> My son, who is 12
> now, doesn't know that I've bought my Vanagon.  I know that when I drive to
> his mother's next week to pick him up I'm going to get to watch him jump
> through his own rear end with excitement.  When he was a toddler I owned and
> rebuilt a 1969 Beetle, and we had the most fun in that vehicle.  Later a
> 2003 Eurovan, even more fun although not nearly as accessible.

In early '82 I was tired of freezing coming back down to Boulder from
skiing, so I wanted something with HEAT.  [My '76 bay window had
heat, after APRIL....]

I looked at a new Vanagon (with gas heater) and at Volvos, which were
THE car in Boulder then. [Now replaced with Subarus.]

Kids were 7 and 9.  Without hesitation, they said "VW!"

We had great trips in that '81, gas heater running for hours
on end in the winter.  I drove lots of jeep roads before I
learned that it wasn't like a splitty....

http://jones.colorado.edu/jones/nebr.jpg
http://jones.colorado.edu/jones/DV/one.html
http://jones.colorado.edu/jones/chaco.gif
http://jones.colorado.edu/jones/gobblinvw.jpg

I still have it.  If God told me to shrink from four vehicles
to one, I swear, I think I'd stick with the air-cooled Vanagon.

Richard