How's your car-acter?

I have recently heard it suggested that character is somewhat linked to the vehicle you drive. More specifically, the character of your parenting is proportionate to the vehicle in which you choose to transport your kids.

Hmmm... if that is true, then I wonder what this says about me and my older, high mileage car?

I've been devoid of blog fodder for months, and sometimes l just need to write something... if for no other reason than the exercise of writing. This post may be just an exercise in writing... or not.  You decide...

'Tis a tale of two cars...

One of the best guys I know drives himself and his children in an older, high mileage car similar to this:

This is a fella who has become a solid friend to me... alas, like a brother to me. He has helped pull me through some difficult times and listens with an unbiased ear... which is a rare and valued car-acter trait. This is a man who loves his kids and loves his wife.  He is respected by his employer, co-workers and friends. Despite his "questionable" choice in family vehicles, I'd vouch for him any day as a solid parent and a man of car-acter.

By contrast, one of the sleaziest guys I know drives himself and his children in a late model, low mileage car similar to this:

Obviously, by his choice in cars, he is a man of car-acter who values family and safety of the ones he loves, right? Of course, it also shows that he cares about the safety of his mistress, if he ever were to transport her (or them, whatever may be the case).  Wait? WHAT? Yeah, this is a man who used to be a friend until, during one of our last conversations, he admitted to secretly having a mistress to survive his miserable life (that outwardly appears artificially near-perfect). No... unfortunately, he wasn't joking. His advice to help me through some difficult times was to do the same... find a mistress to soothe the rough edges of life. Despite his "excellent" choice in family vehicles, I'd vouch for him any day as a fraud to his kids and a man of NO car-acter.

A tale of two cars... seems to suggest that character and quality parenting have little to do with the vehicle in which you drive your family and a lot more to do with how that vehicle factors into managing finances and supporting those you love. So, if anyone is going to judge character by what is parked in a garage, then have at it. I don't have time to worry about such things!  

Now, excuse me while I put a wrap on this blog fodder and locate a muffler shop... yeah, mine's about to fall off!

faithful steed

She was a faithful steed, but I had to put her down today.

14 years my 2001 Chevy Lumina served me, and never once did she leave me or any of my family stranded.  She was a good one!  Had the transmission not gone bad, I'd still be driving it.

End of the line... sniff, sniff

I'm not so much about the image of a car.  I'm more about the function, utility, and durability.  I tend to drive them until there is little left, so these factors are more important to me than whether the car makes me look good.

I actually tend to drive cars that are slightly on the plain side.  When I was shopping for a car in 2001, I remember reading a review of the Lumina that referred to it as an "older person's car".  But, those same reviews also used words like "reliable" and "durable".  After researching cars, I decided a late model Lumina was the next car for my family and I bought a used one, just one year old.  

Of the cars I've owned, I think I can honestly say that the Lumina has been my favorite car.  From 2001 to 2008 it was our main family car, then it became our second car from 2008 to present.  14 years is the longest I have ever driven a car, and since my oldest child was just 18 months old when I purchased it, it is a car full of memories.

Yeah... memories.  That's why it was hard to see that one roll out the driveway on a flatbed.

Here are just a few of the Lumina memories I could find in the family photos...

Multiple trips to OBX

Many camping trips, including this one to Alabama on spring break

Alabama to visit Jen's Grandpa

Camping trip to West Virginia

Backpacking trips

hachoo! car

I love Benny-isms!

One that he has coined and popularized lately is the Hachoo! car.  He's obsessed with Hachoo! cars.  He talks about them daily... looks for them when we are driving... wants me to buy one... wants me to turn his pedal car into one.

What is a Hachoo! car?

You mean you don't know?

Well... a Hachoo! car is this:

Snot Rod, featured in the movie, Cars... the original Hachoo! car.

Still don't get it?  Maybe this YouTube clip will clear it up a bit:

(An aside, if you've never watched the original movie Cars, you really should... even if you don't have kids... it's a Pixar masterpiece!)

Did you see it?  "Snot Rod" is a sneezing American muscle car that hangs with a group of mischievous import tuner cars.  To Ben, he was the original Hachoo! car, but the term has now become associated with any muscle car with chrome engine parts and blowers protruding through the hood.  Yep... if it's got chrome through the hood... it's a Hachoo! car!

Sorry, Benny, but Dad buying a Hachoo! car is just not in the budget.  But, maybe we'll have to find some good car shows next summer?  Hachoo! cars everywhere!

In lieu of buying one, he has been after me to build him one.  He is convinced if we take the motor off my rototiller and mount it in the hood of his pedal car, it will go really fast!  (He'd also settle for his battery operated circular saw mounted on the hood for it's motor noise.)  That, son, is called a go-kart!  Maybe I should consider that... in a size that Dad can fit so I can get a lower budget Hachoo! car fix along with you!

