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Date:         Fri, 13 May 2005 12:49:21 -0600
Reply-To:     Aaron Pearson <Aaron.Pearson@GXT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Aaron Pearson <Aaron.Pearson@GXT.COM>
Subject:      Re: "Favorite Vanagon Features"
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

the living room comment reminds me of the reason i bought the thing in the first place. the syncro can take me up 4wd roads to remote trail heads, and in the winter, i can gear up (skis, climbing rack, crampons, whatever) in the comfort of a warm living room. there's room for a couple people to assemble gear into backpacks and put on skins. we jump out into the snow ready to start adventuring, starting the day with warm fingers and toes.

aaron '97 syncro gl

-----Original Message----- From: John Bange [mailto:jbange@GMAIL.COM] Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 12:27 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: "Favorite Vanagon Features"

On 5/13/05, Matthew Turner <sailormatt@gmail.com> wrote: > I'd have to say that my favorite Vanagon characteristic (while not > necessarily design-related) has to be the way that my van "Vera" slows

> me down. There is no reason to rush around when driving a V'gon, and I

> just love that.

Heh. dunno it counts as a design "feature", but I must say I like it as well. Definitely "no hurry" transportation. Adds to that feeling you get that you're driving around in your living room.

But if I had to pick the one thing that tickled me most when I discovered it, it'd have to be that toothed bushing on the back of the alternator adjustment bolt that engages with that rack on the slotted arm. After years of owning a variety of other cars, for the first time I didn't have to improvise a lever with a stick or a big screwdriver to tension the belt. I even called my wife over to show her, saying "now THAT'S German engineering!" (her reaction, of course, was a polite "yes dear, that's quite ingenious"). I guess I'm a sucker for the little stuff. Conversely, I'm still not sure how I feel about the way they used a long bolt to hold the starter to the final drive, which goes all the way through to take a nut and thereby also hold the engine on. Crafty, but it makes changing the starter just that much more difficult. I guess that balances with the "one-screw to remove the outside door handle" VW design which has saved me so much time as a locksmith...


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