Thanks so much for all of the responses regarding the diesel Vanagon.

I went and took an extended test drive yesterday afternoon.  This tan and
yellow two-tone Vanagon (it's an '83) ran well around the neighborhood; I
could tell immediately how sluggish it was in accelerating, and it seemed to
vibrate more and was louder than my old '85 1.9 was, but I was enjoying the
drive.

Then I took it out on the highway.

I took US 6 West, towards Golden and the mountains.  I was in the far-right
lane with the pedal on the floor, and with the gradual incline of that
highway, I could feel it losing momentum as I drove.  It was like the harder
I pushed it, the slower it wanted to go.  The exhaust was thick as well.
People were blowing by me like I was standing still (I'm accustomed to that
after my last Vanagon, but not to this extreme!)  By the time I got to the
foothills, I was going about 25-30 mph and thought the poor thing was going
to come apart at the seams.

I turned her around at a gas station, wiped the beads of sweat off my
forehead, and headed back.  The drive back down the hill was fine, as it was
mostly coasting.  The suspension was soft but in fairly good shape; I
couldn't stand not having a tachometer in there though.  I felt like I
couldn't tell what the hell was going on...

I think that the diesel Vanagon would make a great city delivery vehicle and
an even better farm truck, anywhere where near sea level at least.

I went back to the shop that owns the Vanagon and told the mechanic about my
adventure.  His response, with a chuckle, was "Highway 6?  In this thing?
Are you kidding?"

My search continues...

Thanks,
Joe T.
'85 Scirocco

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