It’s GOOD To Drive The Nice Car!

In today’s bulletin from the Department of Irrelevancy:

I’ve been doing a LOT more driving in the last couple of months, despite the unemployment thing. Out to Camarillo to the CAF Museum and hanger three days a week or more, down to Orange County most weeks for a writer’s group — it’s starting to add up.

Normally I drive my stupid and well-worn old “Momdude-mobile”, an 2001 Chrysler Town & Country minivan. It was very practical and functional when I got it, since at the time we had three kids in school and tons of schlepping to do on a daily basis. I got one with lots of upgrades, including the bigger engine, a towing package (bigger radiator & heavier shocks), the good leather interior, and so on. I wouldn’t ever buy another Chrysler, but this one has hung in there reasonably well for the most part.

But — at this point it’s got over 166,000 miles on it and a lot of things are starting to go. There’s a funky grinding sound from somewhere in the front suspension every time a bump is found, and those “speed humps” make it sound like the whole front end is going to fall off. The radio works sometimes, but mostly not. Of course, the car was manufactured a decade before things like built-in navigation systems or satellite radio were around. Hell, it doesn’t even have a simple jack for plugging in an iPhone or iPad. (Neither existed in 2001.)

These days, with the kids scattered around the planet, it’s primarily used to haul my butt around. It’s also the vehicle we use whenever the dog needs to go somewhere since she sheds like a fiend and I don’t want to ruin the “good” car. And it’s still big enough (barely!) to carry a 4×8 sheet of plywood or drywall. But it’s not terribly fuel efficient for me to use as a single-person commuter-mobile, and it’s a bit of a “battleship” to drive. It’s got plenty of power for a minivan, but that’s sort of like being the best leper in the colony.

A couple years ago, when The Long Suffering-Wife needed a new vehicle, we splurged and got our “lust-mobile”, a Volvo C70 convertible. Not very good for carrying anything other than two people and a tiny little bit of luggage, but damn if it isn’t a joy to drive, especially with the top down. Most noticeable, especially compared to the minivan, is that when you stomp on the gas, it GOES! There’s nothing I love more than getting onto the freeway and merging into traffic driving it. In the minivan you creep into the slow lane hoping someone cuts you some slack and leaves a hole big enough for you to wallow into — in the Volvo you pick your spot, punch it, pick your spot in the next lane, keep doing it, and in seconds you are in the fast lane doing “maximum freeway speed”.

It might not be terribly fuel efficient either, but who cares?

While The Long-Suffering Wife is back to driving after her surgery, she’s still taking it easy most days, so I’m getting the option to take the Volvo instead of the Chrysler some days. Would you rather drive the car described as “practical” and “functional” or the one described as “WOW!” and “cool?” Yeah, me too.

It’s good to drive the nice car!