Dateline,Aruba........I've been searching in vain for about 5 days now for a single Vanagon.  Lots of the Mitsubishi, Toyota,and other nameless, faceless imitations, but none of the real thing.  Of any vintage.  Very little conversation about what kind of tires are best for handling snowy conditions, either.

However, I've had just a taste of what you fans of the diesel may be talking about:  on a 4WD tour of the island's high points yesterday, I was recruited to be an additional driver (by the way, Synchro owners, would you ever let someone drive your vehicle over really steep, rocky and winding trails without even asking if there was any previous experience--which I have not) I was amazed at the low end torque of the Land Rover diesel they entrusted to me; despite my having zero experience in such conditions, the little thing just chugged its way up and down some very rocky hillsides despite my failure to downshift appropriately.

I can begin to see the appeal of that Synchro subcult, especially if the VW diesel handles the slow going as well as the Rover.

www.bucuti.com