In a message dated 3/11/05 1:52:48 AM, marcsayer@COMCAST.NET writes:

<< The E150 is very lush and nice, has about the same useful room as the
Vngn, gets 12 13 MPG on the highway and has been mostly trouble free. >>

Perhaps there has been a quantum leap in van design recently.  This past
summer I put about 1400 miles through the Northeast in a rental Chebbie cargo van.
 I think it was a 2500 series and I think it had a V-6.  It was whatever
cargo van Enterprise rents.  It ran like a dream, damn near froze me out of the
thing and returned over 20 MPG.  To be fair, this was mostly highway miles.  It
was loaded to the gills one way and empty on the return.  The amount of load
hardly effected the MPG.  I kept up with traffic which, especially through
Connecticut, New Yawk, and Mass meant running at least 80 or getting run over.  A
few times I took a blast over a 100 and it felt not much different from going
60.

I stopped for gas as I neared home and a tradesman in a similar van pulled in
next to me.  Since I had fully expected to get about 10 MPG from the thing
and thinking that perhaps I erred in my record keeping, I asked him what kind of
MPG his van got on the highway.  He said,"Oh, about 20 or a little better . .
. but this van has a V-8."

I can't help but wonder what kind of MPG I would have gotten had I been able
to hold my speed to 70 Mph some Vanagon owners use as their upper limit.

One thing I did particularly like was to able to pass a semi at 90 without
the feeling that it was the last time I would ever see this sweet earth.  On the
other hand, I didn't really like the pattern of the seat fabric.

The trip was not exactly trouble-free.  While parking I shifted a wheel
weight whenever I brushed a curb (damn those granite curbstones in New Hampshire!).
 Fortunately, I could see the outline of the weight's original location, but
I did have to spend 5 minutes tapping it back into place.  You see, no vehicle
is without its problems.

George