Date:         Tue,  4 Jul 95 19:19:14 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         psellers@ha.osd.mil (Pete Sellers)
Subject:      One Year Later ... All-Time Favorite #1!!!

I'm confident someone will object but, what-the-heck!!! -;)

I'm re-posting two messages (this is one of two) that, after viewing 'thousands' over 
the last year, are my .picks for "Most-Memorable" and/or "Most-Satisfying". Let me 
know your picks.

After an impromptu review by a probably-biased committee (of one, more than likely) 
the author of a selected cited message will be granted choice of beating with a wet 
noodle or three sips from a luke-warm Big-Gulp! :)

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Date:         
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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