End of an era

Important news flash! More important than vacation photos (but they are coming). You see this great car? On Tuesday we closed a chapter in our lives. Our beloved 1994 Ford Explorer XLT that have given us great service for the past dozen years (we put over 100,000 miles on her), has gone to that happy car hunting ground. We traded it in for “Cash for Clunkers”. I never thought it was worth that much but the FEDS thought it was. So I went for it. The Explorer hauled a lot of dirt, bricks, wood and grand kids over the years. Every piece of furniture I built was hauled in it. It made a trip to Olympia, WA after my dad died, to bring a piano back.

Things were starting to go on it. I had to replace the transmission three years ago after a mechanic changed the transmission fluid improperly and caused contaminates to get into the valve bodies and it stopped working. I got my three years out of it for the warranty. Last March the AC compressor froze up so I needed to disconnect it before it ruined the serpentine belt. I noticed a tear in the boot on the left front caliper while trying to fix an “O” ring seal that split on the front hub, causing axle grease to leak out. I put manual hubs on the front several years ago and I could not find a 3 inch “O” ring to fit. So I Permatex’ed it. To fix the AC would have cost about $1500 and about $400 for the caliper. One of the hangers on the “original” exhaust system finally rusted through earlier in the year and I wrapped bailing wire around it to keep it in place (no exhaust leaks though). The interior lights would not go out when the doors were closed, so I ended up taking all the bulbs out to keep the battery from draining (I checked all the door switches and they were good). So the time was right to put her out of her misery. She was getting old and needed a rest.

So now you are wondering about the “Cash for Clunkers” statement. Well see for yourself:

This is a Toyota Rav4 – Red. I ordered it last March 26 and since it was a special order (the only thing special about it were Aluminum Alloy Wheels), it took this long to get it. It came in on Aug 7 while we were on vacation in Montana. That gave the dealer time to install the dealer options I wanted (mud guards, trailer hitch, body side molding, rust proofing, paint sealant, upholstery protector and hood guard). Cash for Clunkers was so popular at Toyota City that my Rav4 was one of only a couple left in the Twin Cities and everyone wanted it (I’m so lucky I have a popular car). I hope this car gives us just as good of service as our Explorer. Thanks Randy and LuAnn!

Let me tell you what they do to the "Cash for Clunkers" cars. Mind you, the Explorer has a great engine that has at least another 150K miles left in it. It purrs like a kitten. Well, they take a substance called "Liquid Glass" and they pour it into the gas tank. Then they run the car until the engine seizes. A co-worker told me yesterday that she has a friend working at Walser who said "After you have killed ten cars, you don't hear them screaming any more". It is a sad thought.

The last bit of news:

My great little Cobalt Blue 5 speed sports car, the 1995 Eagle Talon Esi, is also saying farewell to our house on Dupont Ave N. It has less than 52,000 original miles on it (stored in the winter) and still gets about 32MPG on the highway and about 26-28 in town. I hate to give it up because of the mileage.

My best mileage was in the Montana mountains at a steady 85MPH (that was before the enforced speed limit when the speed limit was “reasonable and prudent”) when I got 40MPG. I took all the “S” curves and the ups and downs of the mountains without changing the speed and with cruse control engaged it did not change in speed by more than 1MPH. She hugged the road and you didn’t even know you were taking a 55MPH curve at 85. Well, actually it was the second time. First time I got 40MPG was when it was brand new (before I got plates for it) and we went to the Chicago Temple. Then when I got home I found out that the dealer put 40psi in all the tires when the rears were supposed to be at 29psi and the fronts were to be at 31psi. After I corrected that problem, I got the advertised 32MPG. I guess the dealer thought it got 1MPG for every pound of air in the tires. But I have since increased that by about 3 pounds in all tires to keep mileage up there. Also in Montana, before the speed limit law, I did bring her up to 135MPH for a mile or so, just to see what she could do. She was fabulous (I should have named her). I’ll miss you babe! But she will be going to another member of the family. Brett has bought her. So he better take care of her or I will have to come and take her back!

This will be the first time since our oldest started driving, over 20 years ago, that we have not had an extra car in the driveway. We are down to two. We had an extra car or two because we always had one that needed some type of work done and was out of commission for a few days, and we would not let the kids drive the good cars. Mean parents!