With all this talk of various syndromes, I started noticing a syndrome going
around The List.  It's called the Vanagon Listee's Syndrome.  It seems to be
highly communicable and spreading by ASCII.  How do you know you have it?

1.  Prolific use of such cliche phrases as "water-leaker", "westfailure"
and, yes, "syndrome".
2.  Announcing at random that any car by any other manufacturer is better
than a VW, especially those new VWs like "that '92 Passat I used to have".
3.  Irrational fears of impending engine doom.
4.  Propagating the belief than any engine, except that manufactured by VW,
is better than what came in the Vanagon in the first place.
5.  Unknowingly spreading misconceptions.  "Hey, if it was posted on The
List, it must be very true, right?"
6.  Announcing the wish to buy "something new" in hopes to replace what the
Vanagon, even Westfalia, has to offer.
7.  After umpteen years of Vanagon ownership still complaining about its
idiosyncarsies as if we just found out about them.
8.  Hitting the "Reply" button more often than the "Delete" button.

..and above all:

9.  Forgetting why we bought the Vanagons in the first place.

The List has turned into a place for Vanagon rants instead of a place for
learning about our beloved vehicles.  It's not just human nature, it's the
Vanagon Listee's Syndrome and it's slowly eating away at the core of The
List.

Chris. S.