I don´t pat my Vanagon. But when walking by, I sometimes find myself
fondling it along the side (just below the windows) and touching the
fresh paint I spent a lot of cash for....

Long trips without any breakdown is what I expect from my Vanagon, after
all the love I gave it (in german it´s never "her")

Raimund
Not naming the Van, just calling it "Bus" or "Limited", the other one
just "DoKa".

Am 01.08.2014 16:45, schrieb Tom Buese:
> I pat Detlef, the 84 Westy, on the dash, after any good long trip, for a
> great job on an original un-rebuilt 1.9 engine after 167k miles.
>
> YMMV,
>
> Mr. BZ-& always say "knock on wood"
>
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 1, 2014 at 10:36 AM, Vanagon <camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Dogs count. Sentient: able to sense or feel things.
>>
>> Cars, not so much.
>>
>> Sent from my 1963 maroon and cream 702B Western Electric Princess phone.
>>
>>> On Aug 1, 2014, at 10:17 AM, Roy Nicholl <RNicholl@NBNET.NB.CA> wrote:
>>>
>>> Must be tough being a dog at the McNeely house ;-)
>>>
>>>> On 01-Aug-2014, at 11:11, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I never pet objects, not my shoes, not my vehicle, not my canoe, not a
>> piece of furniture. I reserve petting for sentient beings.  mcneely
>>>> ---- "dofunk@yahoo.com" <dofunk@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>>>>> After any drive with our van of more than say 2.5 hrs I usually give"
>> her" a pat on the dash and say thanks and good job....oddly I also touch
>> the tred on the front wheel from time to time as if to pet a paw!
>>>> We do,love our syncro!
>>>> Brady.....
>>>>
>>>> Sent from... Wow just about anywhere!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------ Original message------
>>>> From: Roland
>>>> Date: Thu, Jul 31, 2014 8:06 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
>>>> --
>>>> David McNeely
>
>
> --
> Tom Buese