Ahhhh.....Stealth Vanagons! Since it's close to Halloween maybe they are ghost vans. 
 

> Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:15:33 +0000
> From: fonman4277@COMCAST.NET
> Subject: Re: Vans in the hood
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> 
> As I have mentioned before, even in the tiny town of Round Hill, Virginia, there is one other Vanagon owner besides me. Even though I parked next to him one day at the grocery store, he wasn't very talkative when he came out. As to where all these cars are, I;m always amazed when I go to local car shows and look at the registration cards on a lot of the show cars-they are local, even a lot that list "Round Hill Virginia" yet I never see them out on the road, just at shows.    Jeff Jeff Stewart ----- Original Message -----
> > Here on the East Coast in Virginia I have seen a few vanagons, but
> > they are
> > still
> > not that frequent. When you see them out here they usually stick out
> > even
> > with soo
> > many people driving suvs out here. I have been working on mine off and
> > on
> > and have
> > driven it a total of about a year out of the about four years I have
> > had
> > it. The guy I bought
> > it from was towing it around every time he moved(3 times) and wanted
> > to fix
> > it up but
> > never got around to it. I was able to get it for 500$. He worked where
> > I
> > worked and when
> > I got it running and drove it to work he saw it and said he felt sick
> > to
> > his stomach. All
> > I could do was smile as I walked away after we talked for a minute. It
> > is
> > definitely a unique
> > vehicle and I have learned a lot working on it without any kind of
> > repair
> > manual. Once on
> > the road as a daily driver I look forward to the cheaper fuel fill ups
> > comapared to fueling my
> > 1970 Mercury Monterey. Thanks to everyone for all of the stories and
> > tips!!
> > I am glad I found
> > Vanagon.com while searching for information, this has been a great
> > experience!!
> > Jason Orr
> > Victor 1.9 hardtop waterboxer 4spd
> > At 10:29 PM 10/19/2011 -0700, you wrote:
> > >    I think the reason there are more Vanagons out and about lately
> > > can be
> > >traced to gas and diesel costs.  I know that is why I found mine and
> > >began
> > >driving it around...and now I actually prefer it to my still very
> > >fine Ford
> > >4X4 with Alaskan camper...It's more fun to drive, usually, and easier
> > >to
> > >use....and most certainly easier on the wallet at the filling
> > >stations.
> > >   An American Van, vanagon-sized, or a pickup truck or a full sized
> > >SUV.....now a days you will spend  $100-$150 on each fill up.  My
> > >Ford gives
> > >me about 400 (+/-) miles of travel for that.  Most other full sized
> > >vehicles, until these last few years when the Sprinters, etc came
> > >onto the
> > >scene, they give about the same dollar/per mile ratio.
> > >    So people went to vanagons, which were cheap.  Or if 'cheap' was
> > > of no
> > >concern, they were still relatively fuel-efficient, compared to full
> > >sized
> > >vehicles.  Richy-rich folks felt "good" about buying a cute little
> > >Vanagon
> > >from one of the premium vendors and driving around righteously
> > >'saving the
> > >planet' in that rather than driving  a Prevost diesel pusher bus with
> > >pop-out rooms, or an Adventure Wagon giant Van....
> > >  Worker-bees like me, we have to make ends meet...which got me into
> > > another
> > >VW Van again.(Who'd a-thunk it--30yrs later, again driving a VW van
> > >to work,
> > >pounding nails at the same wage?)....and now I really wouldn't go
> > >back to a
> > >full size truck again (except when I have to tow something heavy).
> > >    If someone gave me a Mercedes sprinter van, I might use it as my
> > > work
> > >vehicle but I wouldn't try to camp in it....too tall, most of them.
> > > My work
> > >clients would be more impressed with a carpenter who shows up in a
> > >fancy
> > >modern vehicle, probably...but those vans, the new modern equivalent
> > >of the
> > >VW van, they are too expensive for me...and I don't care to learn to
> > >work on
> > >something that 'modular'...or pay for an extended service warranty to
> > >let me
> > >take it to the dealer, should it break....
> > >   Bazillions of Vanagons in the Pacific Northwest....
> > >   Don Hanson