In 1989 while I was stationed in Germany, I was responsible for driving generals around in a limo version Vanagon. I believe it was an 84. It had a partition between the driver's area and the rear with a sliding window and curtains so I didn't have to listen to their stories. The rear area had the typical Weekender fold up table and a bench seat that faced rearward. We also had a few cargo vans, but I could only carry the captains in these. (HaHa). This was my first experience with the watercooled (Dad had a 73). Boy did the German versions have power. Not like my 84 now. Granted they were slower than most German cars, but I remember getting up to 160km/h. (No B.S.) We actually had an accident in it on the Autobahn. It was at night and there was a wreck ahead of us. I was not driving. A civilian was ejected from one of the cars and we ran over him. Not fun. Suprisingly the van handled pretty well. We were later informed that he was probably dead before we hit him. Morbid huh? I was hooked on the Vanagon and spent 8 years after that looking for the right one. Most I found were basterdized. Deadhead crap and custom panel jobs etc. The German civilians maintained the mechanics of the van. We just added gas. Just thought I'd share. Tchuss, Jim W. |
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