Love this kid!

enduring golf

Golf... the car... not the game!

As an adult, I still buy an occasional Hot Wheels or Matchbox car when one catches my eye.  I don't think I'll ever outgrow the allure of a bright, shiny new car... for less than a buck!  

Years ago, I bought a Matchbox VW Golf casting, because at the time I drove that very car... except, mine was blue instead of red; and it was a four-door instead of two; and it had the steering wheel on the left, instead of the right like all cast-as-European-but-sold-in-America Matchbox cars... but, I digress.  I'm not sure why, but I gave that car to Dylan as a tiny tyke when he was first deemed old enough to safely have one of his own.  I almost wish I'd have kept the Matchbox Golf, because I loved my actual Golf.  But, then it wouldn't have the history that it does now.

It was Dylan's very first Hot Wheels/Matchbox-type car.  He used and enjoyed it much, and it often went with him when we left the house.  It was a prized possession.  Eventually, though, his car collection grew and other new shiny cars would take the favored spot.  Occasionally, cars would get misplaced here and there, but the VW, though no longer the flashiest car in the collection, was never forgotten.  The VW endured.

Years later, along came Ben.  At a very young age, Ben was fascinated (and still is) with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.  His obsession with them caused him to "acquire" the two older boys collections when they weren't looking.  They would reclaim them, and he would "reacquire" them.  It was a viscous cycle, and eventually the boys gave up the battle and just let Ben have their cars... although I think they are still a little cheesed.  (I know I would be!  My small collection is in a secure location... or at least I thought they were, until he breached my security a few weeks ago when I caught him with one of my 1970's vintage Hot Wheels!)

I've never counted them, but at age seven, Ben now has well over a hundred, possibly approaching a few hundred cars (and is still thrilled over every new one).  A number have been misplaced over the years.  Some reappear in couch cushions, under car seats, or the pocket of a coat that has not been worn for months.  Others have vanished and been sucked into a die cast car black hole, never to be seen again.

But, there is one, battered and nearly devoid of paint, acquired from Dylan, that is still a beloved favorite of Ben's.  And, for years it has withstood the pull of the black hole.

That car is...

the one and only... the original... the enduring Golf!

Matchbox VW Golf

My 1986 VW Golf (no longer enduring)

addition to the fleet

It makes for fairly mundane blog fodder, but not all posts can be top-shelf heartwarming blog material, and, since I once wrote a post about my automotive history, I wanted to keep the record going.  Maybe it's a guy thing... or, maybe it's a guy-who-drives-them-for-many-years-until-there-is-almost-nothing-left thing, but I do enjoy keeping track of the cars I have owned.  For a man my age, I have owned relatively few.  But, the count just went up by one.

 

With a family of six, a car is just not big enough for everyone.  Hence, the minivan.  But, I have observed over the years that the minivan (averaging 20-21 mpg) is rarely ever on the road full.  It often has just one or two occupants... sometimes a few more.  All too often, though, it is used in travel where a car would suffice.

 

Over a year ago, I started pondering whether adding a third vehicle would be cost effective or cost prohibitive.  With four kids going different directions and the miles that Jen drives (in the van), I estimated that an older third car with 30ish mpg would likely save more in gas than it would cost in liability insurance and license fees. 

 

Around this same time, my parents started pondering replacing their aging 2003 Saturn Ion.  Being a fan of Saturn vehicles (who was very disappointed when GM discontinued this automotive line), and, knowing it was a 30ish mpg vehicle, I asked them to give me first option to purchase the Saturn when they chose their replacement.

 

They were not in a hurry to part with it (being Saturn fans, themselves) and neither was I in a hurry to acquire a third vehicle (since I already had two vehicles on the road and it was not a need).  A few weeks ago, though, they finally made their vehicle selection and confirmed with me that I still wanted the Ion.  I did.  We talked briefly about value, but with Christmas coming, they asked me if I'd just like to have it as a Christmas gift?  Sure!  They dislike buying and selling cars as much as I do, so I guess that's a win for us both!

 

So, the new strategy is for Jen to mostly drive the Ion when it fits the transportation need and I will continue to mostly wear out the Lumina as my work car, reserving the Grand Caravan for times when more-than-car capacity is needed.  I also like knowing I have a backup to my 64 miles per day commuter Lumina available.  Although still running strong at 153,000 miles, the Lumina is starting to show it's age, as evidenced by poking the jack through the underside of the rusty body twice before finally finding a spot sufficient to lift the car enough to change a recent flat!  The Ion will likely replace the Lumina as my work car when it finally wears out.

 

Thanks Mom and Dad... let's see how many miles I can get out of it!

