Space Coaster and Marvin the Eurovan

      O ver the last few months, I've noticed that the EV was running a little hot.  It wasn't overheating but the engine temp would creep up.  The hottest it got was when my son and I went paddle-boarding back in September.  I had the van on while we used the electric air pump to inflate the boards.  By the time we had both boards inflated, the temperature gauge was reading at about the three quarter mark.     I'm not new to overheating problems in cars.  I've gone through bad radiators, blown head gaskets, collapsing lower hoses, and even metal shavings in the cooling system, (thanks NA Miata).  It's important to deal with overheating issues early as a twenty dollar problem can become a two thousand dollar problem if you ignore it.  When chasing down an overheating problem, it's best to start with the small stuff and work up.   Step 1:  Make sure you have enough coolant in the system.  Coolant can dissipate over time for various reasons.  In checking the EV, c

 You would think after waiting so long to get my Volkswagen van, I would have been on Cloud 9.  The truth is, I immediately got hit with a big dose of buyer's remorse.   The transmission was very notchy with the shifting.  The odometer didn't turn and the working ac turned out to not work.  Only one power window switch worked and it only worked the passenger side and the locks didn't lock.  I also had a check engine light that would come on.  What the hell had I gotten myself into? I realized that the transmission would have been the biggest issue I needed to deal with.  According to the previous owner, he had had transmission work done but the shifting would hang going from first to second and second to third.  Because of Covid, it took a while before I was able to get it into a mechanic.  The mechanic was local but had a great rep and even owned a Eurovan.  He knew the transmission issues on Eurovans inside and out so I figured I was in good hands.   Despite my hope, the

  Full admission.  I hate selling cars.  I feel I have to go out of my way to mention anything that is possibly wrong with a car that I am selling and concerned that I will leave something out.  After I sell a car, I have some irrational fear that some bad major failure is going to happen and that the purchaser will think I am pulling the wool over their eyes.  With some trepidation, I listed the SLK for sale.  I got the typical low ball offers texted to me without even a "hi" attached to them.  All told I had three people come and see it.  The first person said he would think about it but regardless he would contact me the next day to tell me his decision.  I never heard back.  Gee, I hope he's okay.  The second person was looking for his wife.  He seemed very interested in the car and told me he would bring his wife to take it for a drive on the next day.  Again, I never heard back.  The third person seemed even zanier.  He wanted to come look at the car if I had time. 

After passing on the Vanagon, my focus was getting myself and my family back to my old home stomping grounds of Central Florida.  I had decided to sell my trusty 1997 Wrangler and for a brief moment, I thought about using those funds and adding some to purchase a Vanagon.  In the end, I couldn't justify it as I knew that I would need a daily driver that was safe enough and trustworthy enough to carry me on long hauls.  I decided that I wanted to go with my other passion, a two seater convertible.  I had owned three Miatas previously and always enjoyed sporty convertible roadsters.  After much research I settled on a 2005 Mercedes SLK 350.  I have never been a big fan of Mercedes.  Something about them always failed to inspire me.  The SLK wasn't even in my initial search, I found myself vacillating between MK3 MR2s, the Porsche Boxster, the NC Miatas, the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky and the Audi TT.  The SLK came into the running late because it seemed to be a good combination

It's been a long road to get to be the owner of a Volkswagen Van.  I've had an affection for Volkswagens since I was a kid.  I was born literally in the final days of summer in the last year of the 1960s.  My first foggy memories were as a young kid in the 1970s.  The 1960s were giving way to the 1970s but in my first memories, you could still feel what the sixties must have been like.  I'm not unique in that a large part of the scenery of my youth was comprised of the ubiquitous Volkswagen bug.  My mother pushed my dad to buy her a Beetle and he did.  In 1973, my mother got her wish and became the owner of a bright yellow, brand new Super Beetle.  It was the car that she learned to drive stick on.  It was the car that took us from Florida to Alabama to Ontario Canada and back again.  I remember long drives where I would squeeze in the little hatch above the engine.  I remember being disappointed when I got a little bigger and couldn't quite squeeze out of the backseat