I have been driving a bus since '71, a few things to pass along.

1. Downshift at EVERY hill.
   a) I have an '86 now & still downshift.
2. When you are stuck behind someone even slower than you are, the next
passing    lane will be up hill, (see note #1).
3. It takes some time to get used to be blown around by trucks.
4. You will start to notice the other vw's on the road.
5. After you get used to traveling slower, you may start to notice more of
the     countryside.
6. When you realize that a vw bus can go most anywhere, you might start
following anything that looks like a road, or might have been a road at one
time.
7. A VW bus can be addictive, I have made it almost a year without one once,
since I had that first one.
8. You CAN work on it yourself.
9. If you don't like it you can always sell it, then you will know!

Good luck with your decision.
Rob

At 10:30 PM 6/17/96 -0500, you wrote:
>My father is considering buying his first vanagon--an '81 diesel "partial
>camper". I told him that he might want to make sure he was very comfortable
>with the slow lane before making the decision. In the interest of fairness,
>though, I told him I'd ask the list for some more opinions (I guaranteed him
>we'd have a lot to share), both pro and con, about the wisdom of this
>purchase. So, here's your chance to influence a VW virgin--what does anyone
>have to say about '81s or diesels or both, or about the vanagon experience
>in general? (I have done what I can to sell him on VW, but I'm a breadloafer
>myself, and can't attest to the virtues of the brick firsthand...) 
>
>TIA,
>
>Ryan McGee
>ryan@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
>'71 camper (Mabel)
>
>