 

2003 Saturn Ion 

global thinking

Have you seen the new 2012 Fiat 500 yet?  This car began sales in America just a few months ago, as a result of the Fiat takeover of the Chrysler Corporation.  The dealership, for which I am employed, applied for, and was awarded, a Fiat franchise.  It is a stand-alone dealership next door to our Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership, so my position does not include sales of these cars, but I am around them everyday.

Reaction has been mixed.

Larger than a Smart Car and only very slightly smaller than a Mini Cooper, many scoff at the Fiat (Fix It Again, Tony) as a "throw-away" car.  Others view it as being a "too-small tin can".  Still, others turn up their nose at just another foreign car in America.  (But, does a true "American" car really exist today?)

Those with a positive reaction are the sizable area Italian-American community, the "green" environmentally conscious, the trendy, and miscellaneous others, like my wife, who think the car is "cute".

Until recently, my only knowledge of a Fiat 500 was from the Disney Pixar movie, Cars.  Luigi, owner of Luigi's Casa Della Tires, is a 1959 Fiat 500.  I had never actually seen an original Fiat 500 (built between the years 1957-1975) until recently, when an area Fiat enthusiast loaned the dealership his 1970 Fiat 500.  They are smaller than they look.  Very small... even smaller than the current models.  But, it will get you between two points.

Americans tend to tie the image of their ride to their personality.  I can't count the number of too-cool-for-a-minivan parents I have talked with at work... even though the minivan is, hands-down, the best family mover ever built (unless you need a heavier towing vehicle).  But how many SUV drivers actually need the off-road and/or towing capacity of a true SUV vs. those who just drive them because they look good?  And, the pickup truck is a similar animal.  How many "truck-guys" really need a truck vs. the number who just drive them to make themselves look more "manly"?

Americans... we are what we drive? 

I'm not putting down anyone's ride, but when you think about it, aren't some of the vehicles on our American streets pretty indulgent?  A good example is this $118,000.00 2010 Saleen Challenger (700 HP) we (not me) just sold at our dealership.  700 HP?  Really?  Why?

I have not traveled overseas much, but I think many in other parts of the world view transportation much more practically than we Americans.  I work with a Fiat enthusiast who moved to America from Italy about ten years ago.  He loves the Fiat 500 because of it's practicality.  He tells stories of whole families packing in a Fiat 500 to motor around Italy.  During my brief travel to China, it seemed that the Chinese people also view transportation very practically... not much about image.  It was nothing to see an entire family piled on a motorcycle or a moped... it was just about getting from point A to B.  I'm not saying it does not exist, but it didn't appear that there was a lot of vehicle "image" on the streets of China.

Now, I'm not putting America down, and I'm not saying I wouldn't mind tooling around in a nice "manly" 4x4 pickup truck.  But, I'm really practical enough in the way I view vehicles to think I feel pretty comfortable with some global thinking when it comes to vehicles.

Would I drive a Fiat?  Sure, why not? 

It's not really practical for my family size, but I like the overall practicality.  Money aside, I'd probably rather drive the Fiat than the 700 HP Saleen.

But would I look "manly" enough in the Fiat? 

Hmmm... I drive a rusting 2001 Chevy Lumina now...

Yeah, I'd be OK!

automotive history

Despite the fact that I am currently attempting to provide for my family as an "automotive sales consultant", I personally hate buying and/or selling cars.  It is one of the necessary evils of life, as evidenced by the fact that I am 42 years old, and still driving two of the five total vehicles purchased during my adult lifetime.

This post was inspired, in two ways, by a blogger/facebook friend, the Father of Five.  First, he recently posted a picture of his first car on facebook.  Second, during slow times at work (of which there have lately been ample), I have been skimming some of his archived blog posts and saw a post featuring his history of automobile ownership. 

I think it's a guy thing, but we like recounting our driving/ownership history.  That said, here are the rides with which I have been associated (those in red represent my actual purchases):

1.     1976 AMC Hornet Sportabout.  (stock photo)  My parents owned this car.  It was a red station wagon, with wood grain sides, a straight 6 engine and an automatic transmission.  I learned to drive and passed my test (the first attempt) in this car, and drove it a few years until I proudly purchased the '81 Rabbit. 

2.     1981 VW Rabbit.  I purchased my first car, sight unseen, from my Great Uncle Bill and Aunt Bernie. Although I had previously seen it over the years, it was in Florida when the purchase was agreed upon. It had a 4-cylinder diesel engine and a 4-speed manual transmission; and, although I'm not proud of it, my friend could beat me off the line at a traffic light in her... Yugo (he says with head hung low in shame)!  I added fog lamps, raised white-letter tires, an AM/FM/cassette stereo, a CB radio, chrome splash guards and exhaust tip, and beamed with pride at my first ride.  I did not know how to drive stick when I purchased the car, but we went to Florida over Christmas break, and I drove it back home to Ohio... pretty well mastering stick-shift driving in the process.  I drove it until there was little to no life in it, and (sadly) sold it for scrap.

