DOTS: A Quiet Sunday Edition.

"RooseveltDad" (rooseveltdad)
03/23/2020 at 01:02 • Filed to: DOTS - Seattle

Definitely seeing that the “stay at home” idea is catching on - the streets are noticeably quieter.

Have not seen one in this condition in years. The LS edition, even.

I think the decal on the door - there’s one on the passenger side, too - adds at least 3mph to the top end. That’s not saying much; I’ve driven one and anything above 65 is living large...

Not pictured: a non-Westy Syncro, seen even closer to home. Maybe next week.

Stay safe, and wash your hands, please.

DISCUSSION (14)

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > RooseveltDad
03/23/2020 at 06:29

Being the top of the line model I would have expected that Rabbit to have fancier wheel covers. Then again, my mom lost one on her Dasher and ripped the rest off, so anything’s possible, especially given the age of that car.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > RooseveltDad
03/23/2020 at 08:01

That squarish rabbit... We had one of those when I was young, like maybe an 81 or an 82. It had a few electrical issues, and a few other problems. But it was a good car fun to drive. I remember it fondly.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/23/2020 at 08:47

My L Diesel had a partial set of wheel covers and beauty rings. Beneath those were those same steelies.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/23/2020 at 10:43

Kinja'd!!!

These are the ones I remember on the top trim levels. Like the whole color-matched interior and other poorly chosen “upgrades” done when they Americanized the Rabbit, those are uggggggleeeee (IMHO).

I had a 1984 GTI, and while I loved the red color of my interior , I was jealous of the more European interiors and better build quality of my friends German-built Rabbits. But I could out accelerate and out corner all of them, so at least I had that...

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/23/2020 at 11:31

Yeah the Westy interiors were definitely sanitized to the American sensibility of the time. If I were to daily drive one (lmao mine doesn’t even have a motor in it), I would want a more Euro-ish interior. But as a neat little toy I can drive when I want, I’d be okay with the Westy stuff.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/23/2020 at 15:20

I don’t think there were any changes to the Westy for the US market; I was referring to the Rabbit, especially all the weird stuff they did to the poor thing when they started making them in Westmoreland. The Vanagons were all Euro and the interiors the same worldwide. I did prefer when they switched from fake woodgrain to beige laminates, and prefer the beige over the grey that came out in ‘87. This is why I want an ‘86 Westy - big (ha!) motor with the beige interior.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/24/2020 at 10:35

Yeah, that’s what I was referring to. VW people nowadays refer to the Westmoreland-built Rabbits as Westies, which causes some confusion.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/24/2020 at 17:54

Ah, I get it. I must have been out of the VW scene a little too long because I’ve never heard that term in relation to Rabbits. My being a biiiiig Vanagon (especially camper) fan doesn’t help the confusion any.

I still have a bunch of brochures for various VW models from the ‘70s and ‘80s, but it’s my Vanagon collection that’s complete, at least as far as US models is concerned. I still remember where I spotted my first Vanagon, and I remember a big brochure detailing the new model before it was released. That one was hard to find but I’ve got it. I’m thinking that one of these days I should put up a website for loons like me that has all of this information, but I wonder how many people would really be interested. On the other had, restored Vanagon prices are going crazy, and I recall a place in Hawaii that still rented out Vanagon campers as recently as a few years ago, so there’s probably enough of us that still care about these old crates.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/24/2020 at 18:14

Oh, I’m sure plenty of people would be interested. If you’re on furlough from the epidemic, it’d be a nice project to work on for a bit.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/24/2020 at 18:27

I’ve actually been unemployed since the end of last year, fired for taking too much PTO last year whilst battling cancer . Between that and being an introvert I’ve been doing this social distancing thing for quite some time now, opening my door only to get the mail, and driving so little that I had to buy a jump pack to get my car started. Except for the lack of a decent income I really quite enjoy the time off, but then again I’ve been ready for retirement since I started my first job decades and decades ago.

I have so many things going on at once that I can never seem to get as much done as I’d like. I’ve been working on cleaning up the basement whilst doing laundry, and that’s coming along nicely. I’ve been building and repairing a bunch of computers. I have a book full of B&W 4x5 proofs from Douglas featuring the introduction of the DC-8 into the Pan Am fleet that I want to digitize and share. I need to rewire my AV setups, both in the office and the living room. I’ve been going through the 70-80 hard drives I have laying around. Dishes haven’t been done in some time, so I need to get around to that. I need to find my Kindles and get reading more. There’s no shortage of projects around here, and unlike those that are going stir crazy in quarantine I’ve got plenty to keep me busy and happy. I do have to continue the job search, but it’s highly unlikely anyone’s really hiring right now, especially in the aviation field. I’ll keep applying, but won’t be surprised by a lack of responses at the moment.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/24/2020 at 18:52

Fuck, I missed that you were fired. That’s messed up. Hope you’re getting along well, that’s horrible.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/24/2020 at 19:04

Yeah, getting canned sucks. It was a high-pressure job, and despite me actually liking to go to work I wasn’t spared. It appears that t hey were getting rid of a lot of employees and replacing them with temps in an effort to minimize their losses, and with my frequent absences they had the perfect excuse. Given what’s gone down I’m glad I’m no longer employed there, and feel sorry for my old coworkers.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
03/24/2020 at 19:42

I found your post from then, what a horrible way to be fired. And for such a shitty reason. I know it’s not the easiest time to get a job right now, either.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/24/2020 at 20:08

At least I have support from family. And if it comes down to it I can always move back to California and stay with them for awhile, but unless I suddenly become rich I’d almost prefer to stay put.