Date:         Sat, 31 May 1997 17:59:51 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Barbara Sutton <bsutton@gladstone.uoregon.edu>
Subject:      Re: The spirit of the Type II lives!

Lon J. Thompson wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I agree.  I was bit miffed at first, but my '86 Syncro is every bit (and
> more) a piece of my '71.
> 
> Lon T.
Well, I don't agree. My '91 Westie is a wonderful vehicle, but it will
never have the spirit and personality of my '66 kombi, or my ex-'69
kombi, for that matter. When you mention "(and more)", that's where I
think the issue is. Vanagons lost the beauty of simplicity. I do
recognize that some things never change, and that despite all those
extra gadgets, the Westie still looses more momentum than most cars on
those uphills...(Yes, 2.1L, FI, etc. etc., and I am still there in the
right lane, with the 18 wheelers) Not that I mind it, of course.
In fact, being such different vehicles has forced me to keep
both.(Tough!) I can't replace one for the other. I guess I agree with
the hard-line split window purists on this one.
Later,
Cris.
'91 Westie "Fafner"
'66 Kombi
'67 Deluxe (parts car)
P.S:
> > Perhaps I've become a bit of a Yuppie, but I doubt that I'd really love a
> > split as anything other than a collector's item now -
You do sound like one! A split can be a perfect everyday vehicle.  Some
of us are planning to go to Tierra del Fuego with one. I feel they are
far more reliable than Vanagons, for one thing.
 - VW made way too many
> > improvments over time.
Like the watercooled heads?..

Am I going to be blacklisted in this list now? :)
Bye again,
Cris.