The Worst and the Best

Posted on 31/05/2023 by Grumpa Joe

Today I gambled and paid to license my car for another year. All it will take to make it totally worthless is to crash one of the bumpers. Although it runs great and does not exhibit any symptoms of an aging car like overheating, loss of oil, or knocking noises from the engine it is still an aged auto. Most of the repairs I have had to make were on parts like tires, windshield wiper blades, batteries, hood shocks, and brakes. All total I must admit this is the most reliable car I have owned in my lifetime, and I have owned thirteen. The last car was an Oldsmobile which gave me good service for ten years but when it reached 90,000 miles the trouble began.

The Worst Car I ever Owned-1969 Toyota Corolla

The worst car I bought was a 1969 Toyota Corolla which needed a new crankshaft after twelve months and twelve thousand miles. The absolute best car I have owned is my 2006 Toyota Avalon which is seventeen years old and has 184, 000 miles on it. The amazing thing is that nearly every gadget on it still works, The lumbar seat crapped out too early, and the useless rear window shade gets stuck in the up position, but everything else still functions. The interior is still clean and fresh looking, and the exterior paint is just a little faded. I am not ashamed to own it or drive it. My previous cars were rusted, faded, and not functioning 100%.

The Best Car I Owned 2006 Toyota Avalon

What bothers me most about the idea of buying a new car is my age. Just to replace my Avalon with a new one will cost over fifty thousand dollars. I would have to take an seven year loan to pay for it with my current fixed income. When I was sixty-seven a seven year loan didn’t seem like much, but at my current age there may not be seven years left.

In a few weeks I have to take some tests at the department of motor vehicles to retain my driver’s license. It’s not a big deal just vision, and a driving test. By law, I must prove that I am capable to drive every two years, and in another couple of years the test interval changes to every year. So in my mind I ask myself why spend such a huge amount of money on another car if I am suddenly unable to drive it anymore? In the meantime, I’ll continue to run my trusty Avalon until one of us dies.

Filed under: Aging, Biography | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Why Rock the Boat?

Posted on 06/12/2022 by Grumpa Joe

One of the most amazing thing I have witnessed in my lifetime is the evolution of the automobile. I have memories galore about the difficulty my father went through to provide our family with transportation. I loved to listen to his stories about early adventures as a single man in a new country. One thing he did very early on was to buy automobiles the names of which have long disappeared, namely one he called a Hupmobile. His stories always entailed fixing problems on the side of the road with minimal tools and parts.
Summer Sunday afternoons was the best time to hear him describe the many adventures he had. Usually with a buddy who was also involved. Dad loosened up quite a bit when alcohol flowed freely through his system. Oh how he laughed when he told the story, especially when telling us how the Hupmobile threw a rod half way to the farm in Michigan and they wound up overhauling the engine on the sandy shoulder of the highway.

1929 Buick
1982 Chevy
1968 Ford
1959 Ford
1939 Buick
1954 Plymouth
1938 Plymouth
1928 Hupmobile

The car I remember from my early childhood was his 1929 Buick Century. Oh what a splendid tank it was. He owned that car from 1942 – 1952. One of his daunting tasks was to find tires and gasoline. World-War-Two put a damper on auto ownership, but Dad used his car as an part-time insurance salesman. I specifically remember him taking Mom shopping one evening, and she took the three os us with her. He dropped us off at a store, and continued on to his client meeting. When he returned we had a surprise waiting for us. The running board on the side of the car was gone, and the back door was dented. He had to hoist us up one at a time to get us in. He told us he was broadsided by a car that blew a red light. The other car had to be towed away, we drove home.

Dad’s string of cars after the ’29 were a 1939 Buick Special, followed by a 1938 Dodge, a 1954 Plymouth, a 1959 Ford, 1968 Ford, and last a1982 Chevy. all were used cars except for the last three. Each one had it’s share of problems which he continued to fix. His favorite phrase was “Ford, Fix Or Repair Daily.” Just about all of his cars were sold or traded when they reached fifty thousand miles.

My experience with cars is much the same, with one exception. I kept my rides for eighty thousand miles, except for the one I own now. The odometer has 181,000 miles on it and (knock on wood0 everything still works and the only major expenses have been for tires, brakes and batteries.

There is a gremlin in my head that keeps poking me in the ribs to buy a new car because this one is 16 years old and everything still works, the interior is still in fine condition, and there is no sign of rust any where. One day, I will walk home from the roadside, having abandoned a car that died. Or, I will be involved in a minor fender bender that will total the car and force me to send it to the junk yard. I lose sleep over having to spend a fortune on a new car, most likely my last one. Then, this morning while scrolling my phone I found an article that made my day, “These Cars Have the Longest Lifespans
Some cars last longer than others – a lot longer.”

https://apple.news/A5-M4pvjaQZ6yHaRLElSn0w

Inside the article is a list of ten long life vehicles:

1. Toyota Sequoia 296,509

2. Toyota Land Cruiser 280,236

3. Chevy Suburban 265,732

4. Toyota Tundra 256,022

5. GMC Yukon XL 252,630

6. Toyota Prius 250,601

7. Chevy Tahoe 250,338

8. Honda Ridgeline 248,669

9. Toyota Avalon 245,710

10. Toyota Highlander Hybrid 244,994

there, at number nine is my car.

Wow! My car might last for another sixty thousand miles. At the current rate of driving that could be six more years. By then, the State of Illinois will most likely tell me I’m too old to be driving. On the other hand, my brother is ninety-one and he still drives back and forth a hundred miles to his summer home in Michigan.

The prospect of buying an electric vehicle at a time when gasoline powered cars are enjoying the best reliability in history is scary, I think I’ll just buy a slightly newer model from the same company that made the one I drive now.

Filed under: Aging, Biography, Cars, Hot Rods, Travel | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »