Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 20:58:09 -0500
Reply-To: Jason Willenbrock <pooncerelli@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jason Willenbrock <pooncerelli@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: How many Vanagons
Content-Type: text/html
<html><div style='background-color:'><DIV class=RTE>
<P>well,</P>
<P>that explains why i rarely see 88 and 89 vanagons</P>
<P>jason<BR><BR></P></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>>From: Joel Walker <JWALKER17@EARTHLINK.NET>
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: Joel Walker <JWALKER17@EARTHLINK.NET>
<DIV></DIV>>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Re: How many Vanagons
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 19:43:10 -0600
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>> > Does anybody know how many vanagons there are in the US. It's a
<DIV></DIV>>finite
<DIV></DIV>> > number and everytime somebody parts one out, it's one less. I'm
<DIV></DIV>>just
<DIV></DIV>> > curious how many there are. I'm amazed at how many businesses are
<DIV></DIV>> > flourishing by keeping these things alive.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>i got these numbers from some book about vw buses, a long time ago ...
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>1980 - 150,805
<DIV></DIV>>1981 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1982 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1983 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1984 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1985 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1986 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1987 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1988 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1989 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1990 - 175,000
<DIV></DIV>>1991 - 20,000
<DIV></DIV>>total 1,920,805
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>now, those mighty peculiarly even numbers of 175,000 are from the VIN
<DIV></DIV>>range given in the book for that year. same with the very low 20,000
<DIV></DIV>>for 1991 ... but remember, the Eurovan was also being produced in 1991
<DIV></DIV>>in Germany. so that's probably about right. i'm not sure, however, if
<DIV></DIV>>that number includes the Vanagons/T3s that were 'assembled' in Graz,
<DIV></DIV>>Austria, as many 1991 models were. if your 1991 VIN has MG in it, it
<DIV></DIV>>was assembled in Graz on the Syncro assembly line, even though it's
<DIV></DIV>>not a syncro.
<DIV></DIV>>and 175,000 might just be the limit of the assembly line in Hannover
<DIV></DIV>>for a whole year (11 months, actually. as i recall, they kinda shut
<DIV></DIV>>down the line for a month while most of Germany went on vacation, and
<DIV></DIV>>some poor folks had to stay and get the assembly line set up for the
<DIV></DIV>>next year's model).
<DIV></DIV>>i do recall that the Millionth (1,000,000) Vanagon rolled off the line
<DIV></DIV>>in 1985 ...and the six-millionth(6,000,000) Type 2 (all buses from
<DIV></DIV>>1950 to ...)
<DIV></DIV>>in 1986. the 175,000 per year agrees with one article i have that
<DIV></DIV>>claims "nearly 500 Vanagons are produced every day ...", assuming
<DIV></DIV>>you're running seven days a week (479/day).
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>imported into the U.S. ...
<DIV></DIV>>1980 - 14,101
<DIV></DIV>>1981 - 11,479
<DIV></DIV>>1982 - 13,234
<DIV></DIV>>1983 - 14,695
<DIV></DIV>>1984 - 21,352
<DIV></DIV>>1985 - 12,303
<DIV></DIV>>1986 - 13,475
<DIV></DIV>>1987 - 9,401
<DIV></DIV>>1988 - 4,555
<DIV></DIV>>1989 - 4,466
<DIV></DIV>>1990 - 8,057 (vw had announced they PLANNED to sell 10,000 Vanagons
<DIV></DIV>>that year)
<DIV></DIV>>1991 - ?,???
<DIV></DIV>>total 127,118+
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>the book didn't have any numbers for 1991. assuming that it was
<DIV></DIV>>roughly the same as for the previous years, percentage-wise, it would
<DIV></DIV>>likely be a very low 6 percent of total vanagon output or about 1,150
<DIV></DIV>>total. that seems way low to me, however, based on what i saw at the
<DIV></DIV>>dealers around that year. maybe the u.s. got a much higher percentage?
<DIV></DIV>>so the total of all vanagons imported into the u.s. from 1980 to 1991
<DIV></DIV>>would be in the neighborhood of 130,000 to 135,000. that would be my
<DIV></DIV>>guess.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>so that means each one of us (with only one vanagon) has 0.0007692
<DIV></DIV>>percent of all the vanagons ever sold in the u.s.!!!! :)
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>unca joel
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