Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:52:01 -0700
Reply-To: "Kevin ..." <artbear26@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Kevin ..." <artbear26@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Vans in the hood
In-Reply-To: <1319060164.28940.YahooMailClassic@web83608.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
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I totally agree. I grew up in SoCal too ( South Bay -Manhattan Beach ) but lived in Pacific beach for a while. It seems like there was never a time in my life that Vanagons weren't everywhere and Vanagon Envy was at an all time high. Then there was this long long stretch living in the Pacific Northwest that was pretty much Vanagonless. Now I own a very nice '86 and smile every time I even sit in it. Like people keep saying, there's nowhere you go where someone doesn't stop to ask something about the van, or have a story to share, or want to buy it from you. But it's the stories that are great. A real Mystique that really works for me. KevinEdmonds,WA> Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:36:04 -0700
> From: rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET
> Subject: Re: Vans in the hood
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>
> I recall that in the 70's when I started to drive and got interested in cars, out in Southern California where I lived foreign cars (VW's, Datsun, Toyota, British sports cars) were becoming quite common whereas all my mid-West cousins drove Ford, Dodge, Chevy, GM (to this day, I've never owned an American car). Maybe it was because we had ports nearby to import cars from overseas, whereas the mid-West was already "close" to Detroit and all the US auto assembly plants. I think the weather had something to do with it (no salt, no extreme winters); I think the foreign cars might have been deemed more "fragile" and the early examples sure seemed to be compared with the domestic "tanks" on the highway. So maybe these factors plus many more caused VW to get a strong foothold out west. And of course the iconic "hippie-bus" from those crazy days in San Francisco and the "surf-vans" in Southern California helped sell a lot of Splitties and Bays and later,
> Vanagons out West...the "cool" factor. Cheap to buy, good on gas, and easy to keep running--everybody knew somebody who had one. And, the salt-free roads and plenty of access to VW shops for parts and repair helped keep Vanagons on the road. You definitely see plenty in California; it's fun to go up to Los Osos where GoWesty lives....Vanagons are EVERYWHERE (lots with GoWesty license plate frames)!
>
> Rich
> San Diego
>
> --- On Wed, 10/19/11, Gary Anderson <Gary.Anderson@USM.EDU> wrote:
>
> From: Gary Anderson <Gary.Anderson@USM.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Vans in the hood
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 1:40 PM
>
> On Oct 19, 2011, at 4:20 PM, "John Rodgers" <inua@CHARTER.NET> wrote:
>
> > Dunno why exactly, but it sure seems there are a whole lot more
> > Vanagons west of the Mississippi and on the left coast than east of the
> > Mississippi.
>
> And almost none "in" Mississippi!
>
> Gary
> MS Westy
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