Date:         Sun, 22 Apr 2001 00:34:47 -1000
Reply-To:     Mick Kalber <hotlava@interpac.net>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mick Kalber <hotlava@interpac.net>
Subject:      Why do you like your Vanagon?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

OK... my turn.  Bought my first bus in 1974 in San Francisco... it was a 61
splittie with nothing inside but a bench seat in front and a rebuilt engine
in back.  No interior panels, seats, carpet... absolutely nuthin'.  Paid
$200 for it.  Sold it a year later for $300.  Fabulous little van.

Had a chevy van after that... why, I'll never know.  Had positraction though
and would make it's way through some tough snow... but no charm like a
vee-dub.

In 1980 I lucked into a cherry 76 loaf... fantastic van... drove it in
Denver til 83 then shipped it to Hawaii where she lived til I saw an 86
vanagon gl... loved the new style, power, ac, etc.  I ran a video production
company and lived on the rainy side of the Big Island (still do)... so the
vanagon was perfect to haul around camera gear and be ready to shoot asap.
Could stand under the rear hatch and shoot in the rain and the sliding door
was perfect to shoot out of for the ironman triathlon, etc.  Loved it.

Sold the 86 when I fell in love with a burgundy 88 wolfie.  Sweet car... all
the advantages of the 86, but with the jumpseats and table... very cool.
Bought a dynamite roof rack/camera platform to shoot off and carry extra
stuff.  Kept it for five years.  Then decided I needed a 4WD.  Unfortunately
by 93 VW was no longer making the syncro and I was into buying new cars by
that time.  So I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee.  Nice car, but too cramped...
and really hard to camp in.  Right after I bought the jeep, I found a 1990
burgundy syncro westy with only 54K and in great shape on a car lot here in
town.  I was kicking myself in the youknowhat because I couldn't get out of
my lease without losing my shirt and had to sit and watch the syncro
everyday as I drove past that lot.  I was not a happy camper.  Nobody ever
bought it... guess they just didn't understand what it was or something.
Three months later, one of the salesmen took it and shipped it to the
mainland somewhere.  Damn.

Then, last year about this time I just got some kind of wild notion to go
look for another syncro.  After much searching the net I found "Daddeo" on
autotrader.com in Seattle.  She had only 38K on the ticker and was
immaculate.  Finally got my syncro westy and am totally in love with her.
We go to all the great spots on this island and camp to our heart's content.
My dream has finally materialized.  I love her because she will take me down
the roughest roads (paths) to some of the most beautiful spots in the
Hawaiian islands... and as soon as I pop the top and turn on the propane,
I'm ready to camp.  Life just doesn't get much better than that.

Mick Kalber
89 Syncro Westy "Daddeo"
Tropical Visions Video, Inc.
62 Halaulani Place
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
808-935-5557
808-935-0066 (fax)
hotlava@interpac.net
www.volcanoscapes.com