TDI History in the USA?

I would be very grateful if one of you TDI experts could give me the years and models for all the TDI's sold in the U.S.

I know the following:

G/J IV 1999.5-2001
NB 1998-2001
Passat B4 1995-1997
Golf III ?-?
Jetta III ?-?

Are these all of them? Thanks in advance.

Gosh - I'm not sure about the Golf-III. I KNOW I've never seen one. I don't think anybody here has one.

The Jetta-III is here in force, but the Golf-III?

Jetta III from '96 on.
There was no Golf III TDI sold in North America.

The last diesel Golf available in the United States at least, before the current crop was the Golf I (Rabbit)

There was a diesel Jetta II available, called the "Ecodiesel" in the U.S. and called something else in a slightly more potent form sold in Canada.

The Jetta I was also sold with a diesel option, though not in the first 2 years. The first gen Jetta "turbodiesel" had a turbocharged version of the Rabbit's diesel motor.

There is a teacher at our local middle school who has a first generation Jetta turbodiesel in excellent condition with no rust, a nearly perfect interior with the original wheels on it. He had around 427,000 miles on the clock the last time I peek through the window! Your mileage may vary

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by think diesel:
There is a teacher at our local middle school who has a first generation Jetta turbodiesel in excellent condition with no rust, a nearly perfect interior with the original wheels on it. He had around 427,000 miles on the clock the last time I peek through the window! Your mileage may vary

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dang talk about long life engine!!! I'd love for a ride in that car.

My son, Andrew, (some of you may remember him from the Wilmington, NC GTG, recently traded his 1985 Diesel Jetta, for a 1986 Turb-Diesel Jetta.

The '85 is now in the hand of another young man, and at 140,000 miles is running strong (well, as strong as 52 HP runs!)

The '86 came from a friend of mine, and at 210,000 miles, it produces almost a full 90 HP!

Both cars are in the 15-16 year old age group, and both of them have all the various and sundry nit-noid problems associated with cars that age.

But, they both start, they both run, shift, and brake reliably, and they both have served my little clan of young people admirably.

They've also been instrumental in preventing many, many drag races and speeding tickets.

In summation.

Purchased cheaply.

Required many hours of labor to get running and safety inspected. (Enhancing the "connection" between boy and car)

Reliable.

Economical.

Slow.

Just about perfect for a 17 year old young man, wouldn't you say?

Excellent, so the Jetta III was available with the TDI from '96-'99?

BTW, a friend of mine has an A2 Golf Diesel, an '85 I believe (non-aero headlights).

[ June 12, 2001: Message edited by: wolfsburg_de ]

No! The Jetta III TDI became available in the U.S.A. only near the end of the 1997 model year. It was only offered in small numbers in mid-1997, pretty much after the last 1997 Passat TDIs had come ashore. Any 1996 diesel Jettas that you find must have migrated from Canada. These were not TDIs, but were 75 hp indirect injection turbo-diesels. No diesel Golf IIIs were ever sold in the U.S.A., although Canada offered some 75 hp Golf III diesels.

Also, the B4's were only 1996 and 1997.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cars wanted:
No! The Jetta III TDI became available in the U.S.A. only near the end of the 1997 model year. It was only offered in small numbers in mid-1997, pretty much after the last 1997 Passat TDIs had come ashore. Any 1996 diesel Jettas that you find must have migrated from Canada. These were not TDIs, but were 75 hp indirect injection turbo-diesels. No diesel Golf IIIs were ever sold in the U.S.A., although Canada offered some 75 hp Golf III diesels.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The main spotting feature of a 75 hp IDI A3 Jetta in Canada is a single downcurved exhaust (as opposed to a straight exhaust on the gassers); there were no "diesel" badeges; the A3 Jetta TDI had "TDI" badges front and rear, and dual downcurved exhausts. Oddly, the A3 Golf diesel in Canada (non-TDI) had DUAL downcurved exhaust pipes, like the A3 Jetta TDI. Now all A4s have the dual downcurved pipes, whether gas or diesel.

Really blows my wife away when I can come up with trivia like this