> Have you driven both gas and diesel non-westy vans, or gas and
> diesel westys?  I'm wondering what the subjective difference in
> feel is.

Yes. I've driven both 2.1 WBX Westy's and the 1.6D (obviously!).
Subjectively a diesel always feels different. You'r not
changing a throttle when you press the accelerator, rather
you change the racks, or control sleeve in some interaction
with the govenor.

The 1.6 D to 2.1 WBX is not an even comparison. What I meant in the previous
email is that when the torque of two engines is the same you have an
even comparison. So the 1.9 TD to 2.1 WBX I expect to be about even
in the med-high rpms, and to the diesels advantage on the low end.

The 1.6 D has good low end. Lots of "grunt" already at 1000rpm!
But 71ft-lbs just don't compare to the 117 you have in the WBX.
To make the comparison fair you should look at what VW put
into the Diesel vans in 86-91, ie the 1.6l TD (and later 1.7l).
That one has 98ft-lbs already at 1800rpm. I bet that would be a good match
for the WBX in everyday driving.

> I have tried on two occasions to get some kind of response from
> the above list, the first time I sent mail to vw-diesel-request...
> that was maybe a week or less ago;
> the second time to the listserv address you give above.  In both
> cases I've received no reply.  Is this one of those human-tended
> lists with a vacationing list owner?

It's supposed to be an automated response. The guy who runs the list
is Kirby in Canada. I seem to have lost his p-mail address.
You have to subscribe to the same address as your sending from
(ie can't subscribe at work to the home address, also can't post
from another address). Also make sure you don't have any "spam
diverting" stuff in your return address.

Did anyone else try to subscribe? Did it work?

/Martin