There are 3 things I really like about the later Vanagons (an '89 Bluestar
was our family car with 3 kids for 10 years):
1.  power door locks -- I cannot imagine my wife walking around the van to
lock it and then unlock it each time she went running errands with the kids.
2.  the Carat models with jump seats and the fold up table -- a huge value
add to the experience of Vanagoning.
3.  the fiberglass bumper cladding -- I know it is personal taste, but I
think it improved the looks.

Honorable mention -- power passenger side window, makes it much easier to
tune the airflow.

For the most part, these features are all on my current Vanagon I still
very much appreciate them.

Roland

On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 9:39 AM, Higginbotham, David A. <
dhigginbotham@hazenandsawyer.com> wrote:

> I know that it is accepted that the later year vanagons are better than
> the earlier vanagons, why? Not wanting to open up a can of worms here, but
> I am curious what were the various improvements made to the vanagons
> between 1980 and 1991. Is there a comprehensive list somewhere that someone
> has compiled that lists these changes? I vaguely remember something
> mentioned about something like this here on the list a number of years ago
> but I have slept since then.
>
> David Higginbotham
> 82 Westy (back on the road WHOOHOOO!!)
> Silk Hope, NC
>