In 1948 the then head of Volkswagen, Heinz Nordhoff, said: "In any sound design there are almost unlimited possibilities. I see no sense in starting anew every few years with the same teething troubles, making obsolete all the past."
He was talking about the Beetle which stayed in production for more than six decades and nearly 22 million units but the same could be said of the Citi Golf after nearly 25 years and 377 000 cars.
In 1984 in-house publication The VW Times said: "The Citi Golf is a bright new city car for the young at heart. And the good news is that it will still be around after the new Golf 2 is launched."
Nobody imagined that it would outlast five generations of Golf models and become an icon in its own right.
After 10 years in production the original Golf 1 was replaced by Golf 2 - the "Jumbo Golf" - in 1983 in Europe and in 1984 in South Africa. Bigger and more sophisticated, the new Golf was more expensive than its predecessor - which meant VWSA would have nothing to offer buyers in the entry level segment.
The company considered introducing the Polo, VW's smallest car at the time, but instead opted to retain the Golf 1 in another form, as there would be no major investment required for a new production line.
It was decided to market the older car as the Econo Golf.
By late 1982 a concept car had been assembled to test reaction. The target market for the Econo Golf would be first-time buyers and parents buying an economical, reliable car for their children at university.
Students and other first-time buyers in the 18-24 age group would want a car that stood out in a crowd, a car they would be proud to own, that said something about their personality.
Econo Golf was exactly the opposite, dull, lifeless and unimaginative.
So VW's advertising agency came up with the bright red yellow and blue colours, the bold white panels, white rims and bumpers. Nobody remembers who came up with the name City but when VW marketing manager Theo Wiggill changed it to Citi the whole concept came to life.
But some bean-counters still said the extra cost would make the car too expensive - so the red Citi Golf prototype, the Econo Golf concept and a group of competitors' cars, all costing about R7000, were shown to a group of students and first-time buyers
The Econo Golf - the cheapest in the line-up - hardly got a second glance while 70 percent chose the cheeky red Citi, even at a R300 premium, which was a lot of money in 1982.
Nobody has ever heard of the Econo Golf again.
Then it was time to sell the idea to the VW board of management in Wolfsburg. At that time the chairman was Carl Hahn, previously head of marketing in the US and who knew a good advertising proposal when he saw one.
Even so, some members of the board thought the Citi Golf would be a fashion fad that would die a natural death in three to five years - an opinion shared by some VWSA staff - but to almost everybody's surprise Hahn gave the project the green light.
It is doubtful that even he realised how the project would evolve and what a success story it would turn out to be.
ENGINEERING INGENUITY
The main challenge for the Citi Golf in its 25 years of existence was to keep it fresh and appealing in a fast-changing and very competitive entry-level segment, adding meaningful improvements without pricing it out of its market.
One of the earliest updates was the replacement of the 37-litre fuel tank with a 49-litre tank - important in a country with a lot of wide open spaces.
Styling changes introduced in 1989 comprised new fenders - with side indicators - and a redesigned grille, while the repositioned gear lever in 1996 was a big ergonomic improvement.
A 52kW, carburettor-fed 1349cc engine was introduced in 1998 followed by the1.4 and 1.6-litre fuel-injection engines in 1999, along with a compact and more powerful brake booster and larger callipers.
In 2002 a 1423cc, 54kW carburettor engine joined the range, as complex Pierburg carburettors were replaced by trouble-free Solex and Keihin units. Later the fuel-injected engines switched from the Bosch K-Jetronic system to a multi-point fuel injection borrowed from Golf 3 and Polo models.
Arguably the most important upgrades in the Citi Golf's history were the remodelling of the fascia and the addition of a driver's crash bag. The entire front panel had to be retooled for injection moulding in South Africa, while various up-to-date components were selected from new Volkswagen models.
