>Even the venerable engineers at VW or Westfalia come up with a stupid
idea now and then, and this one takes the cake.

The above reference was about OEM pop top seals. I think while the
design is bad I know of another part that REAlLY takes the cake and that
is:

The rubber mat over the driver and passenger steps.

In case you've never had the pleasure of removing one, try looking at
yours from under the step. The mat is held in place by 5 rubber
protrusions on the mat that VW accommodates by drilling 5 holes in the
step. These holes are right in front of the wheel arch so the holes can
be kept constantly wet just in case they don't rust out quick enough
without the road spray application. I've just had to have two metal
plates welded in place as the steps were rotting away.

This total overkill is done to keep a little piece of rubber in place
and it really takes the cake...unless you know better!

Melvin