VW vans (Seattle, Port Townsend: for sale, to buy, live)

[Trinitylove]

Why is there such a high concentration of Volkswagen vans in the Seattle area?
We moved here last October, have lived all over the U.S, and I have never seen so many on a daily basis in my life.

[415_s2k]

Are you talking about old VW busses, or like Vanagons (80's) and Eurovans (90's)?

The VW collecting/tuning scene in the PNW is huge, probably as big as the Honda/Import tuning scene. When I was growing up there, we had two VW busses (a '68 and a '75) and a Vanagon, and even back then there was a pretty big VW "family." We went to VW shows every season, my dad knew the guys at a lot of the VW repair shops, and I was always asking my dad if we could stop at Beetles Unlimited on Highway 99 so I could look at the bugs for sale.

When I was up there as an adult, though, I don't think I saw as many classic busses or Vanagons as I do down here in CA. Rust seems to be an issue up there, for some reason...

[Hemlock140]

We don't have much problem as rust, due to the lack of snow (rare) and no salt on the roads (sand).VW vans are a west-coast thing, you will find more of them in Seattle and Portland than anywhere else except for CA where they are the most plentiful because if the 60s hippies. I used to hitch hike back then and always got picked up by VW buses between SF and Eureka.

[Trinitylove]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

Are you talking about old VW busses, or like Vanagons (80's) and Eurovans (90's)?

The VW collecting/tuning scene in the PNW is huge, probably as big as the Honda/Import tuning scene. When I was growing up there, we had two VW busses (a '68 and a '75) and a Vanagon, and even back then there was a pretty big VW "family." We went to VW shows every season, my dad knew the guys at a lot of the VW repair shops, and I was always asking my dad if we could stop at Beetles Unlimited on Highway 99 so I could look at the bugs for sale.

When I was up there as an adult, though, I don't think I saw as many classic busses or Vanagons as I do down here in CA. Rust seems to be an issue up there, for some reason...

i see mostly old "Westies" around. there are a few newer models i've noticed, but mostly old restored ones.
yesterday in a half mile stretch of road i saw 5.

[ukiyo-e]

I've seen more of old VW buses, Vanagons, and Westies since moving to Port Townsend last summer than I ever did in my 25 years in northern CA. Of course, there are a lot of old cars in town because there's no place nearby to buy news ones.