Date:         Sun, 8 Jul 2007 20:49:05 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      T3s in W Canada & reports of RHD used Japanese imports here (LVC)
In-Reply-To:  <795E5A37-F18B-4B21-ABA1-0A690C4B2691@mac.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I've seen a few Vanagons, mostly Westies, around Calgary & in the Rockies,
but none had Vanagon.com stickers as far as I could see. Most looked tidy.

I saw two for sale in Revelstoke, BC... one had a flat tine & looked
derelict.

One Westy was on the Upper Trout Lake ferry with our MPV. Rego plate was
074ANV, can't remember what province or state it was from.

In my perambulations I saw some number of RHD used-imports from Japan:
Honda Quint Integra coupe ~1990 Calgary (rough)
Mitsubishi Delica 4WD van ~1990 Rockies
          "                  "  Calgary
Nissan Navara diesel 2.7 ~1987 Revelstoke
Nissan Skyline R32 GTR-S 2.6 ~1990 Calgary (Rusty!)
          "                 "  Calgary
          "                 "  Canmore
Toyota Hiace Super Custom 100-series van 2.8 diesel ~1994 Calgary
               "                                       "  Rockies
Toyota Hilux Surf SSR (=4Runner in other markets than Japan) ~1993
              Revelstoke
Toyota LandCruiser ~1995 Wolfville, Nova Scotia
          "        ~1998 Calgary
Toyota LandCruiser BJ70-Series Prado diesel ~1989 Wolfville, Nova Scotia
                   "                           "  Calgary
Toyota Maserace Surf (LE) 4WD ~1994 Roger's Pass
                 "               "  Rocky View
Toyota Vitz (=Echo or Yaris for exports of both versions)(sedan
           is Platz, wagon is Vitz)
Suzuki Carry 4WD minivan ~1997 Revelstoke

On Canadian importers' websites I lists of many of these, including mainly
LH100-series Hiaces. Prices ara a bit steep compared to what I see in NZ,
and all I saw were 2.8 diesels with the 3L engine. None had the EFI
turbodiesel 1KZ-T engine.All of the bigger coupes (Corona Mk II, Cresta
=Cressida) had the3 2.5-liter 1JZ rather then the identical-but-3.0 1JZ,
and the chassis of these & the sedans can easily take a turboed 2JZ-T.

To be honset, the Hiaces are the pick of the bunch. They are safe, they
are supercomfy (in SuperCustom)... and look extramodern, despite the
just-superceded 100-series model having been replaced by a larger ugly
model which has a wide-body option to compete with the big ghastly Euro
crates-on-wheels and similarly-appalling US offalings.

On another note, badge-enginnering is rife... so many "GM" models are not
US designs II suspect this of the Cobalt & Malibu), and the "Pontiac Vibe"
is a rebadged Toyota Matrix. Let alone Mitsubishi Lancers & Mirages
bearing "Colt" badges and Mazda Familias (=323, GLC) bearing Ford Escort
labels... the later-model Familias were also sold as Ford Laser (=Mercury
something in NA, proving that "Ford Japan" is nothing but a Mazda
marketing office)in Japan. Mazda MIATA? Yuk! It's Eunos Roadster in Japan,
along with other Eunos models not sold in Canada under any label, and
Mazda MX5 elsewhere. And what the heck is the Toyota Sienna... a Corona
derivative, unlike the Totota Harrier (Lexus RX330, which is Camry-based.
The Matrix appears to be a Corolla variant not offered outside NA. Let me
not start on Nissan,s NZ marketing, where DIFFERENT models get the same
name (Cefiros badged as Maxima & Altima, Blusbirds labeled as Stanza &
Altima... no sense at all to it.