Have you heard this one about your van?

Drove the van to work today and a girl at the office said " Cool, I love your VW bus, why does it say FORD on the front?"

~Nami

I get the VW thing all the time but I've never been asked about the FORD letters by the same person. We constantly hear the "Scooby Doo/Mystery Machine" references due to the color. We were at a local car show last weekend and the kids were all over the van (and quite a few parents too!).

Lol, yeah couldn't find a VW but happened to have some Ford letter handy. But I would be ok with scooby do I actually have a sunshade with scooby, shaggy and the rest behind steering wheel eating pizza.

I asked her if she'd ever done it in a VW bus, she said done what? I think she had her 4:20 break a lil early today. Owner's daughter so that explains why she still works there.

StuNami wrote:I asked her if she'd ever done it in a VW bus, she said done what? I think she had her 4:20 break a lil early today. Owner's daughter so that explains why she still works there.

Blond???

btw - If some of you don't know what Stu means by 4:20 break:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=420

I'm still laughing. Bill

itruns wrote:

StuNami wrote:I asked her if she'd ever done it in a VW bus, she said done what? I think she had her 4:20 break a lil early today. Owner's daughter so that explains why she still works there.

Blond???

btw - If some of you don't know what Stu means by 4:20 break:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=420

Oh, I think they do... This has to be on it's way towards deletion..

Must admit i've never heard that phrase before....

Nobody i have ever come across even knows what my van is, they are extremely rare over here in the UK. But VW vans are extremely common. I pass 8-10 of them every day on the way to work, sdo i get a lot of suprised comments when they see the Ford badges.

I heard that a couple weeks ago actually.

was pulling up to the pumps at the local costco a couple years ago in my '66 club wagon. the kid that was working was eyeing me with a big grin as i got closer. he walked around the pass side, to the back, around to the drivers side and finally aproached me and said, "well it's not a VW" with a big smile. then he asked me what year it was. i would guess he was in his early twenties. "i have never seen one before" made my day i also get questions about the falcon badging. people think i just put them on myself.
wildbillinva

Yesturday. We had our local HS Homecoming Parade. I went up to get some pics because my bro was pulling the freshmen float. I parked on the return route to get some final pics. As the 8th grade Football guys went by on thier float the Coach had them Chanting "Scooby Doo Scooby Doo" The only response I could come up with was to start it "RAPPPPP" up the pipes and mouth "Scooby Doo My ^$$" Got a buncha thumbs up then.

GOOD BOY=DIGGS!![i]

I glad i'm old and was able to see these van when they were showroom new as a kid, several neighbors had E, G and the corvair vans don't remember the A's in the neighborhood as A kid but were popular on the road. The cars, vans and trucks of the 50's and 60's will always be the greatest era for automobiles for styling and coolness.

Hey Scooby Doo and the gang rock and they have stuck it out with a van when many others have flaked out over the years so lets not be hackin on Scooby and his choice of transportation!!Even if he does drive a Chevy.

BajaCharlie wrote:Hey Scooby Doo and the gang rock and they have stuck it out with a van when many others have flaked out over the years so lets not be hackin on Scooby and his choice of transportation!!Even if he does drive a Chevy.

I agree. I'm new to Vannin, but the whole point of this forum is to promote and save these vans from the scrap yard. At least that's my take. Everyone on here is passionate about one make or another, but we all appreciate the other's passion for what calls to them.

Yes, the Scooby thing is played out. The first thing I heard from one of our team members the first day I pulled up in the drive was "it's a Scooby Doo van." Some embrace it, others eschew it.

It's kind of like the sports star that's tired of signing autographs or the actor who always gets called by the name of the character he/she made famous. I think any publicity/recognition is a good thing as long as they are properly educated. The more folks recognize the coolness of these vans, the better the chance we have to save them.

Not a fan of the show, but it gets tiresome trying to describe an Early.
You sit on top of the front wheels.
It's got a flat nose with a flat windshield.
Shaped pretty much like a brick.
Kind of like a hippie VW Bus, but it's not.
You say "Scooby" and BLAM, they instantly have a clue of what you got.

BTW - Yesterday, my mother saw my badgeless Dodge for the first time since it got paint. "Wow! Your Volkswagen looks GREAT!"

"MAAAA!"

