Volkswagen shows its first electric GTI; there's no chance of US sales

When Volkswagen introduced the first Golf GTI in Europe in 1976, it might not have been the first hot hatchback, but it quickly became the gold standard version. Unlike in America, where big cars were cheap and fuel even cheaper, small European streets and even smaller car-buying budgets necessitated vehicles a little more economical in both size and fuel consumption. Small, front-wheel-drive hatchbacks were the answer, but they weren't particularly exciting.