Volkswagen Jetta with M3 style mirrors

The Volkswagen Jetta is an automobile produced by German automaker Volkswagen since 1979. Depending upon the model year, country of origin, and country of sale, it is sometimes known as the Atlantic, Bora, City Jetta, Fox, GLI, Sagitar, or Vento. It is essentially the saloon / sedan version of the compact car / small family car Volkswagen Golf, and spans five generations. The Jetta name was derived from the Jet stream, following Volkswagen's long tradition of naming cars for various winds.Many modifications can be done to you Volkswagen make it look sportier and perform better.    

Installing M3 style mirrors is one of those neat projects that can really add some spice to the look of your Volkswagen without taking up too much of your time. The total install time for a pair of M3 style mirrors should be less than two hours.  

Aftermarket mirrors are available in different materials, including FRP plastic, carbon fiber and fiberglass. Plenty of different styles are available such as D1 style, F1 style and M3 styles. You can also get them in manual or electric, and get them with or without LED turn signals built in.

The toughest part of the job is actually finding a set of mirrors that will match your body color. If your Volkswagen is white or black, there are usually aftermarket mirrors available in those two colors. Any other color will need to be custom-painted to match your body paint.

Some aftermarket mirrors are manufactured with an additional lamp in the side. This can be wired to either to your parking lamps or your turn-signal lamps. Either one requires additional wiring to be threaded through the door, so I usually don't recommend this approach. Most of the cars I've seen with lamps in the side of the mirrors don't actually have them connected-they're just for show.

The Jetta body style was developed due in part to the Volkswagen marketing group's observation that the North American market leaned more towards sedans as opposed to the Golf's hatchback configuration. The new saloon variant was marketed as a more upscale car than its tailgated brethren, with nicer interior trim and a higher price. This proved to be a wise move on Volkswagen's part, as the Jetta became the best-selling European car in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Over the years, the car has been offered in two and four-door sedan and five-door station wagon variants. As of 2005, over 6.6 million cars have been sold worldwide, with over 2.2 million alone sold in the United States. Since the original version in 1980, the car has grown in size and power with each successive generation.