Living in China one learns to appreciate the national treasure that is the Volkswagen Santana. I remember being told at some point that this car is based on a German model from the late 70s or early 80s, but this matters little: this vehicle, more than any, defines modern China. Granted, the nouveau riche have moved on to the status symbols of BMW and Lexus, but the Santana still reigns supreme.
The design is simple: boxy, usually black and more often than not sporting some of the darkest tinted windows you have seen. If the blue flatbed trucks are the workhorses of industry, then these sedans are the mainstay of officialdom. Santanas have been the ride of choice of gov’t and party officials for quite a few years, as their huge numbers on the road today would indicate.
Santana owners are a particular breed, known for their discerning tastes. They like their shirts rolled up, their baijiu foul, their cigarettes deadly and their driving wild. For those desiring a true Santana experience, sporting crewcuts, sunglasses and a backseat full of drunk co-workers are musts. This is manpurse territory, and they won’t let you forget it.
Any fake can stroll in an Audi, but true gangsters remain loyal to the Santana for its sheer attitude, its defiance of style. Here is a menacing frontal view:
The popularity of the design has become evident to the manufacturers. I don’t think it has changed since the early 80s, besides some minor body tinkering every few years (the latest being Santana 2000, I think).
Recently, however, I have seen an increasing number of “cute” cars on the street. These tiny little compacts, painted bright colours and full of teddy bears and pillows, fly in the face of all that is decent in the world of the Chinese automobile. How can you look cool spitting out the window of a bright yellow VW Polo? Do stuffed animals make good ashtrays? Sadness washed over me: was I witnessing the end of the Santana and all it represented? It seemed modernity was busy wiping out yet another Chinese tradition. My despair deepened as I witnessed an increase in the number of minivans… Minivans! That is about as far from corrupt gangster as you can get.
But then I heard whispers of a saviour, of a rebirth to make things right. I looked for confirmation of these rumours on the internet, but to no avail. Was this nothing more than a false messiah? I worried the Santana, despite its tenacity, was heading for the scrapheap of history. Who was going to stop the Pokemonization of China?
But yesterday I stumbled across a site that brought me great hope. The rumours turned out to be true: a knight in black tinted armor was returning to set right all that had gone wrong in the world of Chinese car design. The gangsters can rest easy, and the cyclists can stay scared: Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you…
The Volkswagen Santana 3000!
Designed in China and coming soon to a sidewalk near you.