3.     1986 VW Golf.  Replacing the '81 Rabbit, this vehicle was another 4-cylinder diesel with a 5-speed stick... a little more gutsy than the 4-speed Rabbit, but not much.  I owned this car when I dated and married my wife, and we drove it to Gatlinburg, Tennessee on our honeymoon.  Although it still ran great, my wife "strongly suggested" I get something "safer and more reliable" when we started having children.  I conceded.

4.     1988 Ford Escort.  Jen bought this car shortly after we started dating.  It had a 5-speed stick and I helped teach her the basics of stick-shift driving.  She owned it when we got married, but we were neither extremely fond of it, so shortly thereafter I sold it and bought a '95 Saturn.

5.     1995 Saturn SL.  This car replaced the '88 Escort.  With a 5-speed stick, this was perhaps my favorite car, to date.  Simple.  Reliable.  Comfortable.  Economical.  That's my kind of car.  The first two summers we were married, we took this car to Acadia National Park, in Maine.  I would probably still be driving it, but our family size necessitated a van, and it was the logical one to sell, due to higher mileage.  I sold it to two brothers to drive to college, and I still occasionally see it running around town.

6.     2001 Chevrolet Lumina.  This highly practical V6 automatic car replaced the '86 Golf, and it is presently my primary ride (minus the cargo "attic").

7.     2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT.  This V6 automatic van replaced the '95 Saturn, and it is presently Jen's primary ride.  (And, for the record, I'm a guy who has no image problems driving a minivan.  It's the most practical and utilitarian vehicle I have owned, to date, and I'm all about practical.  What's more, I'm proud to be a father of four, tooling around with a van full of kids!)
----------------------
(Edited 11/22/14)

8.     2003 Saturn Ion II.  Featured in the post titled addition to the fleet.

I've been tagged

There's a game of blogger tag going around, and I've been tagged by Sharla, at "Life as a Clay Jar". If you haven't visited her blog, I recommend a visit. I recently started reading her posts, and I think she keeps a great blog.

So, the deal is seven random or weird facts about me. Here they are:

1. As a kid, I always wanted to be a truck driver when I grew up. I'm currently an unemployed architectural draftsman, without many prospects, due to the housing market decline. We live near a truck driving school, and Jen and I have kicked around the idea of me enrolling in the five week course to get my CDL, as there seems to always be jobs of some kind for those with a CDL. It's not an ideal job for a family man (and I'm sure it's not as glamorous as it was portrayed on Movin' On, B.J. and the Bear, or Smokey and the Bandit) but it might be a possible short-term fix and fall-back plan later.
2. I dream of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. I am sure this is not as glamorous as the idea seems, either. The longest time I have spent on a backpack trip is 5 days, which is very different from 6 months, more or less. I have thought it would be neat to hike it someday with Dylan and Zachary, who are two years apart in age, as a rite of passage to adulthood. I have a neighbor who is in his sixties and has never backpacked, but has a fascination with the AT. Both he and I have read every biography of thru-hikers we can find in our library's system. This dream will likely never be realized, because the likelihood of having a job that would allow me 6 months off, even if I could afford to take 6 months off, is unlikely.
3. I have never seen any of the Star Wars movies. I was 8 or 9 when the first one came out. Nearly everyone in my age bracket has seen them. My friend, John, a huge Star Wars fan, refers to me as "the last Star Wars virgin".
4. I have never owned a new vehicle and I have never had an auto loan (excluding the $1500 I borrowed from Mom and Dad to buy my very first car... a 1981 VW Rabbit diesel). Instead of paying several years after I buy a vehicle, I save several years in anticipation of needing a vehicle. My target is then a 1 or 2 year old vehicle.
5. Related to #4, I am a volunteer budget counselor through my church, trained by Crown Financial Ministries. I teach principles of Biblical stewardship and help families set attainable financial goals, set up responsible household budgets, and create debt payback schedules, etc.
6. Even though I have always been on the shy side, I love drama. I often get involved with the nightly skits at Vacation Bible Fun or Christmas plays at church. I would love to land a role in a community theater someday, but I don't think we have one in our town.
7. I often wished that I had more siblings. I have one brother, but I often wondered what it would have been like to live in a larger family. Still, when it came to my own family, I thought two kids was a good number. I have four. Guess I get to experience a bigger family, after all.

Tagging seven more people may be difficult. Many of the bloggers I read have already been tagged, but I'll see what I can do. How about:

1. Kelly
2. Jill at "Making Room for Mallory"
3. Tracy at "Five Kids for us to Love"
4. Michael at "Doubling Up"
5. Chris Fabry at "The Flog"
6. Tara at "Red Thread Journey"
7. Tim at "Grab a Corner"