I just gotta reply to this one, too! I know I didn't buy my VW bus because
of the horsepower; come on now, let's face it. I have had no problems with
my WBX that a better PO couldn't have helped. But now I am doing the
maintenance, so I gotta fix things up a bit. My Wolfie has the power I need
to go where I wanna go. Sure, I probly have to get me two studded tires to
make it through the winter here in the mountains of NC, but I accept that
because I love my Wolfie; it's a reliable machine. I will attack the A/C
that doesn't work at the moment, but that'll wait until next spring. I
don't; think of my Vanagon as being inefficient because I am getting 22.8
MPG, it goes over 65 MPH (if I want it to), and I have never been left on
the side of the road. Course, I'm not looking for a Barracuda Hemi 440 outta
the VW. I don't need the extra power; maybe some do. BTW, I had a Barracuda
Hemi 440 once. Traded it in for a VW....straight across, and have mostly
owned VWs since 1970. Let' remember that the VW is meant to be reliable
transportation. I bought my current Vanagon because I needed capacity to
haul my leathergoods to art fairs; it is functional and dependable. Who can
ask for anything more? I guess my final take on it is that if you want a
more efficient automobile, don't you usually have to give up something?
You're not going to get excellent gas mileage in a Vanagon, but I'll bet it
is better that what you'd get after all the conversions to "soup-up" the
engine.

Rodney
Asheville, NC
'84 Wolfie