I've always heard the 'leave it in neutral' to reduce clutch wear story.

As an aside, In a driving safety course many years ago, my instructor said that
the other reason for keeping the car in neutral while stopped at an
intersection was to prevent you from accidentally launching yourself into
traffic should you be unexpectedly rear-ended (should your foot get knocked off
the clutch).  - also why he said you should not sit in a left turn lane with
your wheels cranked to make the turn.

Regards,

Todd
'88 Westy

Dean Forshee wrote:

> I have an ongoing debate with my wife regarding the proper way to drive our
> Vanagon.  I am in the habit of waiting at a traffic light or stopsign with
> the Van in first gear, with the clutch fully engaged.  My wife says that
> that is hard on the clutch and that I should take it out of gear and put it
> in neutral.  I've owned a number of standard shift vehicles in the past and
> don't recall any problems resulting from my (allegedly) bad habit... so I
> put it to the listee group - is there any downside to waiting at a traffic
> light or stopsign in first gear with the clutch all the way engaged?  I'd
> love for the list to help settle this debate.  Thanks.   -Dean.