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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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Auto blog

VW makes $9.2B offer for rest of truckmaker Scania

Sun, 23 Feb 2014

Volkswagen owns or has controlling interests in three commercial truck operations: besides its own, VW began buying shares in Sweden's Scania in 2000 and now controls 89.2 percent of its shares and 62.6 percent of its capital, then bought into Germany's Man in 2006 - in order to prevent Man from trying to take over Scania - and now owns 75 percent of it. The car company has managed to work out 200 million euros in savings, but believes it can unlock a total of 650 million euros in savings if it takes outright control of Scania and can spread more common parts among the three divisions.
It has proposed a 6.7-billion-euro ($9.2 billion) buyout, but according to a Bloomberg report, Scania's minority investors don't appear inclined to the deal. Although effectively controlled by VW, Scania is an independently-listed Swedish company, and a profitable one at that: in the January-September 2013 period its operating profit was 9.4 percent compared to Man's 0.4 percent. Some of the other shareholders believe that Scania is better off on its own and will not approve the deal, some have asked an auditor to look into the potential conflict of interest between VW and Man, while some are willing to examine the deal and "make an evaluation based on what a long-term owner finds is good," which might not be just "the stock market price plus a few percent." The buyout will only be official assuming VW can reach the 90-percent share threshold that Swedish law mandates for a squeeze-out.
Many of the arguments against boil down to investors believing that Scania's Swedishness and unique offerings are what keep it profitable, and ownership by the German car company will kill that. (Have we heard that somewhere before?) If Volkswagen can buy that additional 0.8-percent share in Scania, perhaps its buyout wrangling with Man will give it an idea of what it's in for: "dozens" of minority investors in the German truckmaker have filed cases against VW, seeking higher prices for their shares. It is likely only to delay the inevitable, though. If VW is really going to compete with Daimler and Volvo in the truck market, it has to get the size, clout and savings to do so.

VW teams up with legendary electronic musicians Kraftwerk for 3D Autobahn concert

Fri, Jan 9 2015

Electronic music fans know Kraftwerk. To paraphrase a famous TV anchor, they're kind of a big deal. The band is in the midst of an eight-concert show at Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie, which includes a full 3D accompaniment. Why, you ask, is this on Autoblog, then? Well, Volkswagen is sponsoring it, highlighting the role that its iconic Beetle played on the band's equally iconic fourth album, Autobahn. And besides, it's Friday afternoon, and who doesn't want to listen to the soothing synth notes of early EDM pioneers? Check out the featurette on the connection between VW and Kraftwerk, and then for giggles, scroll down and give the first track of Autobahn a listen. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Volkswagen Group via YouTube Volkswagen Coupe Classics Videos

Audi RS3 and Volkswagen Golf R face off in Evo test

Fri, Aug 7 2015

Typically when an automotive publication pits two rivals against each other, they come from different companies. After all, why would one automaker – even one parent company Â– develop two distinct models to compete against each other? Well, the Volkswagen Group isn't like most. It pits Porsches against Lamborghinis, Audis against Bentleys, Seats against Skodas... all under the same roof. In the high-powered hot hatch market, it offers both the VW Golf R and the Audi RS3. The question is, which is the better drive? Evo put them both on track for a quick bout of sibling rivalry to find out. On paper it would seem like an unfair fight. Sure, both are based on the same platform and channel their power to the tarmac through all four wheels. But the Audi's five-cylinder engine packs considerably more muscle than the Golf's four: 362 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque trump 296 hp and 280 lb-ft. There's just no way around that Â– at least until the Golf R 400 comes along. The Audi, as you might have guessed, also costs substantially more than the Volkswagen. But that's not Evo's concern here. This is a cost-no-object, bare-knuckle throw-down. Watch the ten-minute video above to find out if the cheaper, less powerful Golf R can keep pace with its more upscale and brawnier brother. Related Video: News Source: Evo via YouTube Audi Volkswagen Hatchback Performance Videos vw golf r evo

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