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#4501 07/28/00 03:02 PM
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A VW Golf is a Rabbit in the US. I think Beetles are universally Beetles.
Now on to Ted's three license plates: I confess, right here in public, that I couldn't work out any of them. Please put me out of my misery.


#4502 07/30/00 09:58 PM
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>Please put me out of my misery

ML8ML8 was seen on a white Rabbit. I apologize to people outside the USA. I had no idea that a Rabbit wasn't a Rabbit in other countries. Heck, for years' I've heard of Welsh rabbit. (that WAS it, wasn't it???)

The Isuzu with GSNDHT (gesungdheit!) may also have been a not-so-good choice. I should have known that others might say something different to a person who had just sneezed.

OH FEX on my license plate -- the Latin feces is the plural of fex.

(I guess I'm not very good at starting new threads ).



TEd
#4503 07/31/00 01:40 AM
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>>ML8ML8 was seen on a white Rabbit. I apologize to people outside the USA. I had no idea that a Rabbit wasn't a Rabbit in other countries.<<
Er--I think, rather than what country they're
from, whether they get this one might depend more on whether
they've seen Disney's Alice in Wonderland.


And, Dear--practice makes perfect! Hint, hint!



#4504 07/31/00 07:45 AM
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> ML8ML8 was seen on a white Rabbit. I apologize to people outside the USA. I had no idea that a Rabbit wasn't a Rabbit
in other countries. Heck, for years' I've heard of Welsh rabbit. (that WAS it, wasn't it???)

The Isuzu with GSNDHT (gesungdheit!) may also have been a not-so-good choice. I should have known that others
might say something different to a person who had just sneezed.

> OH FEX on my license plate -- the Latin feces is the plural of fex.

Don't feel bad, Ted. I knew that a VW rabbit was the US equivalent of a Golf! Also 'gesundheit' is used quite commonly in Europe - especially by the Germans (I wonder why?). And as for Feck (Fex)! Well, let's say that you'd hera that quite a bit around these parts.... and worse.

'nuff sed,

Rubrick


#4505 07/31/00 09:37 PM
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old hand
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> I knew that a VW rabbit was the US equivalent of a Golf!

I don't know where you're coming from, but I've recently seen commercials for VW Golfs. (The one with the two guys who pick up a chair from a curb side and then drop it off again because it smells is a Golf commercial.) I've heard of the VW Rabbit, but never seem one, or any advertisements for it.

Perhaps this is something from the old Beetle era. In that case, I wasn't born yet.


#4506 08/01/00 07:15 AM
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> I don't know where you're coming from, but I've recently seen commercials for VW Golfs.

> Perhaps this is something from the old Beetle era. In that case, I wasn't born yet.

The Golf/Rabbit has been around for quite a long time but is still in production (Vorsprung durch technik - as they say). But as Marathon became Snickers over here I am sure that the Rabbit is becoming the Golf over there. Here it has never been called anything but the Golf.


#4507 08/01/00 10:28 AM
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as Marathon became Snickers over here

You-all now have gas stations named Snickers ??
Reckon they also sell the candy bar?


#4508 08/01/00 11:36 AM
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Amazing what you can find on the internet.

Rabbit is the name of the first generation, four cylinder hatchback Golf in the United States. The Golf was so named "Rabbit" by VW of America to prevent people from assuming that the name "Golf" pertained to the sport of golf (the name is actually German for Gulf and is supposed to be short for "Gulf Wind"). These first generation Golfs were produced from 1974 to '82 in Germany and 1978 to '84 in Westmoreland, PA. The "Rabbit" (now called "Citi Golf") and it's pickup truck cousin, the "Caddy" are still manufactured and sold in South Africa today! Although not the first car of it's size, the introduction of the Golf created a new class of car, the "Compact" and the introduction of the GTi in 1976 started the "Hot Hatch" craze that is still popular today!


#4509 08/01/00 11:37 AM
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>whether they get this one might depend more on whether
they've seen Disney's Alice in Wonderland

Alternatively they could have even read the book :)


#4510 08/01/00 11:52 AM
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The other VW name that springs to mind is the "Sharan" MPV that they brought out a few years ago. Apologies to all Sharons but there was a lot of comment at the time suggesting that they should have checked out how people react to a name. Sharon isn't exactly cool!

The Ford name that I noticed was the "Probe" - a friend who is a gynaecologist said that they really couldn't bring themselves to drive a car called a Probe (another name for an instrument called a speculum, used for example in cervical smears)

Must dash - too much work to do!


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