Hello folks! I've been away from the list for a couple of months but I'm
finally getting around to thinking about the van again.

There is one question that continues to plague me. In the computer world
I'm familiar with there is always an end of life (EOL) to every product.
And I'm not talking about when a company stops producing something or
stops supporting it but when it becomes nearly impossible to maintain an
old product. If you've got some old 486 computer chugging along and the
network card dies on it you'd have a pretty hard time finding an ISA
card to replace it, etc etc.

So my question is, if anyone has quantified such, when will our dearly
loved Vanagons have their inevitable EOL? Sure, some parts can be easily
rigged, a few parts may come out of Germany or South Africa or where
ever else. But there comes a point when even if a part is available it's
at a cost that doesn't make it feasible. Of course there are other
factors that may not affect many van owners, like how long does it take
to get that part?

This question has been eating me ever since trying to locate transaxles
for my (now) 3 speed van. Cores are very precious it seems.

Anyway, it's good to be back. Happy 2005!
Chris
Nashville, TN USA
85 GL (yeah it's still broken)