Date:         Sun, 13 Aug 2000 14:52:49 -0500
Reply-To:     Joel Walker <jwalker17@earthlink.net>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <jwalker17@earthlink.net>
Organization: not likely
Subject:      Re: WBX Nightmares
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> I guess my final take on it is that if you want a
> more efficient automobile, don't you usually have to give up
something?

lemme tell ya about efficient automobiles! :) i got maddernell at vw
back in about 88, cause they couldn't/wouldn't fix my 86 vanagon's
fuel injection problems. two years of stumbling around and dying at
stop lights and such. and the bozos down at the local dealer, and
every dealer within 100 miles! couldn't fix it. or wouldn't fix it.
finally when the warranty was out, one of the dealers told me it was
the fuel injectors and wanted $700 to fix it. ha! i blew up and went
to a honda dealer and traded for a CRX ... tiny little roller skate
with only two seats and 1/3 of a trunk and 1200cc engine. drove it for
four months before i came to my senses and realized that
(a) it ain't fun making three trips to the grocery store to buy food
and stuff, cause only two bags of stuff will fit into the back of this
pocket rocket.
(b) my knees hurt getting in and out of it ... you have to literally
squat down on the ground to get inside.
(c) i missed my bus something fierce.
(d) i don't like driving behind people and seeing nothing but their
taillights and exhaust pipes (the honda was LOW).
(e) when it's raining, the water sprayed off the wheels of cars that
passed me obscured my vision for many seconds!!! NOT a good feeling.
(f) getting 45 mpg don't mean diddly if you're not having fun. :(

so i traded for my 88 bus and have been happier ever since. now, the
honda was a good quality car. like a little japanese butler, it was
always there and always did exactly what i told it. but no personality
at all. it was just a car. period. my bus has personality, sort of
like the old 1950's and 1960's british cars, but with a better flavor.
;) i LIKE driving my bus. i have fun driving my bus.

sure, i have to fix stuff. show me someone with a 12-year old car that
doesn't. and the older it gets, the worse it will be when i try to
find parts and such. finding someone who can work on it? forget it ...
 the dealers are worthless in this area: complete morons. the local
idiots don't even stock vanagon oil filters!! so how are the three of
us supposed to feel comforted to bring our bus in for an oil change?

besides ... i've had a porsche, a mercedes, hondas, chevrolet (that
was The Worst car ever!), fords, suzuki (samurai, not motorbike), and
vw's ... and i'll take my bus over all of those. even the mercedes. it
was cheaper for parts, believe it or not, than the vanagon, but it
wasn't "fun" to drive. it was plush and comfy and all that, and not
too terribly hard to work on, actually, but just not "fun".   the
suzuki was fun, but only off in the woods. :) it was hard to drive
that thing without grinning ... kinda like my bus. ;)

i can carry 7 people AND their luggage in my 88 GL. i can carry lumber
of 12-foot lengths without a lot of trouble, and if i'm so inclined, i
can get sheets of plywood inside. i've carried a washer and a dryer
inside. i've carried a full-sized refrigerator (had to lay it on its
back to clear the air conditioning housing).  and i still get 20 mpg.
not great mpg, but for a shoebox-on-wheels, it ain't bad. it's a heavy
bus/truck/box, and that's where the mpg goes: getting it started at
all the damned redlights (every 200 feet!!!) in this town ... on
trips, it gets better, if i keep the top speed down and don't stay in
the mountains too long. :)

some of the things i really like about my bus are ...
- full-sized spare tire. try finding that in a new car!
- the wheels. i can get wheels from any bus from 1971 to 1991. steel.
i don't personally care for the alloy type. i'm old and i'm set in my
ways and i don't trust those tire-monkeys at sears and other places to
know what the hell they are doing with alloy wheels. oh, sure it's
better nowadays cause everyone has alloy wheels and new tire machines,
but i still don't trust 'em.
- i can actually see my whole engine when i open the engine hatch. :)
and i can pretty much work on it myself. some parts are harder than
others, but go look in the engine compartment of a modern minivan or
car or even truck, and see if you think you can get to all the spark
plugs. see if you think you can change the oil filter. stuff like
that. i'm very disheartened when i look at newer cars. :(
- i have as much ground clearance as the modern SUVs!! :) yup. oh,
sure, i'd have more if i had a syncro or even an old 68-79 bus. but
i've got as much as a Ford Explorer! and i don't have all those horrid
shock mounts sicking down to drag the ground.
- i can see over about three cars in front of me. or at least, through
their windshields. good visibility helps me stay out of trouble on the
roads.
- no front end. yeah, well, ok, so i don't have any 'protection' up
front ... other than the massive frame members down under my feet. ;)
but that means a little part of my idiot brain keeps telling my feet
to NOT tailgate the car in front. which is a good thing, whether i had
protection or not. so i'm a better driver (at least, in that respect)
for having my bus. :)
now if i could just figure out a way to keep those morons in hondas
and fords from riding on my rear bumper! :(
- i don't sit down into my bus, i climb up into it. this is easier for
me. i guess cause i'm used to it, but when i ride in someone else's
car, it seems awkward to have to bend in the middle and squat a little
bit, then turn sideways to get in. only when i ride in someone's
pickup truck does it feel 'normal'. old habits, i guess. :)

so i'm stuck. good or bad, i'm gonna be driving vw vanagons the rest
of my life, i guess. i can't see any other car or truck or bus (well
... cept maybe a Pinzgauer. but that's another story) that suits me,
fits me, or does what i like/want/need. other folks have other
wants/needs/likes and they can drive something else. that's fine. i
figure i got lucky ... i found what i like early in life. they're
still looking. ;)

unca joel


> You're not going to get excellent gas mileage in a Vanagon, but I'll
bet it