I suppose its never too late, but with a redesigned Golf just around the corner, why VW does what it does with the North American market makes on ewonder.
Golf V (2003–)
The fifth generation Golf was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October of 2003 and went on sale in Europe one month later. It was not released in the United States until January of 2006, however, and then only in GTi form through spring. For the presentation of the new Golf, Wolfsburg was renamed to Golfsburg for a week.
In order to counter criticisms of the average dynamics of the previous model, it is widely reputed that Volkswagen "poached" from Ford the engineering team who designed the multi-link rear suspension system of the Ford Focus, widely regarded as the class benchmark for ride and handling. Indeed, the rear suspension of Golf V (a modified wishbone arrangement) bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the Focus.
Options for engines and transmissions vary from country to country, but the Golf is available in 4-cylinder and VR6 gasoline-powered versions and turbo direct injection diesel-engined models in most places, with transmission options that include manual, automatic, Tiptronic, and direct shift gearbox. All of the Golf's engines, including the VR6, have the engine mounting points in the same place, making it possible to remove one engine and replace it with another while making few other modifications to the car.
In December 2004, Volkswagen announced the Golf Plus variant of the Golf V. It is taller than the "regular" Golf but shorter than the Touran, the MPV version of the Golf. The Plus would replace the Variant station wagon in the Golf lineup, although the Variant might be released.
There will be no convertible version of the Golf V, as the Eos coupe-convertible (to be introduced in Spring 2006) will be marketed as a separate model, and does not share any body panels with another Volkswagen model - although it is based on the Jetta/Golf platform.
[Performance models
The Golf V GTI is hailed as a return to form for the creator of the genre. The production Golf GTI was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January, 2006 and the 3-door GTI appeared at United States dealerships beginning later that month. The 5-door version is expected to arrive around the same time as the standard Golf sometime in Summer 2006. The GTI features Fuel Stratified Injection, a turbocharger and a direct-shift gearbox. However, it is already facing stiff competition from the Renault Mégane Trophy and to a greater degree, the Opel Astra OPC in Europe.
In late September, the R32 will be sold in Europe. It features a 3.2 L V6 FSI engine with 250 hp (184 kW) and reaches a top speed of 250 km/h. Going from 0 to 100 km/h will take a brisk 6.5 s, reducing to 6.2 s with the direct-shift gearbox. As with the previous R32; there is permanent 4MOTION all wheel drive through 18" Zolder 20-spoke alloy wheels. Stopping the R32 comes in the form of blue-painted brake calipers with 345 mm discs at the front and 310 mm disks at the rear.
In September 2005, the Golf V GT was announced, which featured a 1.4 L engine in a new and impressive Twin-Charger configuration. This new TSI engine is based on the recent FSI, but with a pair of chargers forcing the induction of the air. The chargers are a single supercharger that disengages after a specified rev-range, at which point charging of the air is handled by a single turbocharger. This system could benefit from both of the efficiency of the supercharger in the lower rev ranges, with the longevity of the turbocharger when in full flight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VW_Golf