The Vanagons have not all gone - they have retired = and live in Santa Barbara, CA!  I'll bet their are several hundred = of them here.  It is rare that I park somewhere in town and can't = park near another Vanagon.  Like Mark, I have always been amused = at the "Vanagon Sighting" e-mails on the list.  (I would = have to compose about 20 a day!)

Instead, I get a kick out of seeing the odd Syncro = Westy (There are about 6 or 7 here in town AFAIK).

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.C= OM]On Behalf
> Of Mark Drillock
> Sent: Friday, June 23, 2000 10:23 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Where have all the Vanagons = gone?
>
>
> I made it home last night from an 11 day trip = across country
> and back in
> my 82 TD Westy. The biggest surprise was how = few Vanagons of
> any type we
> saw. From the Calif border to North Carolina I = saw a total of 4
> Vanagons, one late model Westy in Texas and a = couple of air cooled
> models in New Mexico and my Aunts 90 Carat in = NC. From there
> we drove to
> PA and I saw none. I saw a clean Westy outside = of Chicago and then
> nothing until we got to Moab and the Grand = Canyon where there were a
> variety of VW vans of all types.
>
> I can see more Vanagons in my own driveway than = I saw in 4000 miles of
> travel east of the Rockies. Is this how it = really is? I see
> dozens daily
> just going about my business in San Diego or = any part of
> coastal Calif.
> Now I understand some of the posts I see from = people wanting
> to know if
> a Vanagon they saw somewhere is a list member. = Any list
> member Westbound
> on I 20 near Odessa TX on the morning of June = 13, in a white
> late model
> Westy?
>
> The second biggest surprise was the number of = small metal
> pieces in the
> bottom of my transmission just outside of North = Platte Nebraska. Spare
> Vanagon tranny availability there is slim to = say the least.
> Fortunately
> my list member buddy Mike Snow was able to help = my brother in law send
> me a spare tranny that same day FedEx P1. It = arrived in NE
> before 10 am
> the next morning and I bought some cheap wheel = ramps and a
> crappy floor
> jack at a FLAPS. My nephew and I had it in and = running early that
> afternoon in the Motel 6 parking lot. Only 24 = hours from
> breakdown to on
> the road again, a true miracle.
>
> 2,400 emails left to read, or not,
> Mark Drillock
>