"According to Gary of Gary's Driveway VW Repair, as written in the book My Bug, edited by Michael J. Rosen, "Beetle seats are stuffed with natural sisal, the stuff used for making twine. I gather it comes from some kind of agave plant, and it shreds into cords or fibers, kind of like hemp - although it can't be too much like hemp, or lots of Beetle owners would have come to me over the years to restuff their seats. Anyway, when it warms up, (I don't mean the car, just the weather), or when moisture gets in the seats, the sisal "gasses," and gives off that characteristic odor. But, come on, it's not a bad smell. It's not like you see Beetle owners hanging pina colada air fresheners from the rearview mirror." "

From: http://sandlizrd.baja.org/bajaseat.htm

I dated a chick that had a bug, and I know for sure that I saw what I thought was straw in there, and I remember thinking of Uncle J. at the time (not Unca Joel).  : )

How that same smell gets into a vanagon (even if only slightly) I don't know... YGIAGAM.

Might not even be the same smell the OP was talking about- what are vanagon seats stuffed with, anyway? 

Cya,
Robert

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Dave Mcneely
Sent: Friday, October 23, 2009 4:58 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Friday: than Vanagon smell?

On Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 5:06 PM, Robert Fisher wrote:

  I asked
> him what 'that smell' was. He said it came from the straw that VW used
> to
> stuff the seats.
> If we've had the Vgon closed up on a really hot day, I can get a whiff
> of
> that same smell right when I open the door; Cya,
> Robert
>

but vanagon seats are not stuffed with straw.  Beetle seats weren't
either, were they?  Can't prove anything by me, of course.  Dave Mc