Date: Sat, 01 Oct 94 20:30:46 CDT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject: much as i hate to admit it ...
well ... shoot. ol Ric and Pete are gonna eat this one up. but i'm big
enough to admit that there are folks out there for whom Eurovans are fine. ;)
such is the case in the November issue of Car and Driver ... in an article
about their 12 picked C/D editors, each was asked to pick the car, any car,
he wished. BUT! there's some gotchas!
1. they had to live with the car they chose for five years.
2. it was to be their only automobile in those five years.
3. they had to drive it daily to work, to the 7-11, across the country, and
through michigan winters.
4. after five years, they would give the car back, without depreciation
affecting him in any way.
5. they would, however, have to foot the bill for maintenance, fuel, tires;
all non-warranty upkeep would be dollars dragged from their personal
savings.
so here are the selections:
Lexus SC400................................... $49,465
Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet............... $79,163
Mercedes-Benz SL500........................... $108,100
Rolls-Royce Corniche IV Convertible........... $292,645
Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon......................... $32,195
Mercedes-Benz E500............................ $87,920
Acura NSX..................................... $78,075
BMW M3........................................ $36,595
Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1....................... $71,647
Mercedes-Benz E320 Wagon...................... $48,040
Porsche 911 Turbo............................. $108,753
Volkswagen EuroVan GL......................... $23,235
say WHAT!!???????
Volkswagen EuroVan GL......................... $23,235
i quote (so you won't have to go out and buy the magazine):
Kevin Smith, Editor at Large
"Okay, okay. Laugh if you want. It would have been easy to go with a 911
Carrera (the most exciting car my family can fit in) or BMW's M5 (my favorite
sedan). But the priviso "It's your only car" locked me into a van-type
vehicle of some kind. There are just too many times when our basic family
load of two each, grownups and short persons, is augmented by friends,
preschool mates, a pair of hyperactive dogs, or enough travel gear for an
Everest assault. If I have to get it all into my one car, and can't count
on a Suburban support vehicle, well, my pick is pretty well picked for me.
But why the VW? The feeble-powered VW? Hey, we're talking a utilitarian
cargo hauler here, so what does it matter? Truth is, I don't find any of the
minivans so whippet-quick or so heartwarmingly crisp of response that the
driving iteself is particularly enthralling. The point is to carry stuff.
And for that, a big boxy stuff-carrier is what you want.
The brilliantly packaged EuroVan encloses more sheer volume than anything
this side of a gigondo Chevy/Dodge/Ford full-sizer, and it remains comfy,
easy to drive, a cinch for all to clamber in and out of, and reasonably
fuel-efficient. Sure, I wish its Audi in-line five put out more than 109
horses, but as long as you conserve momentum and don't feel in a hurry, the
power is rarely an issue.
Compared with other minis, the VW has relative acres of usable space ...
43 cubic feet ... behind its way-aft bench seat. And that seat, like the
in-between buckets, pop out easily, leaving the low-floored EuroVan feeling
like a blimp hangar on wheels.
I might be concernced that five years in a snoringly slow shipping container
would lead to Speed Deprivation Disorder (sleeplessness, irritability, excess
disposable income ... not a pretty sight). But not to worry. Alone among
minivans, the Volkswagen EuroVan's vast floor-to-ceiling interior height lets
it easily accomodate a road-racing motorcyle."
yeah. well. i still like my Vanagon. :) and quite frankly, i used to put a
woods bike inside my old 71 bus. so there. :P
joel
(and i STILL think they're funny-looking!)
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