Report on First Solo "Cross Country" in Vanagon: Well I did it; I finally picked-up the '82 Diesel Vanagon which I have owned for a few months (Joel has it on the list already). It was on Long Island, and I live in way-Upstate, NY. 300 Miles of Driving Fun. Please keep in mind that I had never driven a Vanagon before, ever. 1) Got stuck in Rush Hour traffic. Couldn't find the air-conditioning. 2) Discovered the concept of Binary Accelerator - My foot was either pushing pedal to the floor, or was on the brake. Nothing in between. 3) Cruised much faster than anticipated. Cruised at 110 Km/hr for a while. 4) Talk about bug-smasher windshield. Jeez, I actually *ducked* when one bug came flying at me. 5) If you lean way over the steering wheel, you can pretend you are on the bow of a power-boat, with the engine in the way-back. 6) It got cold, so I tried to turn on the heat. Four levers? HAD TO READ THE OWNERS MANUAL!. Question: Should the air which comes out of the rear-passenger ceiling vents be warm? I had tons of airflow of cold air, no matter what I tried I couldn't get rear heat. The front heat was fine though. 7) Only burned 3/4's of a tank on the 300 mile trip. :-) 8) I enjoyed looking down on the "little people" in their Caravans and Villagers!! Such tiny Lilluputians they are. 9) I began to wonder how I ever lived without it. Hooked, Matthew drahzal@convex.com Chittenango "Boyhood home of L. Frank Baum", NY
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