All the time!  I walk by it in the driveway, regularly pat it and mutter
"hang in there."  And, every time I make a disparaging remark about the lack
of power my wife pats it on the dash and apologizes for me.

I'm a believer in "Van Karma"  or "Carma."  In 50 years of driving,
including 40 years of VW vans and over a million miles I've never been
stranded in a bad situation by a breakdown. (I hope I haven't jinxed that
now.)

In particular, my VW vans have gotten me home or near home before
self-destructing more than once.  The one exception was my blown engine, but
it blew only 100 miles from home after a great 3000 mile trip in summer
heat: http://volksweb.relitech.com/21rodbrg.htm

My MGBs have not been quite as good.

Stuart

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Roland
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2014 5:06 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Do you ever pat your Vanagon on the head and say thanks?

Last week we went to Big Bear for a few days from San Diego.  It isn't all
that far, typically only 2.5-3 hours, but with stops and traffic it was
about 5 hours.   This time we had our grandson with us, and going through
the Inland Empire (Riverside, San Bernardino, etc.) was at over 100 degrees
in evening rush hour.  The climb to Big Bear is to straight up to 6,000 ft,
with some steep grades.   I was able to keep at about 50-55 mph in 3rd;
many people waved or flashed "thank you" when I used the pull-outs to let
them by.

We hadn't been on a trip with the Vanagon for some time, and I only did a
few basic checks.   So I was a bit worried, always planning how I would
handle a breakdown.  High temps, no air conditioning, very heavy
stop-and-go traffic for dozens of miles.    But it was all smooth sailing,
not even an oil buzzer!

Back at home, I patted her on the dashboard and said thank you!   I thought
for a moment that she replied with a front suspension creak but ......

Roland
'89 Syncro