Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:13:01 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagon vs Element..from digest mode..
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I think the Honda Element is brilliant...........for what it is.
Certainly not comparable to a Vanagon or Westy vanaong of course.
You can't cook or sleep in it or stand up in it.......whole other kinda
vehicle.
But I like the boxy upright spunky looks, the hose-out interior.
Talked to a guy with one once. Only about 20 mpg on the hiway I think,
he also said it got more bugs splattered on the windshield that any car he
every owned.
The Honda Element has a rather upright windshield too.
And now VW has 'their' cross over small SUV .....the Tiquan.
Man, someone talk to them about American tastes in car names !! it is sort
of exotic jungle-ey sounding .........
but my rule for names for businesses and cars and so forth - if you have to
ask how it's pronounced...........Bad news bably.
You get the gong righ there.
To me, that car is ALREADY so bland, so not stand out, SO like a copy of a
Hyundai Sante Fe , or whatever. They have 'I can't even see you' styliong.
VW has gone from a leader, or at least being totally Unique in a major way,
to being a copier of other products.
Things are looking mightly slow down at my VW dealer here too. They had a
Pontiac Soltice sports car parked on the sidewalk in front, they closed down
the office area that used to have about 4 office types working in there, and
only one person in the parts department, and she just could NOT cope with
looking up a VW part for me - an obscure body trim mounting nut for part of
the AC in an 87 Wolfsburg.........but she is asking me if she should look in
AC or body ........etc. , and acting very irritated about it too. And we
finally both just gave up. Yet that part is in that parts system somewhere.
I'll be asking Rennie on the synco list if he can help.
Man is VW loosing their way in this market.
scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Grisanti" <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 2:29 PM
Subject: Re: Vanagon vs Element..from digest mode..
> "Yeah, that Aztec was a cool vehicle; they even had a camping tent, etc.
> But it was just SOOO ugly."
>
> I was on vacation in Detroit (go figure) and saw a bunch when they were
> new, but guessed it was because all the drivers were Pontiac execs who'd
> been ordered to drive them and would not have otherwise.
>
> Stephen
>
>
> --- On Mon, 7/28/08, B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET> wrote:
>
>> From: B Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
>> Subject: Re: Vanagon vs Element..from digest mode..
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Date: Monday, July 28, 2008, 5:10 PM
>> I agree 100%. My Element was bought to replace my Subaru
>> Legacy Wagon, not
>> my Vanagon. It did not carry my upright bass and music
>> gear as well which
>> was a surprise.
>>
>> Yeah, that Aztec was a cool vehicle; they even had a
>> camping tent, etc. But
>> it was just SOOO ugly. Buick tried to pretty it up but....
>> They have like
>> the worse resale value of all vehicles.
>>
>> Bryan
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List
>> [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
>> Jeff Lincoln
>> Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 4:52 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: Vanagon vs Element..from digest mode..
>>
>> Yeah, I don't really see it as Vanagon vs. Element as
>> much as just pointing
>> out that Honda has produced a unique "multi
>> purpose" vehicle - and is doing
>> fairly well with it where as VW seems to be, IMHO, ignoring
>> that market.
>>
>> An Element could never replace a Vanagon, Westy or not.
>> However, if one were
>> to want a new vehicle the Element is an option out there
>> with a similar
>> spirit - even with its pros and cons.
>>
>> I think that Pontiac had a similar idea when they came out
>> with the Aztek -
>> although god awful ugly there were a lot of options
>> available that made it a
>> versitile vehicle. Although I think they fell short of the
>> mark it was a
>> step in what I consider the right direction.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Jeff
>> '90 Carat (Grover)
>> '86 (We call this one Parts)
>> '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus
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