A very nice Volkswagen Passat GL, seen in the far east of Beijing in 2015. The vehicle appeared to be in a pretty good shape although it seemed that the black paint was an over-spray.
The wheel covers are original. The tires looked looked very old and were in urgent need of a replacement. The windows were darkened for extra privacy, matching nicely with the car’s black body.
The interior didn’t look too well, messy and abut unclean. Seat covers and radio are not original.
The Volkswagen Passat B4 was manufactured from 1993 until 1997 in sedan and wagon form. The B4 was available with a long range of petrol and diesel engines, the smallest was a 1.6 liter four and the largest a 2.9 liter VR6. Transmission was a five-speed manual, like we have here, or a four-speed automatic.
The body itself seemed in a good shape. There wasn’t any visible rust or rot. Note the subtle integrated spoiler in the boot lid.
The license plate is very old. Blue 京A plates were issued to the very first private vehicles in the Beijing area. The count started with 京A·00001, so the plate on this Bentley once belonged to the 19711th privately held car in Beijing.
They didn’t even bother to take the badges off before spraying. That was a cheap paint job! GL was a mid-level trim level.
New research has learned that the B4 Volkswagen Passat was officially sold in China in period, marketed as a luxury vehicle, priced at some 340.000 yuan. It was distributed via state-owned car markets and maintained by so called ‘repair shops’. That were brand-licensed companies that could repair and maintain cars, but not sell any. Volkswagen’s current dealer network was only founded in the very late 1990’s, and these dealers won’t maintain the B4 Passat, so it is very hard to keep these old Volkswagens on the road. Happily, there are still quite a few around even today. May they stay.
[table id=299 /]