Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 10:09:14 -0800
Reply-To: Zoltan Kuthy <zol@FOXINTERNET.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Zoltan Kuthy <zol@FOXINTERNET.NET>
Subject: Vanagon in South Africa
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I was in South Africa last year and drove one of these and looked at the
engine a little.
Yes the engine is bigger. But they have about four or five different
sizes. From 2.0 up to 3.0 liter. Like 2.1, 2.3, 2.6, 2.8 and 3.0. You can
see them all over and they are very popular. Also very common to see them
with large crash bars in front, some made of stainless steel. Talking about
s.s., many cars are fitted with s.s. exhausts there. And not only the
muffler. All the way. Very common there. Yet the humidity inland varies
between 45 and 85 %. High altitude, 20% less oxygen, dry, cold, treeless,
not enough rivers, lot of snakes. But wonderful people, not counting the
ones that you can bump into
any minute to rob you or kill you for your car.
I just wanted to say that although it is right hand drive (RHD) there, also
the arrangement inside is right hand side. Like the sliding door is on your
left. The kitchen is on your right in the Westfalia, I presume. (Mr.
Livingstone) The consumption has to be very good because I remember running
out of gas while we traveled up from the coast to Johannesburg which is at
6000 feet (six thousand) and by that time we have done almost 400 miles on
that full tank. Which was enough to go down to the coast which is like
paradise there. And there is no crime at the coast as much as up in the big
towns where the unemployment is about 300%. Or close to that. The
properties value is about 10% of the Americans. At the coast is great. The
golf green fees are $5-$15, caddies same. Every single day is paradise.
The food is for nothing and you better have a made and a gardener at your
house.
Just reminiscing...
Anyway, these vehicles are very popular besides they all drive Mercedes and
BMW there. They like to go out fishing, boating, pick nick, camping and
this is a preferred travel for that. They like it for the same reasons as
we do. Low maintenance, cheap, practical and takes a lot of beating.
But you should see the Toyota vans there... That is something. The blacks
use them for taxis and they fit in up to twenty guys sometime. They are
twelve seaters, little extra long,
and pretty fast. They often have territorial wars between each other and
with machine guns they kill all the passengers. But that is the real
transport for them only between the work and the township where they stay.
The blacks really have it hard since the politics changed. Not to mention
the whites. With job advertising:"Whites need not apply" you can imagine
how many is out of work and begging. Like the old times here for the
blacks.
Apropos. I nearly forgot to mention, the transmission is five speed or
automatic. There is a beefed up version with the name "Oettinger" too.
Looks the same, usually 3.0 liter. And may be a few extra gadgets in it.
It is funny to sit in the passenger seat driving and changing gears with
your left hand, on the left side of the road and make a near accident every
time you turn out of a gas station where they jump around your car as a good
service should do. So old ladies or young ones or neatly dressed gentleman
do not have to fiddle with all those different liquids under the hood or
clean the windows around or figure out what to pull or push or switch and
activate when you fill in gas. Petrol. And gearbox. And bonnet or boot.
Yes, the girls are feminine and beautiful and smiling. Did not see one fat
one. The speed limit is 80 Mph. Which means that if you want to go to Cape
Town from Johannesburg You might find yourself driving 130 Mph for five
hours or six on a near empty freeway that you can see for twenty miles
ahead.
Six month no rain, the other six month rains for one hour from four till
five in the afternoon. I wander if getting parts are cheaper from South
Africa. The US is the most expensive place for most things. One has to
make an investigation. I do know someone who is a service manager at a
Volkwagen dealership. Probably I should ask him a part list of the Vanagon
perishables. What do you guys think?
Zoltan
3x82 Westy
Jimmy Sanby wrote:
> I think that the only difference is that the windows at the side are
> slightly bigger. The windows ends on the raised section running
> horizontally down the van instead of just on top of it as in your's. You
> may be able to see this in the pictures. We are all RHD hear - I don't
> know if that is a issue?
>
> Cheers
>
> Jimmy Sanby
> Cape Town
> SA
>
> >>> Benjamin Tan <BenTbtstr8@AOL.COM> 03/01/00 01:40PM >>>
> In a message dated 2/29/00 9:40:35 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> dbeierl@IBM.NET
> writes:
>
> << I'm no authority, but it was discussed on the list not too long ago
> and as
> I understand it if that vehicle (make/model) was not officially
> released in
> this country, then you simply are not going to be able to bring one in
> from
> outside for highway use. >>
>
> The SA Vanagon, from what I understand, utilizes the same shell we have
> in
> our vans. The DOT should already have crash data on this model. The
> Bill
> Gates story, if true, would be due to the fact that not all Porsches
> are
> built on the same shell. It sounds like a fairy tale because, as I
> recall,
> you have to either destroy or export the vehicle if you are not able
> get
> certification within 6 months of it's arrival on US soil.
>
> You are correct in assuming that you will not be permitted to import
> any
> vehicle for use on any public road unless you are willing to submit a
> copy
> (of the vehicle) for destructive testing.
>
> BenT
> San Francisco
| 
