Date:         Wed, 3 May 1995 12:17:06 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         wabbott@townshend.Corp.Megatest.COM (William Abbott)
Subject:      collision risk

	My sainted mother got front-ended in our '68 and no one
in our vehicle was injured- someone pointed out that most cars
are lower than your bus, and this is a very good point. Hit
a Honda with your bus and the odds are you'll slide over its
hood. I wouldn't want to be in the Honda...
	I've seen, and my brother has, pictures that a Swedish
magazine did of a Vanagon and a Volvo station wagon in an offset
front end collision. The Vanagon rode up over the hood of the
Volvo and stove-in its front windshield. Both cars were instrumented
and had dummies in them- the dummies in the VW were ok...
	My mom's accident was an offset, someone mis-judged and
she was hit while trying to make a left turn across traffic. Because
of the difference in height and the shape of the sheet-metal, I think
busses, even older busses, are safer than one might at first think. 
	Think of it as the Patton or Red Army theory of energy absorbtion:
You use the OTHER CAR'S crush zone!!!

	Lets hear a little cheer for Rocky Mountian Motors- I ordered
a master cylinder resivior (The lower one) and they sent me the wrong
part, then turned out to not have the right part and put me on back
order. Well, I'm still on back order, but they sent me a free teeshirt
for my trouble!. If I say nice things about them, I supppose the teeshirt
will get paid for, and that's capitalism! Nice people. I definately
prefer their telephone 'persona' to that of Bus Boys. 

	Your milage may vary. natch.

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	Bill Abbott		|########\  =\/\/=  /########|
	'70 single cab		|#########\  -__-  /#########|
	'93 Corrado		|##########\      /##########|
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