Actually, I'd guess vanagons aren't on the list because if we thought they
were that bad, we wouldn't have them!  And I'd hardly call an average of
18-20 mpg decent gas mileage, unless your comparison is a hummer.

Yeah, Wes, you are blinded by love.  But that's okay, we all are!

Joy

:::-----Original Message-----
:::From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
:::Of Wesley Pegden
:::Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 6:01 PM
:::To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
:::Subject: Re: 50 worst cars, and the vanagon isn't one of them
:::
:::People keep bringing up how vanagons aren't on this list.  I mean, of
:::course they're not, right?
:::The major design flaw of the vanagons is the head gaskets, and still
:::many go 100k or even 200k between gasket jobs.  Other than that, many
:::aspects of the vanagon seem very well designed.  It's an incredibly
:::functional vehicle, whether comfortably hauling 7 passengers or camping
:::equipment, that gets relatively good gas mileage (decent even by today's
:::standards), and is relatively easy for a backyard mechanic to work on.
:::Did I mention it looks cool?
:::
:::It seems most of the rest of its quirky mechanical reputation is due to
:::its rarity and novelty in this country (especially away from the west
:::coast)... your typical mechanic hasn't seen one before, and so has no
:::experience with them, making owning one a major pain if you can't do the
:::work yourself or are lucky enough to live next to a good vanagon
:::mechanic.
:::
:::Am I missing something here?
:::
:::These are old vehicles.  Of course they need some parts replaced.  And
:::since there aren't many vanagons around, it's harder to find mechanics
:::who can do the work.
:::
:::Am I just blinded by love?