Man, you need to come here in Thailand.  Those vans are EVERYWHERE.  The chances of getting hit by one is 99%.   Most are in Taxi service.  Very few t4 or t5, saw only one Vanagon so far.  Toyota rules the roads here !   Why the HIACE is not imported to NA is a mystery to me.  Big strong diesel, standard tranny, huge interior space.  Perfect for camper conversions !

On 2011-01-19, at 9:53 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:

> When I lived in South Africa, that Hiace was the most preferred taxi for the
> locals.  More than twenty of them fit in at a time.  I would not be
> surprised if it was thirty guys.  But it was well loved by all the
> businesses for it's dependability, only it got stolen more often.  Many
> drivers got killed in the process and it has not stopped yet.  I'm not sure,
> the Vanagon would be as much sought after ever for it's dependability.
> BTW there was no VW camper introduced in South Africa of the Vanagon kind.

       Please note that I will be away from my business travelling from December 06 until April 30, 2011.  Parts orders will be processed although not as quickly as usual.  I will always be available for contact by E-mail.  If you phone your call will be addressed by Greg T. Brown here and he will either call you back or advise you to contact me directly by E-mail. Details of this adventure are on our Travel Blog: http://frankcondelli.com/travels/

Cheers,    

Frank Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
'87 Westy & Lionel Trains (Collection for sale)
Frank Condelli & Associates - Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust Systems
BusFusion a VW Camper camping event, Almonte, ON, June 09 ~ 12, 2011