Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:45:28 +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: Re: 50 worst cars, and the vanagon isn't one of them
In-Reply-To: <46E46D29.4030603@cs.uchicago.edu>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed
>People keep bringing up how vanagons aren't on this list. I mean, of
>course they're not, right?
>The major design flaw of the vanagons is the head gaskets, and still
>many go 100k or even 200k between gasket jobs. Other than that, many
>aspects of the vanagon seem very well designed. It's an incredibly
>functional vehicle, whether comfortably hauling 7 passengers or camping
>equipment, that gets relatively good gas mileage (decent even by today's
>standards), and is relatively easy for a backyard mechanic to work on.
>Did I mention it looks cool?
A bad car can also be a nice car.
My 1988 Nissan Skyline R31 2.8 diesel hardtop was a nice car. It was
very solid, it looked really good, it handled OK (but no better than
OK; its IRS helped, I guess, though there are IRS cars that don't
handle), it was comfortable, it had all the electric doodads except
aircon (though there was an aircon label in the dash!). Its H4s were
brilliant; no hotspots or holes, wide and penetrating. Automatic
lights were a real eyeopener, and this was a 1984-88 model. It was
smooth, roomy and quiet. But it suffered from progressive electrical
failures ie idiot-lights failinbg and not being able to be diagnosed,
ditto the interior light doorswitch circuit. The Hitachi alternator
was notorious for failure leading to overcharged batteries. Typically
for the RD28, the engine failed big time (bores & mainbearings)
despite the car having only a genuine 80,000km on the clock when
things really became noticable and despite regular maintenence. Also
on gravel roads the complex doorseals let in copious amounts of dust.
And when the seam along the top of the exhaust rusted through (the
rest of the pipe was solid) the excessively-sooty exhaust made its
way into the interior, staining everything gray. A nice car but not a
good one.
A reliable car can also be an awful car. The 19702/80s Nissan
Bluebirds (also sold as 810, 180B, 200B, Stanza in some markets) and
Sunnys (1200, 120Y, B210 etc) were dogs. Some RWD Bluebird
generations had IRS but all handled like crap. They could be
rust-prone, even without salted roads. They were flimsy in a serious
way. They also looked bad. That they were reliable was probably a
handicap, as owners would keep them far too long. Volvos also fall
into this category. reliable but handle they don't; even today's
Volvos don't.
>How could the best-selling passenger vehicle in America 14 years running,
>the mother of all mom-mobiles, the beloved suburban schlepper of millions,
>wind up on this list? Forget about the whole Firestone tire controversy. In
>its very success, the Ford Explorer is responsible for setting this country
>on the spiral of vehicular obesity that we are still contending with today.
>People, particularly women drivers, discovered that they liked sitting up
>high. Even though more fuel-efficient minivans do the kid- and cargo-hauling
>duties better, people came to prefer the outdoorsy, go-anywhere image of
>SUVs. In other words, people became addicted to the pose. And, as vehicles
>got bigger and heavier, buyers sought out even bigger vehicles to make
>themselves feel safe. Helloooo Hummer. All of that we can lay at the
>overachieving feet of the Explorer.
Only in America. The Exploder is the only US Frod whiteware to be
sold here, fortunately. And it just can't compete with the Japanese
wagons. BUT those Japanese wagons are as big as or bigger than the
Exploder; though they might not roll over the way a US car will, they
are still huge gas (or more commonly diesel) suckers and not as safe
to be in when you have an accident as a sedan (the current Nissan
Safari, which by the way is rare here and in Africa, does nasties
when it hits other heavy objects like cars... the chassis BREAKS and
the clutch pedal winds-up right where the driver's crotch is supposed
to be). The tires on these vehicles have compromise tread which
cannot give a high constant lateral-acceleration grip (so-called
"g-force), though "Wheels" was surprised to get a very high reading
from Prado earlier this year, despite their slamming it for poor
handling). I have experienced dual-purpose tires on a Cruiser wagon
which would let go at the back under hard cornering; the better ones
will let you know what's happening so that you can compensate; the
poorer ones will just let go and you'll spin.
The VW T3 had a good body and suspension combined with crap (Bosch,
close cousin of Lucas) electrics, flimsy unergonomic switchgear,
inadequate brakes and fragile engine & manual transmissions.
Fortunately the body is robust and reasonably rust-resistant and the
bad components CAN be eliminated by replacement with alternative
items. It handles, and can be made to handle extremely well.
To be truly good a car has to have a reasonable mix of both niceness
and reliability. And did I mention handling? Poor handling can kill
you. The T3 doesn't not really have this mix as standard, but
certainly can be brought up-to-scratch.
There is a glossy magazine published every year in NZ, called "The
Dog & Lemon Guide". Like the others, it's a mass of unrealistic
opinions of one person, and really is only good for a laugh.
Unfortunately the people who buy it believe it and are likely to be
influenced by it. The fellow even gets bite on TV news.
>Re Vanagons not being on the list.
>You might notice there are no cars or vans mentioned...the list is for CARS.
"Car" is short for "carriage". It is conventionally used for sedans,
coupes and stationwagons, but in fact can be applied to any wheeled
ground-vehicle. Including a 24-wheeler. And in fct today there is
nowhere you can draw a line and say that on this side are cars only
and on this side are vans only. There is a full range of transitional
models.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
‚ Opinions stated are mine, not of the University of Otago
"There is water at the bottom of the ocean" - Talking Heads
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