Ok, she's 69 years old and by far not a 'gear head', but that hurt more than any Scooby reference I've gotten.

why would you feel so harshly against a 'scooby do' comment?most people dont know a ford from a dodge or chevy but they do know scooby rode in a similar van, and hippies had these vans and it kinda looks like a vw bus, i could do without the vw comparison but dont take insult from it. i get more upset when people ask why i didnt buy a newer van, or tell me where there is a 1990's van for cheap. the worsed is my neigbor at the shop. everytime i do anything to it, he thinks i have a peice of crap beyond repair and why would i want to keep buying parts and fixing an 'old' van that will still be old when its 'fixed' as far as scooby goes, dont know much about him, but he did ride around in a cool van.

I am fully aware hippies had these vans as I am in a van club started by hippies and have been since 1973 when the van craze was just getting popular. My club was formed in 1969 and is recognized by the National Hot Rod Museum, The Route 66 hall of Fame, the California State legislature, California Assembly , the US House of Representatives and the US Senate as the first van club and the originators of the van craze of the 1970s. The US post Office even issued collectors edition envelopes with pics of our vans on them and recognizing our induction into the Route 66 hall of Fame. After all of this recognition it infuriates me to have someone call my van a Scooby Doo van. Hope that explains it without hurting anyones feelings.

dont think you said anything to hurt anyones feelings. i know plenty of vanners that cringe when 'scooby do' is mentioned. it doesnt bother me very much at all. why not? because the average passerby doesnt know anything about all the time and hard work to restore, costomize or maintain our vans, nor all your club and others have done for reconition. they dont know theyre insulting you, they are just comparing it to the only memory they have of an early van. most people know who scooby do is, but nothing of the things you listed so misguided as it may be, they are complamenting you/us. just be glad pee wee herman didnt drive an econoline or gohmer pyle in a g10. i refer to my favorite hat as my 'elmer fudd' hat, probably insulting to the designer but everyone reading this knows what it looks like.

Well said jrinaman. It's just like people asking what kind of Harley you have when they learn that you ride, or what kind of Coke you want when they offer you a soft drink!

I've been called a hippie the past few days while having the van out. I'll take that over the scoobie thing. I had my first early in the 70's and I looked like a head back then. This week, the majority of the honks and waves are from older folk, most likley old hippies and heads. When I decided to get another early, not only did I want to preserve a piece of automotive history, I also had in mind to preserve a piece of cultural history if not a piece of the counter culture history. I'll admit it, I've got a Grateful Dead sticker on my window.

~Nami

StuNami wrote:I've been called a hippie the past few days while having the van out. I'll take that over the scoobie thing. I had my first early in the 70's and I looked like a head back then. This week, the majority of the honks and waves are from older folk, most likley old hippies and heads. When I decided to get another early, not only did I want to preserve a piece of automotive history, I also had in mind to preserve a piece of cultural history if not a piece of the counter culture history. I'll admit it, I've got a Grateful Dead sticker on my window.

~Nami

Nothing wrong with a Grateful Dead sticker. I wasn't a hippy but I did have long hair and wore bell bottoms and peasant shirts. I was more into the surfing scene. Wore my harachi sandals all of the time. Hendrix and Iron Butterfly could be heard coming from my van most of the time.
As far as Scooby is concerned when you here that comparison thousands of times it gets very old and irritating. When those that think it is a compliment have had their vans for close to 40 years and have heard that scooby crap as many times as I have they will hate it too.

I think we all have to make peace with the whole scooby thing. It's will never go away, and it some ways it may have kept some interest in our vans when there wasn't any. Another reason not to get up set is if you notice we have no members here that have a scooby painted vans. With all of them out there no members here. I would like to think we would give the same respect to one of those vans as anyone else here and not make commets about the paint job.

i have been told my van looks like a kidnappers van. there was someone driving around in "a light colored van with no windows" about a year ago and was attempting to lure kids in. all the kids within 50 miles was told about him and his van, and to stay away. dont know if he was caught or if he ever abducted anyone but have been told more than once my van looks like a kidnappers van.

jrinaman wrote:i have been told my van looks like a kidnappers van. there was someone driving around in "a light colored van with no windows" about a year ago and was attempting to lure kids in. all the kids within 50 miles was told about him and his van, and to stay away. dont know if he was caught or if he ever abducted anyone but have been told more than once my van looks like a kidnappers van.

Yeah, I took the sign off the side of mine that said "Free Candy" for that reason.