2005 Volkswagen Jetta

It's happened again. The shifting winds of German styling, which have been spinning weather vanes atop design studios from BMW to Mercedes-Benz, have finally descended on Volkswagen. And as those winds die down in Wolfsburg, the resulting scenario is difficult to comprehend.

Months ago, the former Jetta possessed a modest but legitimate Euro-something look: a spare Teutonic honesty you couldn't put your finger on, but it became evident when light swept over its unadorned flanks.

All that's been blown away. Volkswagen's traditional look has been swept up by a flamboyant new vocabulary for its fifth generation, an event we should've seen coming in the wind-whipped shape of last year's big Phaeton.

Stop for a moment to examine the images on these pages--particularly those of the new Jetta's sides, rear, and taillights. What looks German to you?

While the new Jetta's commendable mug is as fiery as its predecessor's was milquetoast, the Japanese sheetmetal that follows it cries out Toyota and even--gulp--Corolla. Toyota must be smiling that its little sedan has influenced the looks of anything, but how will it sit with Wolfsburg aficionados, the spargel-und-hefeweizen crowd who keep the lights on at tuner shops like Neuspeed and HPA?