How long did the Porsche 911 go in production before they finally put
on  power steering ?

it's easy to search.

from Wikipedia .

The first 964s available in 1989  ..................
Power steering and ABS
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system> brakes were
added to the 911 for the first time; both were standard.

The 911 did without PS uo to  89.
The majority of Vanagons had power steering by 1985.

Vanagons "amongst the last breed' ...sure, as fair statement.

if you keep the original type tires on a non-PS vanagon ..
which can be tallish 14 inchers...they'll do pretty wellout the PS.

On 12/25/2013 11:46 AM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> In general a low traction-rolling resistance tire will also require less
> steering effort. The two attributes do work together. There are exceptions
> especially with the change to higher performance low profile tires. Here
> they can increase traction and handling and also reduce rolling resistance.
> However wider tires can still increase steering effort.  The Vanagon is
> probably amongst the last breed of vehicle available without power steering.
>
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Don Hanson
> Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2013 1:05 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Tire observation
>
> I recently swapped my 14" tires.  I put my older Nokian Hakkapelitta C mud
> and snow on the front, replacing Hankook RAO 8s that were even more worn
> than the hakkas.  This greatly increased the effort to steer at parking
> speeds.  I have no power steering.  I have decent arm strength, but I now
> find it quite a chore to turn the wheels without any movement of the van,
> where with the RAO 8s, it was much easier.  I have about 43psi (dunno how
> many Barrs that is) in the tires.  Once rolling and at higher speeds, the
> Hakkas steer and track just fine.
>