Not so long ago, the writing seemed to be on the wall for the Volkswagen Passat. Buffeted first by the relentless rise of the hatchback, then knocked back again by the dominance of the SUV, it seemed that there was no love left for a straightforward, traditional saloon and estate car. The original B1 Passat began life as a large fastback sedan, launched in 1973 with era-appropriate angular bodywork by none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro. The B2 version arrived in 1981. In an era when market-specific names were considered essential, the B2 was known as the Carat in Argentina, the Corsar in Mexico, the Quantum in America and Brazil and the VW Santana in Japan and China.
