Date:         Thu, 22 Sep 2005 14:48:03 -0400
Reply-To:     Thomas Myers <thomas.myers@XEROX.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Thomas Myers <thomas.myers@XEROX.COM>
Subject:      Re: Diesel powered vanagons
In-Reply-To:  <1127409401.7126.7.camel@ayahuasca.theorphanage.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"

I agree with Brendan ­ I find being the slowest

Vehicle [ 63 mph on cruise control ]  to actually be the best part of

Vanagon driving.  Once you completely give up the pretense of keeping up

With traffic  - the only thing let to do is keep the van in lane and

Enjoy the view.  I have nobody to pass... And everyone is going around

Me [ and No- I do not think 63mph is posing a hazard on the highway..]**

It probably helps that in the Vanagon ­ you are still sitting above most
traffic..


Tom
90 Westy
Rochester


** I hope this experience holds when I drive I-95 from Virginia to Miami
Next December....




From: Brendan Coffey <bmc@THEORPHANAGE.COM>
Reply-To: Brendan Coffey <bmc@THEORPHANAGE.COM>
Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 13:16:41 -0400
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Conversation: Diesel powered vanagons
Subject: Re: Diesel powered vanagons

On Thu, 2005-09-22 at 13:05 -0400, David Bohannan wrote:

> Where on earth can you drive 55-58 MPH without getting run over?

I don't understand why people say this.  It seems to just come out of
the mouth without ever having been evaluated by the brain.  I mean, has
anyone here ever -actually- had a problem because they were driving too
slow? 

Quite the opposite, I find it pretty nice.  Nobody in an inertial frame
moving 15-20 mph faster than mine even has the ability to cut me off or
get in my way.  I suppose someone could rear-end me doing a million
billion miles an hour, but I've got 10' of Vanagon behind me, including
the engine block.  They're going to get the short end of that stick, for
sure. 

> I did a trip this weekend...averaged like 63 (58 on the low and 70 on the
> WAY high side) and felt like I was going to get run off the road...
> 
> Seems like today's cars are geared to move at much higher speeds :-( people
> just don't seem to care about those like us...

I guess I don't feel like they NEED to care about me.  And watch me care
that I'm in THEIR way.  Ready, here I go!  Oops, you missed it.

> On the positive side, I got 20.25 MPG :-)

My '82 GL/'98 TDI averages 27mpg within the city limits of SF.  :-)  I
wonder what it would do on the highway, if I trusted it to make a long
trip... 

-bmc