<<The original MXT 205's that came on my new Vanagon were the WORST tires
that I ever owned on any car I ever drove.... (the MXT's said "maximum 40
psi, cold")....>>

Maximum cold pressure for the MXT's is 50 PSI. Are you sure they were MXT's?
Maybe they were MXV's or MX4's or MXM's? Perhaps a really old model MXT that
is different than the ones they make today? say this because you are the
first person I've heard complain about MXT's - and your criticisms seem way
out of scale. Of course, really old tires with dried/cracked sidewalls and
no tread left would be more likely to "explode" as you described, and they
sure wouldn't be much use in the snow. I wonder if they performed poorly
right from the start, or only at the end of their 50,000 mile life? And they
were the worst tires you ever owned - with two of them exploding - but you
still drove on them for 50,000 miles? OK... well I think I'd ditch my tires
if they kept blowing out, but that's just me.

Doug Fitz-Randolph
Yarmouth, ME