Geza Polony <gezapolony@SBCGLOBAL.NET> wrote:     <SNIP>
   Ever have the feeling that you're "in a
relationship" with these beasts?
<SNIP>

  Yeah I hear that! My wife (of 20 years, no less) half-jokingly refers to my van as The Mistress.. Sometimes not even half joking. That should tell you all something about our van, and our relationship with it...

  And it is not that my wife and I are alone. Many of us here on this list see our vans as a little bit more than just a set of wheels. This thread has covered this feeling pretty well. It is not always about "most reliable" or "cheapest to operate" or "most powerful" or any other objective measure. You just like the van, and the way it leaves you feeling. As frustrated as I get with it sometimes, I still would not trade it for a payment book, or a cookie-cutter, drive-what-the-Jones-do machine. I don't buy into that mind-set, either.

  At any given moment, you have to ask yourself if the price you pay to drive this beast is worth it to YOU. The price varies for each of us, and is far from just monetary. Money is part of it, but so is time spent working on it, worrying about being stranded, will parts be available in 10 years (or 20, or 30...), and so on.

  So ask yourself - do YOU feel lucky...   ...to be driving a Vanagon?