Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 19:10:44 -0400
Reply-To: Seth F Gordon <sethgordon@MONTYSBAY.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Seth F Gordon <sethgordon@MONTYSBAY.COM>
Subject: Re: overheard in a bicycle shop (F)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Well,
let me tell you, I am 22 soon to be 23 and I went to a show in lake placid
two weekends ago and was younger by at least 20 years than the youngest
vanagon owner. The main reason is that most guys my age can not afford the
price of maintaining a vanagon. the only reason that I still have mine is
good luck, timing, and a small inheritance from a dead aunt. Vanagons are
expensive compared to a corolla etc. heck compared to most cars, and any
mechanic can work on a rice burner. As for mountain bikes they are alot of
fun and you get alot more bells and whistles for your dollar (they are alot
easier to fix too). don't worry there is still plenty of vw support. Oh I
just remebered that most guys my age don't have an appropriate place to
repair our own vehicles. much less all the tools. let me tell you fixing
your rabbit in the university at buffalo dorm parking lot in snow and near
zero temperatures would require the use of some of that vulgar language to
explain the experiance. I spent the last two years of my college career
hoping that I would only break down while I was home on vacation. well thats
my $4.20
seth gordon
84 wle
ps
when I was younger I used to want 86 later westy (12-14) and I still can't
afford it..
>Hello; I went into town to buy a new front tire for my mountain bike
>yesterday. There was a bunch (8) of 20 something fellows standing around
>socializing, over the new shipment of mountain bike glitterati. I was
>shocked to find out that front tires can cost up to $80, with $29 being
>the average. While I was checking all this out, I couldn't help overhear
>the talk from these guys. They were all excited about the cars they have
>been looking at to buy when summer is over and they have to return to their
>non-vacation routine. They were enthused by 14 to 20 year old Honda
>Civics, Toyotas, and other discarded mom's cars. Now my generation (50
>year olds), in the same situation, would be looking for pony cars, american
>iron, to try to re-capture their mis-spent youth. Could it be, these guys
>spent their mis-spent youth in one or another mom's car? (Hontoyadatsun)
>Another thing was on my mind while I was at the bike store; I had read,
>that day on the Windsurfing news group, that generation Xers couldn't
>afford windsurfing because the first accessory required was a car. That
>was someone's reason why windsurfing was losing popularity, and hadn't been
>embraced by new generations.
>These bicycle guys obviously had quite a lot of money invested in their
>lifestyle (bicycles), yet none of them considered a Vanagon (compulsory VW
>content) or any VW product (rabbit) as a possible vehicle for them.
>I know that this small group is not representational of all
>20-somethingers, but it seems to me that used VWs fit their purposes much
>better than used japanese cars, in being cheap to buy, run and repair, and
>looking good all the while. Larry Carter
>
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