Having lived most of my life up and down the "Left Coast", I noticed the PNW
(Pacific NorthWest) tends to get a lot of moisture, as in rain & snow.  In
fact my older step-brother who was stationed at Fort Lewis, WA made the
observation that "it rained so much, that even the rocks grew".

After Florida and New England, Washington and Oregon lead the Continental
USA in VW Sheet Metal and "Patch Repair" Panels at least from where I hang
my shingle for the past 6 years.  That's gotta say something about "rust
belts" (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas usually
tie for 4th place (depending on the month), followed by the Midwest.
Montana's gaining ground, there's a "restoration" outfit up there that buys
Beetle Floor Pans by the crate from us about every two months.

We ship an average of 4 used (forget new ones - NLA) Rear Quarter Panels for
Karmann Ghias of any particular year to Florida each month, followed by
used Front Fender/Quarter Panels.  The PNW consumes the most requested in
Type 2 sheet metal we currently sell.

Gotta love those computers and the very customized software that can tell me
as a Purchasing & Product Manager what to buy and where it's going <grin>.
--
Jim Thompson
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
oldvolkshome@gmail.com
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
**********************************
On 8/4/06, Rob <becida@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> At  8/4/2006 12:18 PM, Old Volks Home wrote:
> >The better the construction, the longer they
> >do last, but that of course is dependant on where you're at, the Rust
> Belt
> >verses the almost Rust-Free Left Coast (PNW excepted).
>
> I was on a 13 year vacation to the upper mid-west. 5 yrs just north
> of Chicago, a couple of years in Michigan (Traverse City) and 6 years
> is northern Minnesota (Bemidji area).
> At the end of that time we returned to Washington state (PNW).
> The first thing I noticed were the mountains, the second thing was
> the rust free condition of the cars... ALL the cars. Then I started
> noticing all the VW buses.
>
> When someone lumps the "PNW" in with the "rust belt" I really have to
> wonder where they are coming from. There are NO rusty cars out here
> (that didn't come from Illinois or Minnesota), take a trip back there
> and see what a rusty car looks like.
> <Shrug>, JMO...
>
>
>
> Rob
> becida@comcast.net
> '87 Wolfsburg Vanagon in western WA