It knows what it is and it doesn't try to do anything else.

This Rabbit was designed to be cheap, that was its mission. But it was also designed to run forever. Wood fades and peels, while leather cracks. Plastic just keeps going and going.

So will this car. I'm sure that in twenty years, when everyone is driving a clean hybrid or an electric powered egg car, one of these will still be roaming the streets.

I also know that when it pulls away from a stoplight it'll leave a massive cloud of black smoke behind it as it slowly clatters down the street.

In fact, I'd love to be the person driving it.