I'm fortunate to have chosen two vehicles, both of which were in production
when I bought them, that are now classics and are my "old car hobby."  One,
of course, is my current '85 Westy, which replaced the '84 Westy I owned
from '86 to '06, as well as a '97 EVC I owned from '06 to '09.

The other is a 1965 MGB which was actually a college graduation present for
my future wife from her father in 1969 (at my urging, and we chose it over a
'65 Mustang, being somewhat unusual people).  The MGB has grown into a
collection.  My daughter has a '70 MGB-GT and my son is working on a 1964
roadster project.

The point of my musings is that without vendors finding and producing parts
and accessories for these cars there would be no classic cars on the road.

The range of accessories available for both is truly amazing.  For my MGBs I
can now purchase a custom designed and manufactured supercharger (if I were
wealthy), a Ford 5 speed transmission, modern shock absorbers, air
conditioning, leather upholstery, etc., as well as a huge number of
replacement parts.

The Vanagon also has benefitted from enthusiasts finding, importing, and
making parts and conversion kits, and I'm hopeful that Volkswagen's "Classic
Parts" effort will be robust.  When the MGB went out of production in 1980
British Leyland put all of their documentation and tooling in the public
domain (British Heritage Trust) to allow for unencumbered aftermarket parts
production.  This has kept the hobby possible and affordable.  Maybe VW will
do this too someday.

I can readily build a $20,000+ MGB or Vanagon Westy that is every bit as
drivable and reliable as any modern car (well, almost), and would be a lot
more fun and much cheaper than anything available today, not to mention head
turning.

Appreciate our vendors and celebrate the old car hobby, since you are all
hobbyists now by default.

May you have lots of Vanagon parts under your Christmas tree!

(I'll have a '93 Subaru donor car under mine.)  ;-)

Stuart

'85 Westy, '65 MGB