Date:         Sun, 21 Jul 1996 22:48:46 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Cetin Seren <cseren@fore.com>
Subject:      Re: Ron's "Free" Eurovan

At 05:11 PM 7/19/96 -0500, you wrote:
>Everybody,
>
>It has absolutely no personality whatsoever.  Power everything, and the
>power steering gives a "dead" feel with little feedback to the driver--I
>hope this doesn't pose a problem when driving off-road.  It's quiet, but

It does have a pesonality -- that of a VW rabbit (as per Matt Drahzal). The
steering must have been 'softened' -- our EV feels rock solid in the steering
department, with an amazing amount of feedback for power-assisted steering.

>motor, at least as far as city driving goes, is really anaemic--and this is
>coming from someone who owns an air-cooled bus.  Sure, it's a bit quicker
>than my own bus, but not by much.  I suspect a standard transmission would
>go a long way towards improving performance in this regard.  Awkwardly, the

Yes, manual transmission is the way to go.

>more comfortable.  You can't do that great VW bus resting-your-forearms-
>on-the-steering-wheel driving posture.  The steering wheel is out in front

This is one thing I really, really miss about the two 73 buses we've had.  Even
the '82 and the '87 do not have that nice horizontal steering wheel...

>(Donning Nomex underwear) Face it, kids, this thing is a big minivan with a
>camper interior. (Rolling on the ground to snuff out flaming clothing...)

You have to drive a chrysler or ford to compare -- it definitely is _not_
a minivan...

>
>
Cetin Seren				Direct:	412-635-3479
Software Development Engineer         	Main:	412-772-6600
Outbound Technology Group		fax:	412-635-3350
FORE Systems, Inc.			email:  cseren@fore.com	
Research Park, 5800 Corporate Drive	URL:	http://www.fore.com
Pittsburgh, PA 15237-5829