Today’s Vanagon is a Weekender whose Subaru motor makes it an extra-mobile home. You need to decide however if its price makes it worth moving in.

I think it’s safe to say that, in consideration of all the various possibilities, Tonto was the coolest sidekick, with Dr. Watson coming in a close second. I mean seriously, the dude’s a Native American; he’s the obvious brains of the outfit; and he manages to remain wholly dignified even though his name means ‘idiot’ in Spanish, which was common in the Old West. Yeah, I guess you could tell who wore the pants in the Lone Ranger household.

Despite all that, yesterday’s needed no sidekick to get its Nice Price win on. Fully 68% of you voted it so, owing to an apparently reasonable price tag and a turbo motor that should make the light truck a hoot and a half to drive.

Last Summer’s Lone Ranger movie may have been box office bowel antics, but that doesn’t mean…

Let’s say you were not so much a lone ranger, but were looking for a home on the range - say just for the weekend - then this may just be your ticket to ride.

This van is offered with the Weekender package, which includes a flip-up table mid-ship, a rear-facing jump seat behind the pilot’s perch, and a pop-top roof for added head room and upstairs accommodations. There is no stove or fridge, meaning that this isn’t a full-on camper, but it’ll make that fishing trip to the lake a lot more comfortable.

Getting to the lake will be a pretty sweet deal too as this Vanagon eschews the standard 80-something horse 1.8 flat four for something a little more Subaru. The six cylinder now housed in the van’s rump is said to be from a ’96 Subie, which would likely make it the 230-bhp DOHC EG33.

Wow, that’s a lot of ponies to throw at a brick, and helping to get them to the pavement is what’s claimed to be a Porsche-sourced 5-speed gearbox. That sends the money to the back wheels only, as despite this Vanagon being jacked up like a dachshund on cold wet grass, it’s not a syncro.

It does have upgraded brakes however, and there are Go Westy burly man bumpers on either end for when they don’t quite do the job. Other add-ons include a rear swing away spare carrier and South African four-lamp nose because apparently eighties apartheid is a hot look these days.

No mileage is given for either Van or drivetrain, but the ad does note the inclusion of a new coat of paint in clown forest green, a re-suited interior, and a new Camo pop top in case you wanted to use the Vee dub as a duck blind.

The whole ball of wax also comes with an asking price of $40,000 which is an amount, no matter what the discussion, that’s cause for a pause. Of course the discussion here is this Subie-powered Weekender, and it’s now incumbent on you to say whether this green machine is worth that kind of cash. What do you think, is this Weekender worth $40K? Or, is this a Vanagon priced like a van Gogh?

You decide!

in the moonshine, or go if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.