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1991 Volkswagon Vanagon Carat

I have owned this van for about three years. It was sold new at Volkswagen of Honolulu and spent all but the last year of its life on the island of Oahu. I purchased it from it second owner, a Captian of the Honolulu fire department. He owned the van from 1994 to 2012.

The van was well cared for over the years, but was in need of some work when I got it. As with nearly all waterboxer VW's it developed a head gasket leak. I removed the engine and replaced the all gaskets. During this process I discovered the original VW heads had been replaced with AMC heads. AMC heads are far superior to the original VW heads. The original head are prone to crack between the valve seats. AMC heads are not cheap! They are about $1000 for the pair.

Since the engine was out I replaced the transmission pump seal as it was leaking too. All new hardware for the exhaust was installed. New O2 sensor and catalytic convertor was was also installed. The water pump was also replaced along with all coolant hoses. (those hoses are VERY expensive, about $250), All new drive belts. Remanufactured distributor along with all plugs and wires. I also installed a new Bosh fuel pump while the engine was out. The fuel pump is not the cheap one, it cost me about $250.

The A/C system does work. I converted it to a R134a system. If you know much about these vans, dont expect the system to work like your newer cars A/C. When the temps get very high over 105-110 the system takes the edge off of the heat. Below 105 if works very well and cools the van great.

The suspension received new ball joints and tie rod ends. New brakes on all four corners were installed. This van does have the big brake kit on it. This is a conversion to the 96 Audi A4 front brakes. When you get from brake parts you must get 96 Audi A4 pads, rotors and calipers. This kit cost around $800-$900, if I recall. ??The van also have VERY RARE South African Rhine wheels on it with newer tires (Sams Club Honolulu). The tires are the correct load rating for the van!! The Rhine wheels were used on the South Africa Vanagons. These wheels are no longer made and are in high demand among Vanagon enthusiast. ( The wheels are original VW, not cheap imitations) I have been stopped many times by other Vanagon drivers and offered cash for the wheels.

The paint is faded and their is some seam rust on the passenger side. Overall for the age of the van, it is not bad. Remember this van is 23 years old with 178K miles on it so it is not perfect.

I have owned a twin turbo Supra, a Z06 Corvette and some other cool cars. The van get more attention from the ladies than another car I have owned. (The rear seat does fold down into a bed!)

The van is very reliable, but it is not perfect. When we moved to Phoenix from Hawaii last summer I drove it from San Diego to Phoenix in 115 degree heat. I hate to sell it, but it is time.

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If VW defaults on loans it may sell Bentley or Lamborghini

Mon, Dec 7 2015

If something goes catastrophically wrong with Volkswagen Group's recent $21 billion loan, brands like Bentley or Lamborghini could hit the auction block. According to two insiders to Reuters, the beleaguered German automaker agrees with its creditors to sell assets if the company somehow can't pay back the debt in a year. One of these anonymous people claimed the company hasn't yet deliberated over what to sell. However, the sources were willing to speculate that the power engineering portion of Man could be among the first to go. "Volkswagen may also consider divesting luxury car brands Bentley and Lamborghini or motor bike brand Ducati, although these units don't really move the needle," an insider said to Reuters. VW Group negotiated with the banks earlier this week to get the massive loan. The cash is necessary as a buffer in case the automaker doesn't have enough money on hand to repair vehicles or settle upcoming fines. VW would reportedly issue bonds in the spring to begin paying the debt. The company's bills will start racking up quickly in the new year. German authorities mandate a recall there in early 2016, and repair campaigns in the US for the 2.0- and 3.0-liter diesel engines are inevitable. There are also hundreds of class-action lawsuits to settle. The company needs to resolve its CO2 emissions scandal in Europe, too. In response to these financial threats, VW management created a cost-cutting plan to slash the research and development budget by $1.1 billion next year.

VW issues orders for police version of e-Golf

Thu, Sep 11 2014

If the Toyota Prius could be used (in fiction, anyway) as a quiet way to do a drive-by shooting, then a pure electric vehicle should have some silent benefits for the police. It's happening in the real world thanks to the new police-spec VW e-Golf. On display at an international police equipment conference in Germany this week (the Internationalen Fachmesse fur Polizeiausrustung), the 5-0-ready EV has a special paint job as well as the required top lights and digital communications gear. VW says the special e-Golf also stands ready to serve the mission of emissions reduction. The powertrain is the same as what you'll find in the civilian e-Golf, which means an 85-kW electric motor that can zip up to 62 miles per hour in 10.4 seconds and a li-ion battery that provides something between 80 and 118 miles of range. We imagine using this little car for a high-speed car chase will shrink that down a bit. Volkswagen Konzern prasentiert Fahrzeuge mit Spezialausstattung auf Polizei-Fachmesse Internationale Premiere: Der e-Golf* als Polizei-Einsatzfahrzeug Der Volkswagen Konzern prasentiert eine breite Palette seiner Fahrzeugmodelle mit speziellen Polizei-Sonderausstattungen auf der 8. Internationalen Fachmesse fur Polizeiausrustung. Vertreten sind die Marken Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, SKODA und Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge. Die Volkswagen Leasing GmbH komplettiert als Finanzdienstleister den Konzernauftritt. Die Fachmesse findet vom 9. bis 11. September 2014 auf dem Messegelande in Leipzig statt. Als Messehighlight wird der e-Golf als Polizeieinsatzfahrzeug prasentiert. Damit verfolgt Volkswagen auch in diesem speziellen Fahrzeugsegment das Ziel der Schadstoffreduktion. Die Ausstattung umfasst neben der Sondersignalanlage unter anderem Digitalfunk und das klassische Erscheinungsbild in typisch blauer Beklebung. Ausgestellt werden weiterhin ein Golf Variant, ein T5 und ein Audi Q5 als Funkstreifenwagen sowie ein SKODA Octavia Kombi RS und ein SEAT Leon FR in der zivilen Variante. Fachbesucher finden den Volkswagen Messestand in der Halle 1, Stand H02. Der e-Golf uberzeugt mit einem wegweisend niedrigen Verbrauch von 12,7 kWh/100 km. Der Elektromotor leistet 85 kW/115 PS und entwickelt aus dem Stand maximal 270 Nm Drehmoment. In 4,2 Sekunden werden 60 km/h erreicht, nach 10,4 Sekunden 100 km/h. Die Reichweite liegt je nach Streckenprofil, Fahrweise, Einsatz von Komfort- und Nebenverbrauchern sowie Zuladung zwischen 130 und 190 Kilometern.

VW Up Buggy may be headed to showrooms

Tue, 02 Jul 2013

Volkswagen showed six conceptual takes on its Up at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, one of those being the Up Buggy. Although few will probably remember it, VW has not forgotten it, applying for a patent for the Meyers Manx revival roadster way back in March 2012 and being approved in June of this year, according to a report in Autocar. That will give the automaker a 14-year lock on the design while it decides whether to move forward with a reboot of its past.
A patent doesn't mean the Up Buggy will ever move beyond the sheet-of-paper stage, but Autocar says VW is studying the market to see if a production version is feasible. We can't see North America ever getting it, but even so, we wouldn't complain if they made it - especially if they put an exposed engine in back that was set off by 18-inch-long twin tailpipes jutting straight up into the air. However, for a company that aims to be the world's number-one automaker by 2018, a niche vehicle for its mass-market brand would be a surprising use of resources.

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