Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 12:13:30 -0600
Reply-To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: I am not alone
In-Reply-To: <530795E0.4070306@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
John,
You were probably in Alaska at the time, but when I was a teenager and well
into my twenties, it was well known in Birmingham that they didn't like
foreign cars. Imports caught on very late there. One reason I think was
that if you worked for ACIPCO (American Cast Iron Pipe Company) or US
Steel--and most everybody did--you could not park an imported car or
motorcycle on company property. You had to park elsewhere and walk in to
work.
We Huntsvillians just thought that was weird, that they ought to be looking
up close at the imports, because that was the future of the automobile.
Responsive suspension, good mileage, disk brakes, precision. We were right.
Jim
On Fri, Feb 21, 2014 at 12:07 PM, JRodgers <jrodgers113@gmail.com> wrote:
> You would think that Birmingham with it's million plus population would
> have more vanagons and shops that would work on them. Not so, it turns out.
>
>
> John
>
>
>
> On 2/21/2014 11:08 AM, Jim Felder wrote:
>
>> I'm in Huntsville (Madison, technically). No shortage of parts here,
>> thanks
>> to me! LOL
>>
>> Plus we have a really good shop here and another in a nearby town. I
>> looked
>> at a Carat automatic yesterday at my local shop. It was parked out front
>> with a Birmingham tag. The shop owner said that they owner has the car
>> towed to Huntsville for any kind of service more complicated than an oil
>> change.
>>
>> About a week ago a friend with a westy stopped by for a part. There were
>> my
>> two in their respective driveways, and this one on the street. My
>> neighbor,
>> who just bought a red passat TDI wagon, stopped and rolled the window down
>> and said "You better keep them apart! They're starting to multiply!!!"
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Feb 21, 2014 at 10:24 AM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com
>> >wrote:
>>
>> I've heard that Huntsville has a pretty good quantity of Vanagon owners.
>>> Aerospace folks seem to like them. Drive up for a weekend to get your
>>> fix!
>>>
>>> Stuart
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
>>> Of
>>> JRodgers
>>> Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 10:10 PM
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>> Subject: I am not alone
>>>
>>> For the longest kind of time I have not seen any Vanagons around
>>> Birmingham, AL but my own. Never see any mention of Birmingham on the
>>> Vanagon List so have wondered if I am all alone in the big city.
>>>
>>> Well, today, just after parking my van and nearing the steps into the
>>> house, I hear this familiar engine sound, and almost simultaneously hear
>>> the unmistakable sound of a Vanagon horn down by the street. I turn and
>>> look toward the street in time to see TWO Tintop Vanagons with cargo
>>> carriers on top - one behind the other, one blue, one green, chugging up
>>> my hill. They waved, blew the horn again, but didn't stop. Wish they had.
>>>
>>> But it's nice to know I'm not alone in the big city.
>>>
>>> John
>>>
>>>
>>
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