Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:31:32 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: hey howdy
In-Reply-To: <f06240800c2cd74e51513@[192.168.1.100]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
I'll take engineering refinement and ease of working on things, plus safety
and more room, and crashworthiness, anytime over, 'cute and old' . My
first vw bus was a 56 Commercial with doors on both sides and 36 hp engine
originally.....
But once I got into vanagons....'real' cars, with liquid cooled engines and
'real' heaters ....etc..
I tell people a vanagon is LIGHT YEARS ahead in development compared to any
79 and older vw Bus.
Just Light Years ahead, in about 200 ways.
On Eurovans....when you really start to push vanagons ....SVX engine, 230
hp, bigger brakes, wheels, gearing, shocks, springs etc.....
You realize that 80 is there practical upper limit ...
Because they are lacking, compared to more modern vehicles.....good
aerodynamics, flush side windows, ABS brakes, air bags, and more modern
crashworthiness features.
They are fantastic for what they are....
But they are only good up to a certain point on the automotive spectrum of
overall performance ( can't beat the 'vw family' and 'cool' factors though )
......scale.
I helped a friend get a 95 Nissan Quest van.
Drove it from Albuquerque NM to Oregon, all back roads.
It glides along effortlessly at 80 at about 2,800 rpm with a Nissan V-6
engine......quietly too.
Doesn't care about gusts and side winds.
It's not as cool for sure, but in terms of overall vehicle dynamics........
a vanagon can't get there really, and shouldn't even try. They are great
for what they are,
And so infinitely refined and developed dynamically, compared to any 79 and
earlier Bus .....
Well.......you know.
And if I could just get vanagons to not have cooling system parts like crazy
from one end to the other.....and not blow around in the wind, and to have
sharper 'turn-in' ......
And quieter and better aerodynamics....etc. etc.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
David Etter
Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:12 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: hey howdy
Hi Brendan:
It's like I've always said. There is a hierarchy to owning a
Westy or VW Van.
At the top of the heap are the 'Splitties' then come the 'Vanagon'
models (arguments with the 'Bays' still arise here) then the 'Bay
Window' AND at the bottom of the list lie the Eurovans, (Phew! open
the windows in here)
Proper etiquette says that you wave to equals and of course
the upper echelons. Only if the lower classes wave first do you
return the wave and only then if you are feeling generous.
The reason the Euros have taken possession of the lowest rung
is the loss of the rear drive train set-up and the loss of ground
clearance. To say nothing of the interior by Winnebago in place of
Westfalia.
The Bays would have locked into second place with their
air-cooled engine but the Vanagon model was such an improvement in
space and interior design plus the loss of the split window was to
lose any collector's value.
Even within the splitties group there is a hierarchy with the
safari window models coming out on top or the 23 window version in
the 'deluxe' van.
Although early Vanagons had an air-cooled engine it was the
diesel models in 82-83 that established a higher sub-class with-in
the vanagon series.
IMHO David (dsl82westy)
P.S.: In my 'Second Life' , I'd love to own a centre pop-up 67
safari 21 window Westy.. but not at the cost of losing my 82 1.6TD
Westy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~
>I've been waving when I see other Vanagons and sometimes at older busses
and
>Eurovans. The Euro's almost never wave back, the older airheads mostly do
>and the Vanagons almost always wave. Hmm. Any thoughts?
>
>
>Brendan Slevin
>Roastmaster
>BELLATAZZA
>tel 541 593.9750
>I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. -T.S. Eliot
