Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2020 10:02:49 -0700
Reply-To: alex@MEVAY.ORG
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alex MeVay <alex@MEVAY.ORG>
Subject: Re: Slider door challenge
In-Reply-To: <FB644A7C-56BB-4E60-92F8-CEE587DDD18C@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
> I think electric slider wins.
Interesting...I do agree the door is loud, obnoxiously/embarrassingly
so if you're around other campers at night, but I thought part of the
reason we all love and put up with these vans is exactly because they
DON'T have electric door closers and other annoyances?
I love:
...never having to wait for a motor to do something I could do myself,
or waiting for something to boot up.
...that the vanagon has exactly the right number of screens and blue
LED's blasting you in the face while driving down a dark road.
...that there are exactly the right number of computers (one, the ECU).
...that I can adjust the heat just by feel, without having to take my
eyes off the road.
...never having to wait for an extra 100ms after you press a button
for that action to take effect while the CAN bus sends that info to
all the computers around the car and decides that, yes, it will indeed
allow you to open hatch.
...never having the interior light timer turn off on you as you are
halfway through doing something.
Manual steering is a bit of a pain while parking, but when I'm
coasting down a winding road, I love the feeling that my muscle power
is a direct contribution to getting the van down the road and us to
our destination, and that I never have to listen to a whining pump.
I'm sure you all have other items to add to this list.
I guess I think about and struggle with these issues a lot. The
mechanical and simple electrical systems of the van deliver an
immediacy and resulting sense of agency that I find very rewarding. I
feel these have been totally lost in much modern design. I recall a
quote, though the source now escapes me, about the social effects of
automation in the workplace: Machines that extend the capabilities of
a worker are those that elevate him(/her), while those that reduce him
to a machine-tender bring him down. I feel the Vanagon is squarely in
the first category, while most modern cars and other machines belong
in the latter. It's hard to develop the same sort of relationship
with a machine if your actions are constantly checked by a horde of
digital gatekeepers trying to outthink you.
I was going to apologize for derailing the thread, but then I realized
it's Friday. :)
Happy motoring,
Alex
