[The gearheads are already rolling their collective eyes and thinking ... "Oh
no, not another one of these Zen threads!" Set your mail program to killfile me
now...I like these topics.  :-) ]

> ...trying to quantify what it is that makes the Vanagon experience.
> For one it is instant attitude adjustment when you step up behind the
> wheel.
>          How can a vehicle embody so much cosmic force?

It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing.  What came first?  The driver who chose
the vehicle in the first place or vehicle who transformed the driver?

For us, it was a bit of both.  We knew that another vehicle wouldn't be the
same, but when we first got the Vanagon, we had no idea of the people that
"came with" this type of vehicle.  Then we started reading the list and going
to VW shows and campouts.

Part of the appeal of driving the VW is that every trip, no matter how short,
becomes an adventure.  I find myself taking 20 mile trips in the country after
going to the post office.  I tell myself it's so the engine is properly warmed
up, but really I just want to drive a little more, see what's around the next
corner as I float over some country road I haven't been on, and maybe see
another bus or Vanagon on the road and wave ...

-Karl

Karl and Kristina Bloss, Trexlertown, PA
'87 Westfalia Weekender  "Beverley" - 188K miles
VW Mechanic list: http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/vwshops
Busses by the Trail - Oct 15-17, 1999: http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/bbtt
PA/NJ Vanagon owner's mailing list: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/pavanagon