Agreed.  I would certainly be put off by a service person who didn't try to
learn and wasn't curious or interested after encountering a Vanagon (or any
other vehicle presented for service).

On Sun, Sep 19, 2021 at 7:35 AM Raimund Feussner <ray@v6bus.de> wrote:

> More often than not , people finding them odd is a compliment. Even
> finding them "cute".
> If the young mechanic appreciates the vehicle, that´s great.
>
> Fluids behind license plates. Young guy will find out eventually, won´t
> he?
> That´s the curiosity i expect.
> Admitting "I have no clue where to find/ how to do" this or that, that´s a
> strength. Especially if he wants to really know for next time!
>
>
> My last post was more about when "on-board-diagnostic-port boys" approach any
> kind of classic with ignorance.
>
>
> Raimund
>
>
> Am 19.09.2021 um 16:23 schrieb David McNeely:
>
> Hmmm..... .  Our vehicles were strange back in the day, and some of the
> oddities still don't make sense to me, though I have come to live with
> them.  I certainly can see how young folks who ARE interested in vehicles
> would still find them odd.  Most of them I encounter really are interested
> in them, though, and ask more interesting questions than some of the ones
> posed above.  Find out on their own?  There are far more makes of vehicles
> now than back in the day, and ours are going away.  I don't recall as a kid
> in the fifties looking into gas tank placement on 1920s era automobiles,
> though I did take an interest in automobiles.
>
> But are all the design eccentricities really all that odd, or do they just
> add up to odd when taken collectively?  The oil filler placement for
> example:  Is that any more odd than the placement of the gas filler
> placement under the license plate on fifties era sedans must have seemed
> when it first appeared?
>
> All that said, I really find it odd that the things people today shopping
> for a vehicle look at are how many and where the cup holders are, and
> whether it has tires thinner than a pancake (considered desirable, for what
> bizarre reason I cannot fathom).
>
> old man mcneely
>
> On Sun, Sep 19, 2021 at 7:06 AM Raimund Feussner <ray@v6bus.de> <ray@v6bus.de> wrote:
>
>
> Especially young car mechanics need to have enough interest in classic
> 30+ year old automobiles,
> otherwise they chose the wrong job.
>
> And with our beasts becoming classics,
> any german shop´s young guys asking these questions make me leave
> instantly.
> I expect at least the curiosity to find out on their own (I admit the
> washer fluid is a tough one).
>
> Cluelessness about our cars might have been acceptable in 2000, but not
> today!
>
> Regards
> Raimund´s 2p for Beetles, Vanagons, steering column shifters,
> carburettors, and all these other quirks...
>
> Am 19.09.2021 um 15:39 schrieb Jim Felder:
>
> This was also happening 30 years ago LOL
>
> Jim
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> On Sep 19, 2021, at 5:34 AM, John Rodgers <jrodgers113@gmail.com> <jrodgers113@gmail.com>
>
> wrote:
>
> Pulled my van in for some servicing. First question by young attendant
>
> was
>
> 'What is it?"
> Second question; "Where is the engine?"
> Third question: "Where do you put the oil in?"
> Fourth question: "Where do I check the brake fluid?'
> Fifth question; "Where do I check the washer fluid?"
>
> I do get so amused at the expressions on these young guys face as they
>
> hunt
>
> for service points on my 30 year old van.
>
>
>