Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:45:01 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: .................... and vanagons (friday post with little
Vanagon)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 10:56 AM, Neil2 <vidublu@gmail.com> wrote:
> My Sprinter has a tiptronic and a Bus feind teased me the day I bought it
> 'cause it didn't have a real stick. I suppose I might like the tip in a
> smaller van but Moby is 600cf inside and 25' long so it's still like
> navigating a ship and I sure my me Westy and its stick!
>
> On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 6:45 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <
> scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>
> > I will say that a 'good' automatic is a joy to drive.
> > More than a 3 speed slush box like vanagons have.
> > I am way satisfied with the 4 speed auto in my turbo volvo sedan, with
> > electric button shifting in and out of overdrive top gear.
>
I can't recall ever owning an automatic vehicle. I do not care for them.
I hate the way they are in snow...They suck in soft sand and having some
engineer pre-determine when the vehicle will shift under +his+ conditions,
the one's they simulated on the computer in China, Japan, Germany or where
ever, that is often awkward. It can be fatal, if you're in an emergency
situation right at the limits of traction, and your silly automatic tranny
decides it must shift... You can't really tow them, you can't push start
them and you can't usually "baby" a faulty one back home in whatever gear
remains. They seem to be more expensive to have repaired and most of them
are less effective for fuel economy..maybe brand new ones can match a manual
trans for MPG..but I doubt I will every buy one until they get really good
or there are no manual tranny vehicles allowed on the highway..
I really can't picture myself driving an automatic Vanagon..Mine, I drive
it like a small truck..It's pretty heavy and has a similar power to weight
ratio to a loaded truck, so I like to control where my RPMs are with an eye
on the highway ahead and the traffic I anticipate.. If I'm caught going
slow with a long grade ahead I like to have the option to be in any of 3
gears in my 5speed manual..depending on how slow and how steep the
road ahead is..Fishing around for a usable gear in a slush box Vanagon just
makes me shudder thinking about it. On mountain or winding roads, as I
brake and enter a corner I can select the proper gear that I will need to
exit the corner effectively and lose no momentum at all nor induce any
stress into the drive line with a shift under load, like an auto does.
Only if I lived in a big city would I consider an auto-shift...and I will
never willingly live in a big city again.
Don Hanson
|