CITI GOLF TIME-LINE
From 1984 to 2009, the VWSA plant in Uitenhage built 377 484 Citi Golfs - much more than the Beetle's 288 384 units produced over 28 years at the same plant.
1984:
Red, Yellow, Blue Citi Golf range launched.
1985:
Citi Golf Sport introduced with 1.6-litre, 63kW engine, sports seats, close-ratio five-speed gearbox, rev counter and digital clock.
1987:
Four-speed automatic transmission added to the range.
1988:
Citi Golf Sport gets a 70kW, 1.8-litre engine.
1989:
Aircon and immobiliser system offered as options.
1990:
Citi Golf CTi launched in the spirit of the Golf GTi 1 with a fuel-injected, 82kW engine giving a top speed of 180km/h and a 0-100 sprint of little more than six seconds.
1991:
Model range comprises 1.3-litre economy version, 1.6-litre with manual and automatic transmissions, 1.8-litre carburettor-fed Citi Golf Sport and 1.8-litre fuel-injected CTi.
Special edition Designa package with seven-spoked alloy rims, colour coded bumpers and sports seats introduced for 1.6-litre models and Sport.
1992:
Citi Golf Shuttle, the cheapest model in the range, is introduced, in red and white only.
1994:
Limited-edition 1.6-litre Ritz celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Citi Golf. 15 000km service interval, three-year unlimited distance and anti-rust warranty introduced.
1995:
1.3-litre Citi Golf Chico at R33 950 is introduced, selling 26 759 units - best sales figure in the 11-year history of the Citi Golf so far.
Citi Golf Blues is introduced with radio/tape, new trim and roof-mounted aerial.
1996:
Citi Golf Deco special edition launched in red, green and blue with matching leather trim.
Chico gets five-speed manual transmission and 1.6 Chico Lux with quad headlights and alloy rims is introduced.
1997:
Citi Golf Sonic with 1.4 and 1.6-litre engines introduced with silver instrument dials, roof mounted aerial, high level brake light.
1998:
Bafana Bafana special edition pays tribute to the success of the national soccer team; 52kW carburettor engine replaces the 48kW engine in the Chico range.
1999:
Fuel-injected engines, 1.4i (62kW) and 1.6i (74kW) introduced, along with upgraded brakes and new exhaust system; Citi Golf Life 1.6i comes standard with CD/radio and four speakers.
2000:
Citi Golf.com with 1.4i engine launched with warning buzzer for lights, fuel and oil.
2003:
Major facelift - front windows become one-piece and fascia replaced.
2005:
1.4i and 1.6i Velociti introduced with silver golf gearshifer, twin exhaust pipes, smoked tail lights; Golf Rhythm 1.4i comes with alloy rims, radio/CD/MP3 player.
2006:
1.8i, 90kW R-Line - the fastest-ever production Citi Golf with a top speed of 193km/h - unveiled at Auto Africa. A record 28 550 units sold - the best sales figure in the history of Citi Golf.
2007:
500 000th unit (Golf 1 and Citi Golf combined) built at Uitenhage - 364 813 of these were Citi Golfs.
2008:
Fuel-injected engine replaces Chico 1.4 carburettor engine due to emission laws and Chico is renamed TenaCiti; CitiSport and CitiRox models fitted with sport suspension, CD/MP3, central locking and alarm system; 62kW Citi Wolf comes standard with sports suspension, sporty grille, gun-metal alloy rims and tinted glass.
2009:
1.4i Citi Xcite with Rockford Fosgate sound system including two-way, door-mounted speakers, amplifier and sub-woofer added to Citi range; driver's crash bag fitted across the range; Limited edition Citi Billabong introduced in co-branding initiative with the watersport clothing company Billabong.
Citi GTS comes standard with lowered sport suspension, 15" alloy rims coated in gunmetal grey, classic GTS side decals, red surrounds on the grille and dual headlights.
Citi Mk 1 - a limited edition of 1000 - is produced to mark the end of production of the Citi.