Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 22:23:59 -0500
Reply-To: Derek Drew <derekdrew@RCN.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Derek Drew <derekdrew@RCN.COM>
Subject: Fwd NYT: Farewell, Old Bus
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<font size=3>The New York Times marked the passing of our bus heritage
with the proper somber tone. <br>
<br>
</font><blockquote type=cite cite><font size=2><b>January 4,
2002</b></font><font size=3><br>
<br>
</font><h2><b>Farewell, Old Bus. Hi, Your
Majesty.</b></h2><font size=3><br>
<br>
</font><h5><b>By THE NEW YORK TIMES</b></h5><font size=3><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Times, Times" size=2>The first-generation VW
Microbus.</font><font size=3><br>
<br>
An era is ending at Volkswagen, and, in the rarefied precincts of
royalty, another is about to begin.<br>
<br>
In Brazil, VW recently ended production of its "combi,"
otherwise known as the Microbus (and in Germany as the
"bulli"). The loaf-shaped, air-cooled van, officially called
the T2, was the successor of the original bus sketched in 1947 by Ben
Pon, the first American importer of VW Beetles, and produced in 1950. In
the 1960's, the bus became a hippie cliché, chugging to rock concerts in
psychedelic paint jobs.<br>
<br>
In Europe and the United States, the bus was succeeded by the T3 of 1980
and the water-cooled Vanagon of 1993. The Brazil factory was the last
source of the T2, which has been recently sold only in Latin
America.<br>
<br>
"Adios Combi" said headlines on VW advertisements in Mexico.
The ads might have worn a tear, as did the cartoon bus in ads that VW ran
after the 1995 death of Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.<br>
<br>
Across the Atlantic, a Volkswagen subsidiary, Bentley Motors, has
polished off a state limousine for Queen Elizabeth II. It will be the
first Bentley owned by the Royal Family, which since the 1950's has
relied on a series of Rolls-Royce Phantoms for state occasions. (Even
those were radical departures, since the Queen's father and grandfather
preferred cars from Daimler, an old British company that was later taken
over by Jaguar, now owned by Ford.)<br>
<br>
The Bentley will be used on formal occasions. Other transport in the
Buckingham Palace garages includes three Daimler DS420 limousines, a
favorite of the Queen Mother. Queen Elizabeth is believed to lease a
Daimler version of the Jaguar XJ8 sedan.<br>
The new car is a gift from Bentley and British parts suppliers for the
queen's golden jubilee in June. Experts say the one-of-a- kind Bentley
would cost at least $750,000.<br>
</font></blockquote><br>
<font size=3>________________________________________________________<br>
Derek
Drew
New York, NY & Washington, DC<br>
derekdrew@rcn.com<x-tab> </x-tab>
212-580-6486<br>
Email me for viscous couplings<br>
'90 Syncro Westfalia... <br>
...seen off-road at <br>
<a href="http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/Syncro_Madness_Area.htm" eudora="autourl">http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/Syncro_Madness_Area.htm</a><br>
Note: most valuable Vanagon sites on the planet (for owners) are:<br>
<a href="http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon" eudora="autourl">http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon</a><br>
<a href="http://gerry.vanagon.com/files/" eudora="autourl">http://gerry.vanagon.com/files/</a><br>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro" eudora="autourl">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro</a>
<br>
<a href="http://www.vanagon.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.vanagon.com</a> <br>
<a href="http://www.syncro.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.syncro.org</a> <br>
My refrigerator article: <br>
<a href="http://www.vanagon.com/info/articles/Refrigerator/Reefer_Madness.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.vanagon.com/info/articles/Refrigerator/Reefer_Madness.htm</a><br>
My article that shows how to deal with insurance companies: <br>
<a href="http://gerry.vanagon.com/files/auto-insurance-madness.html" eudora="autourl">http://gerry.vanagon.com/files/auto-insurance-madness.html</a><br>
To view Wolfgang's incredibly informative wheel article<br>
<a href="http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/fitbigtiresonvanagon.htm" eudora="autourl">http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/fitbigtiresonvanagon.htm</a> <br>
To view Tim Smith's incredibly useful gearing calculator<br>
<a href="http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/syncrotireandgearratios.xls" eudora="autourl">http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/syncrotireandgearratios.xls</a> <br>
To view two articles about how to think about improving your gears at transmission rebuild time<br>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/7207" eudora="autourl">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/7207</a><br>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/7221" eudora="autourl">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Syncro/message/7221</a><br>
To view some 16" Trailing Arms that enable much larger tires see<br>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syncro-org/files/Wheels,%20Tires%20%26%20Gearing/Wheel%20%26%20Tire%20Photos/16_Inch_Trailing_Arm.jpg" eudora="autourl">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syncro-org/files/Wheels%2C%20Tires%20%26%20Gearing/Wheel%20%26%20Tire%20Photos/16_Inch_Trailing_Arm.jpg</a><br>
To view the only perfect 16" rim for T3 Vanagon Syncro see<br>
<a href="http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/vanagon/images/perfectwheel16s.jpg" eudora="autourl">http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/vanagon/images/perfectwheel16s.jpg</a> <br>
<a href="http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/vanagon/images/perfect16wheel.jpg" eudora="autourl">http://users.rcn.com/derekdrew/vanagon/images/perfect16wheel.jpg</a><br>
SYNCRO OWNERS WHO DRIVE OFF THE ROAD:<br>
You only get to change your ring and pinions once every 10 or 20 years <br>
because that's how long the average syncro transmission goes before <br>
its next rebuild. Start planning for higher number ring and pinion sets NOW!</font></html>
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