I drove a stick shift 80 Vanagon for 4 years and overall, it was OK, because
I had driven stick shift VWs all my life.  When I got "Ole Putt" in '97, I
was a bit apprehensive because my experience with VW Autos was less than
desirable.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well the response was (even
though it can be a slug at take off with a full camping load and trailer
behind).  After 12 years I've driven all over the USA and I LUV my
automatic.  "Gloria" is also an automatic.  Both have been great (for me) to
drive.

I don't do very much off road, except several gravel roads and pulling the
selector to "2" has never been a problem.  When attending the Jerome
Jamboree, the last 1/8th mile of gravel road before you get to the plateau
where all the Buses & Vanagons are parked require the selector to be pulled
to "1", still no problem, she pulls that last bit very well and strong.

Now that I've recently got a 914 I'm having to learn how to drive a stick
again (if you can't find them, grind the <grin>).
--
Jim Thompson
84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
75 914 1.8 (No Name Yet)
Full Timing Since March 1999
oldvolkshome@gmail.com
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
***********************************
On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 5:30 PM, Mike <mbucchino@charter.net> wrote:

>  You appear to be passionately against personally owning or driving an
> automatic trans Vanagon, while admitting little or no personal experience
> driving one yourself.
>  Did I mention that I've owned a couple of each type? (I try my best not to
> pre-judge anything or anyone......)
>  I love my '87auto Westy! Excellent vehicle overall (warts and all!).
>
> Mike B.
>     I can't recall ever owning an automatic vehicle.  I do not care for
> them.
>  I hate the way they are in snow...They suck in soft sand and having some
>  engineer pre-determine when the vehicle will shift under +his+ conditions,
>  the one's they simulated on the computer in China, Japan, Germany or where
>  ever, that is often awkward.  It can be fatal, if you're in an emergency
>  situation right at the limits of traction, and your silly automatic tranny
>  decides it must shift...  You can't really tow them, you can't push start
>  them and you can't usually "baby" a faulty one back home in whatever gear
>  remains.  They seem to be more expensive to have repaired and most of them
>  are less effective for fuel economy..maybe brand new ones can match a
> manual
>  trans for MPG..but I doubt I will every buy one until they get really good
>  or there are no manual tranny vehicles allowed on the highway..
>
>    I really can't picture myself driving an automatic Vanagon..Mine, I
> drive
>  it like a small truck..It's pretty heavy and has a similar power to weight
>  ratio to a loaded truck, so I like to control where my RPMs are with an
> eye
>  on the highway ahead and the traffic I anticipate..  If I'm caught going
>  slow with a long grade ahead I like to have the option to be in any of 3
>  gears in my 5speed manual..depending on how slow and how steep the
>  road ahead is..Fishing around for a usable gear in a slush box Vanagon
> just
>  makes me shudder thinking about it.  On mountain or winding roads, as I
>  brake and enter a corner I can select the proper gear that I will need to
>  exit the corner effectively and lose no momentum at all nor induce any
>  stress into the drive line with a shift under load, like an auto does.
>
>    Only if I lived in a big city would I consider an auto-shift...and I
> will
>  never willingly live in a big city again.
>    Don Hanson
>