I've had two VW vans over the years, a '69 hardtop camper and a 1982 diesel. The diesel was amazingly frugal in a vehicle of that size; mine had a rare 5 speed manual and would average 33mpg (14km/liter) with a light load. Both were severely lacking in power, of course, and took more time with restoration and maintenance than I wanted at the time so I eventually sold them. Now that I'm semi retired (and have a warm garage to deal with a vehicle like that again), have caught myself cruising Craigslist and TheSamba.com to look at the later aircooled models with more power, fuel injection, and hydraulic lifters. They are pricey! Well restored ones from the late '70s have asking prices >$10,000. Best of all would be a Subaru-repowered Vanagon, but these are even more expensive.