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Date:         Sun, 9 May 2004 00:57:27 -0500
Reply-To:     "Donald Baxter / Iowa City, Iowa" <onanov@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Donald Baxter / Iowa City, Iowa" <onanov@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject:      Re: State Your Ages!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I'm 45.

I got my first VW when I was 17 and in college (1976). My father gave me his old '68 Ford Custom 500 (Lime Green, white vinyl seats) when he got his first old pickup truck (1969 Ford F100--he had always wanted a truck so he decided to start cheap). I immediately took the '68 Ford and traded it at Crain-Daly VW in Atlanta for a 1971 VW Bus--Kansas Beige with a white top--9 passenger. It had 130,000 miles on it and an engine, that I later found out, wouldn't hold studs. The Bus, other than the engine, was perfect and I really loved it. I later moved from Atlanta to Lawrence, Kansas, with it.

After a couple of attempts to resolve the engine problems with case inserts to hold they cylinder heads on the block (it would make horrendous noises when started, but when warmed up it sealed the compression leaks and ran well) I traded it in on 1975 VW Rabbit that had other problems... but I was really stuck on VWs by then so it didn't really matter to me all that much. The Rabbit got me through college at least (University of Kansas) and back to Atlanta. I got a real job and a new 1980 VW Rabbit--US made--and VW at one of its lowest ebbs.

After that, a 1981 Dasher (Passat for those of you not old enough to remember Dashers) Diesel Wagon. Then a 1985 Jetta GL (the best VW I've ever owned--flawless for 145,000 miles). Then a '92 Passat GL Wagon (back to low-ebb for VW).

About a year after I got the Passat, I was diagnosed with what appeared to be a fatal disease and decided that since it looked like I didn't have long to live I wanted another bus. It was the middle-aged version of the trip you give to Disneyworld for the dying kids. I didn't care that most people considered the lack of a front end a vehicular recipe for a death trap; none of us had seen those crash tests with the Volvo, and I didn't think I'd live that long anyway! I purchased a well-worn 1985 Vanagon GL in 1994 with 125,000 miles on it and proceeded to deal with all its issues. I finally put a remanufactured engine in the beast in '96. The illness went into remission so I'm alive and healthy now and so is the Vanagon--mechanically it is almost flawless. The Vanagon was my only car for four years and I drove it back an forth from my house in Central Atlanta to my job in the far reaches of Peachtree Corners.

Before I moved to Iowa three years ago I purchased a slightly used '96 Passat GLX Wagon (sort of another low ebb for VW but not as low as the 1980 Rabbit) that I use as my daily driver. With front wheel drive and ABS and those difficult to find 50 Series tires it's just much better for Iowa snow. I probably put about 4,000 miles a year now on my Vanagon and mostly put it away for the salt-laden Iowa winters. I don't think I can part with it. My partner, on the other hand, would LOVE to see it go away.

Donald Baxter, Iowa City


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