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The original Passat was launched in 1973. It was essentially a rebadged Audi 80, with the exception that the Passat was a large fastback or wagon while the Audi was only available as a sedan. The Passat used a 4-cylinder overhead camshaft engine, longditudinally mounted with front wheel drive, in Audi tradition. In the United States, it was called the Volkswagen Dasher. This generation was sold in Brazil well into the 1980s and extensively exported to Iraq.
This basic design continued until 1981, when the Passat was lengthened slightly and freshened, and a sedan version known as the Volkswagen Santana was introduced. This second-generation sedan is still built in China, with a major facelift, as the Volkswagen Santana 2000. They were also built in Brazil as the Santana and Quantum station wagon (the latter being the name of this entire range in the US between 1982Events January January 6 William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer". January 8 AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara du and 19881988 is a leap year starting on Friday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 2 Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 Australia celebrates its bicentennial day.), with twin models from Ford (the Ford VersaillesThe Ford Versailles was a car produced by the Ford Motor Company in France between 1955 and 1964, before Ford's French factory was sold to Simca, which was subseqently acquired by Chrysler, and then by Peugeot. In Brazil, the Ford Versailles was a version, which included an unusual three-door station wagon called the Ford Royale ) as part of the Autolatina venture.
The third-generation Passat appeared in 19871987 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events January January 1 Nunavut's capital changes it name to Iqaluit from Frobisher Bay. January 3 Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. January 4 An Amtrak train, and was based largely on the Golf. The engine was turned around to transverseThe term, transverse means "side-to-side" as opposed to longitudinal which means "front-to-back". In automotive engineering, the term, 'transverse' refers to an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle. "east-west" configuration, and the floorpan was engineered to accept VW's "Syncro" 4-wheel drive system. Volkswagen's new VR6VR6 top view V6 top view VR6 is an engine configuration developed by the Volkswagen Group. It is similar to the V engine, but with the cylinders offset from each other and tilted by 15° instead of the usual 60°. The name, VR6 comes from a combination of V engine was also made available in 1991. Only sedan and station wagon versions were available. This version of the Passat was facelifted in 1993.