Volkswagen once gave buyers free guitars that could play through their car’s stereo – Jalopnik

In 2006, Volkswagen had offered a limited promotion to buyers of the latest Beetle (including the convertible), Jetta, GTI and Rabbit. Select drivers would receive a custom GuitarMaster electric guitar that can play from the car’s speakers. A pair of high-profile ads from the era depicted guitarists John Mayer and Slash hooked up to Volkswagens. These instruments, made by First Act, featured several ties to the automaker and had similar accent colors to the specific cars they came with. Buyers also received a strap, carrying case, instrument cable and some picks. Those picks (and the guitar’s controls) also feature a VW logo. You can still find some of these instruments online today, with prices ranging from under $200 to almost $500.

Whether you’re a musician or not, this marketing campaign was fun. And most importantly, the guitar didn’t cost anything extra. Compare that to recent efforts by automakers to try to charge drivers monthly for features already installed in the car. BMW, for example, continues to push subscriptions even after realizing that heated seats were “probably not the best way” to get customers on board with the monthly membership model.

While the guitar itself would have been a welcome freebie for Volkswagen buyers, the instrument had a built-in preamp to boost the signal and a special cable. The larger end of that cable plugs into the guitar, and the smaller end plugs into the AUX port of the vehicle’s audio system. Turn up the volume and you could get stuck with your car.

Unless you turned everything up, the sound output wasn’t very impressive. (It does make you wonder what it would sound like if it came out of the best factory-installed sound systems.) Plus, YouTuber offers Marty5150 demonstrated the experience of playing the instrument from his Jetta’s stereo and found a noticeable delay between striking the strings and the sound coming out of the car’s speakers – although this problem was not described in other reviews. Another reported problem with the guitar was that it had difficulty staying in tune while being put through its paces, especially when more advanced playing techniques were used.

Although Volkswagen no longer throws in a guitar when purchasing a car, it seems the automaker wants to return to these fun times. VW’s 2026 Super Bowl ad is inspired by ’90s nostalgia, following the increasing popularity of retro styles from that era.