Hi George,

Ground clearance isn't always important... Remember that 4WD isn't just
about off-roading. Ever driven in snow?

In the early 80's just about every manufacturer was switching over to
front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive systems in order to improve
traction. The synchro fit that bill quite nicely, and handles much more
"civilized" in the snow than a rear-wheel drive vehicle can.

Happy trails,

Greg Potts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1973/74/79 Westfakia Conversion **Bob the Tomato**  LY3H
1977 Sunroof Automatic L63H/L90D
http://www.pottsfamily.ca/westfakia
http://www.busesofthecorn.com

On 1-Sep-04, at 5:38 AM, George Goff wrote:

> Ground clearance might not matter.  According to VW, a Syncro has less
> ground
> clearance than a 2WD Vanagon.  Makes me wonder about what niche the
> Syncro
> was supposed fill.