Date:         Thu, 11 Jul 96 10:17:31 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Chris Venema <CVENEMA@uafsysa.uark.edu>
Subject:      Goodbye Vanagons



Hi all, Just wanted to bid all on the vanagon list farewell.  All that
stuff about breaking up is giving me a splittin headache!  I can understand
the need to evolve into two lists.  I drive only aircooled VWs so I
find myself wading through a lot of stuff that doesn't apply to us.  No
offense, it's just that an old bus and a vanagon are NOT alike in many ways.
They ARE alike in that they are both part of a long line of popular vans,
and as such make all of us part of a loose social club.  Mechanically,
the Vanagon seems rather advanced in terms of technical developments.
However, that is something I want to avoid.  I like the Mechanical simplicity
of a solid 1600 because I know I will not be held up by some undesirable
greaseball who charges by the minute.  That is the price drivers of newer
'cars' pay.  First it costs u an arm and a leg for the thing, then you
have to pay through the nose for parts/repairs.  I have found from 3 years
of list goodies that Vanagons are rather costly to purchase/maintain. YES,
I *would* get a vanagon if there were no aircooled busses!
It's not a mechanical aptitude thing, IMHO.  People who buy new Vanagons
do so because they want something they won't have to fix.  People who
buy old busses do so because they have what I would describe as an itch or
addiction.  This is why I am dropping off Vanagon and going with the new
list;  I'm addicted to aircooled VWs and do all my own work on 4 of them.
It nearly broke my heart to sell my '69 camper yesterday, but I'm moving
on to the ultimate in VW coolness with a convertible!  Still have my
'71 Camper to comfort me, but when that '69 rolled down the driveway I
felt like part of me went with it.  I stood there for a minute and realized
that I would probably never be able to kick the habit.  Even after wallowing
around in dirt and grease for 10 years now, I still have the itch.
Ain't it great?  Makes me think of the Beatles' "Free as a Bird". And I am.

  Drive on,
            Chris   '71 Camperwestybaywindowpoptop, '74 Beetle, 72 Beetle(2)

 P.S.  Sold the '69 for $1550- intact, but needs paint bad.