Some time ago one of the British VW magazines ran an advertisment for a
company selling these as a replacement for the VW bus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Bongo

While I admire the bravery in trying to sell this to VW enthusiasts,  I
don't think they sold many and they have since stopped advertising.

A colleague of mine was going to get one but his wife refused as she
didn't like the name!

I, of course, suggested that he get a VW but he still hasn't decided yet.

Jerome Perkins

On 19/01/2011 08:17, Malcolm Stebbins wrote:
> Many companies make these vans:  Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, etc., and many
> come in 4WD.    BUT, for the vanagon camper crowd, these are all front engine
> and therefore don't have the Walk-through feature for the front seats.  m
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Don Hanson<dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
>
> I know it is not Friday but I saw a Nissan Hiace today, driving through town
> and it went past my parked Vanagon.   They could be Clones.   Same size and
> shape and this Nissan had a cool awning and it looked like a camping
> interior.  Right hand drive and diesel.   Good looking modern beastie.
> Didn't see the plates.  It looked to me like a modern Vanagon, but
> Japanese.   I suppose the US forbids them being owned and registered here,
> or we would all have them, I suppose.
>
>    I am going to do some research about those thingys...I owned a Nissan one
> time and it was so dependable I never even knew what kinda motor was in
> it...Gas and drive...change the oil...and a couple of hundered thousand
> miles later, it got smooshed without ever giving me one single problem.  If
> I could have a Vanagon-like Nissan...I certainly would be all over it.
>
>     The Nissan Hiace drivers were checking out my Vanagon as they drove
> past.....wonder what they were saying to each other?
>
>    Don Hanson