Yep, this is the culmination of the "T-minus" posts recently, the numbers representing 'miles to go'...
"If a picture paints a thousand words...", then this one does:
A quarter of a million miles.
Though it's a 1999 model, I bought this buggy in February of 2000. Last year that Ford made the Escort wagon, and it was full of more irony than I realized. Consumer Reports gave this particular year and model glowing reports for reliability and performance. Ford promptly discontinued it in 2000 and brought in the Focus, which for a couple of years was riddled with recalls. Typical mental midgets.
To this day I get 35 mph at worst in the city, and up to 40 mph on interstate driving with its 5-speed manual transmission. Nice little trivia fact: I've never owned an automatic transmission, ever. I just love the manual transmission. For a while, such an option was available only on really basic models or fancy sporty models. Thankfully, with fuel efficiency concerns, more manual options are available today. Dog not included.
This is now the Mercy-Mobile. The Ugly Boy Flute Express. I bet I've never had 10 days where anyone sat in the backseat...it stays folded down and is in impeccable shape. Dare I say it's the only part of the car that is impeccable, outside of its reliability. Note the $2.39 oak dowel that holds the tailgate up. Beats the $119 for a brace of new pneumatic tailgate lifts.
The first year I had it I put over 50,000 miles on it, auditioning from Atlanta up to Philadelphia, and cities in between. For years it took me back and forth to The Weather Channel from Asheville, including snows at midnight. There were places in South Dakota I took it that, had I gotten stuck or had a failure, I'd be there rotting away to this day, more than likely. It's like the old Timex watch commercial in that it keeps ticking and ticking and ticking...
Sure, I've had tie rods and serpentine belts and timing belts and tires and brakes and such replaced regularly...but nary a chronic problem has arisen. OK, so the A/C compressor is now on the blink. Works when it wants to. Ain't payin' the +$1,000 to replace it, either. Does me good to sweat in the middle of the summer should it decide not to blow cold air. I can live with it.
Truth be told, even if I were to win the lottery...I would drive this puppy into the ground until it goes no further. It's that much a part of me and furthermore...it deserves as much.
Happy 250,000th birthday, ol' reliable one!
"If a picture paints a thousand words...", then this one does:
A quarter of a million miles.
Though it's a 1999 model, I bought this buggy in February of 2000. Last year that Ford made the Escort wagon, and it was full of more irony than I realized. Consumer Reports gave this particular year and model glowing reports for reliability and performance. Ford promptly discontinued it in 2000 and brought in the Focus, which for a couple of years was riddled with recalls. Typical mental midgets.To this day I get 35 mph at worst in the city, and up to 40 mph on interstate driving with its 5-speed manual transmission. Nice little trivia fact: I've never owned an automatic transmission, ever. I just love the manual transmission. For a while, such an option was available only on really basic models or fancy sporty models. Thankfully, with fuel efficiency concerns, more manual options are available today. Dog not included.
This is now the Mercy-Mobile. The Ugly Boy Flute Express. I bet I've never had 10 days where anyone sat in the backseat...it stays folded down and is in impeccable shape. Dare I say it's the only part of the car that is impeccable, outside of its reliability. Note the $2.39 oak dowel that holds the tailgate up. Beats the $119 for a brace of new pneumatic tailgate lifts.
The first year I had it I put over 50,000 miles on it, auditioning from Atlanta up to Philadelphia, and cities in between. For years it took me back and forth to The Weather Channel from Asheville, including snows at midnight. There were places in South Dakota I took it that, had I gotten stuck or had a failure, I'd be there rotting away to this day, more than likely. It's like the old Timex watch commercial in that it keeps ticking and ticking and ticking... Sure, I've had tie rods and serpentine belts and timing belts and tires and brakes and such replaced regularly...but nary a chronic problem has arisen. OK, so the A/C compressor is now on the blink. Works when it wants to. Ain't payin' the +$1,000 to replace it, either. Does me good to sweat in the middle of the summer should it decide not to blow cold air. I can live with it.
Truth be told, even if I were to win the lottery...I would drive this puppy into the ground until it goes no further. It's that much a part of me and furthermore...it deserves as much.
Happy 250,000th birthday, ol' reliable one!
