It took me 5 yearsfrom when I got my licence to when I bought my first
Westfalia, a white '86.  I bought a white '81 Jetta a few months before I
got my license and drove it until I graduated from High School.  At which
point my parents traded me the Jetta for a Red GTI 16v as a graduation
present.  They *gave* the Jetta to my then barely 16 year old sister, who
proceeded to total the car the next week!

While in college I thought that the Nissan Pathfinder was as cool as can be,
until I was on my second extended summer road trip and thought to myself
that there must be a better car to travel, live, and camp out of!  Of course
when I checked blue book values I thought that I would get a nice '86-'87
Syncro Westy for $5K-$6K!!  Hahahahahahaha!  Not a chance.  So when I was 21
I bought a 2WD Westy that had apparently been abandoned in the back of my
local Nissan dealer.

Two years later, with a lot of help from this list I had finally managed an
'86 Syncro Westy.  Of course I have never had a Vanagon as my only form of
transport, I have always had some fast little VW as the Westy's sidekick.

So now finally at 26 I have reached my VW utopia.  A sweet black '95 GTI
VR6, and an even sweeter burgundy '90 Syncro Westfalia with all the
trimmings:-)

I just wanted to share.....I thought y'all might understand.  Most people
laugh at me:-)

Cory

> Sam W wrote:
> >>  We'll see what puberty does for his car
> >> tastes.
> >>
> >> Sam Walters
> >> '84 Vanagon, 174k
> >> '89 Syncro, 176 k
> >> 11 year old Alex, future driver
>
> Gary S wrote:
> > Since I agree with the theory that all teenagers go through a period of
> > temporary insanity (Even, no make that especially me. Somehow I
survived.),
> > I am thinking that my 13 year old son will have to satisfy himself with
an
> > old tank. I'm thinking Checker Marathon myself...
>
> My comments:
>
> As my twin fifteen year old boys turn sixteen within weeks, I am keenly
> aware of how "uncool" the Vans are.  They are almost equally dismayed with
> my choice of an '81 diesel Rabbit as 'their' car (augmented by my "sits in
> the alley and gets used as a truck S-10).  They will follow in the
> footsteps/tire tracks of their two older brothers who were forced to
endure
> econobox junkers until their driving and maintenance skills warranted step
> up next cars. Son # 1 now has a beautiful '98 VR6 GTI and son #2 drives a
> pristine '92 Jetta and has a '68 Karmaan Ghia as a keeper. Both of them
> learned about cars through a series of object lessons and over several
years
> of servitude to their econobox beginnings. The older siblings both admit
> that the utility of the vans is beginning to grow on them...particularly
for
> moving and weekend camping.
>
>
> --
> Stephen Steele
> Chillicothe OH
> '91 Caravelle  Hans
> '84 Westfalia  Fritz or Sunny?
>