>> Please, do compare the Vanagon and its reliability
to anything else designed in the late 70's.  Do
compare it to other 20+year old vehicles.  Let's draw
relevant conclusions.

and

>> Tell me that a 20 year old caravan runs problem
free. All older cars require maintanance!

I assume you gentlemen read no more than the first
paragraph of my original post before gleefully
depressing your "Reply" buttons.

Had you proceeded even to the next sentence you would
have read me doing exactly what you request: comparing
the 1980 Vanagon to a 1980 Mustang, or by implication,
any other 20-year-old vehicle of your choice. And my
conclusion was that, as you say, ALL 20-year-old cars
will require extra care and maintenance. I maintain,
however, that the Vanagon will require even a little
bit more ... (wink)

Chris, to compare the Vanagon to a Dodge Caravan is
more than fair. In fact, according to this webpage for
Chrysler minivan enthusiasts (and I thought we
Vanageeks were oddballs):

"The Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager were first
introduced to the world in 1983, but Chrysler had
actually started working on them in the early 1970s,
with full development starting in 1980. Indeed, one
engineer told us that the launch was originally to be
in 1981, but that the minivan project was put on hold
for the Y-body Imperial."
http://www.allpar.com/model/m/history.html

So it seems the Vanagon and the Caravan are very close
automotive cousins, conceived nearly simultaneously
and born within two years of each other. The article
goes on to say:

"Who invented the minivan?

"Chrysler invented the modern minivan - twice. Richard
Moss pointed out that Chrysler Europe was working with
Matra on a minivan in the late 1970s / early 1980s.
... Matra took the design to Renault, which modified
it to fit the Renault 21 drivetrain...resulting in a
calendar-year 1983 introduction and Europe's most
popular minivan. ... The American Plymouth Voyager and
Dodge Caravan were also introduced in 1983, as 1984
models."

The article seems to ignore the existence of VW
Vanagons on American streets as early as 1980(!), and
if the earlier Busses/Transporters weren't "mini
vans", I don't know what is.

I love my Vanagon Westy like no other vehicle I've
owned. You can have it only when you pry my lifeless,
mangled corpse from its crumpled, steely clutches. But
I am not blind to the Vanagon's peculiar foibles, and
a little honest self-evaluation never hurt anyone. Or
a van ...

Jeffrey Earl
1983 diesel Westfalia "Vanasazi"
http://www.vanthology.com/

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