The Westy is back… sort of
I’ve always wanted a Westy.
When I was in my early 20’s I had a 1984 VW Vanagon (hardtop) with an injected and water-cooled four-banger. Life was good in that passenger van making surf missions from Santa Cruz to Baja. It was fun to drive and over 20 cars later, it’s was probably one of my very favorite I have owned. Westfalia and VW split in 2003, as did the import of VW vans. The first three body styles were all standard VW rear engines. In 1992, VW retired the Vanagon and introduced the T4 Transporter marketed as the “Eurovan” in the US. For 11 years Westfalia and VW build passenger and camper vans, but they just didn’t have the cult-like following of their rear-engined predecessors.
After nearly 13 years in hiding, VW is back with their 2017 California T6. Looking pretty darn similar to the T5, VW accounts for over 6000 changes. OK, whatever. I like it. It’s hard to compete with the coolness of a VW if you are into #Vanlife. However, for the price, after owning a Mercedes Sprinter (reliability, headroom and power), I am not sure I would fork over the $37-$48 Euros (whatever that converts to) for a VW. What would you rather have? What’s your favorite year VW Camper?
