Hear, hear!  (Well, they aren't heavy but I'm in agreement with the rest...)

"It is better to travel hopefully than arrive."

Jake

On Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 8:38 PM, Joy Hecht <jhecht@alum.mit.edu> wrote:

> Well of course vanagons are slow!  They have low-power engines and they are
> heavy.  They are slow on flat ground - of course they are even slower going
> up long grades.  On long gradual grades, the kind you don't see with the
> eye, I find myself not going above the 50s, if that - the lack of power is
> how I realize I'm on a grade.  Steep hills I do at 20-25 mph.  Definitely
> you're going to climb to the continental divide in the right lane with the
> 18-wheelers while cars and SUVs rush past in the left lane.
>
> If you wanted a vehicle that would make good time on long drives, why would
> you have a vanagon?
>
>
>
> Joy
>
>
>
> > On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 4:01 PM, Mark Hineline <hineline@helix.ucsd.edu
> > >wrote:
> >
> > > Okay, a couple of points to consider.
> > >
> > > First, I had a '76 bus named Peregrine. Greg mentioned my trials and
> > > tribulations with Peregrine.
> > >
> > > Second, and this is really the kicker, my number one destination is
> > > the Colorado Plateau -- Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Cedar Mesa. From San
> > > Diego thats' 500 to 600 miles and an 8000 foot gain in elevation. In
> > > my GTI I can do it in 7 hours. I'm guessing that in a watercooled
> > > Vanagon I'm looking at 10 to 12 hours for the same trip.
> > >
> > > Sound right? Are Vanagons slow pulling long grades?
> > >
> > > Mark
> > >
> > >
> >
>

--
Jake

1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"

Crescent Beach, BC

www.thebassspa.com
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27