Spring is coming, actually it is officially here, although no one informed old man weather. With the coming of warmer weather we look forward to traveling around the Pacific Northwest or do we? With the price of gas at $4.00 a gallon and expected to edge toward $5.00 a gallon by August. What will some of us car nuts do? Before answering that question lets look back at our history of traveling with our cars.
Some of us older generation may remember the TV series "Route 66". It was my first introduction to the Chevrolet Corvette. I still would love to own a 64 Corvette... Oh well, it is nice to dream. I think this show helped create my desire to get in a car and drive anywhere. Feeling the road through the steering wheel was and is an addiction.
Even further back in history I remember my dad telling stories of traveling across country in a Model A or a Model T. They would travel with lots of extra tires and tubes, a little bailing wire, and a tool box that had enough tools to rebuild the car if necessary. Well, those days are long gone. I do not think we will ever see cars that we can easily work on ourselves.
I think that of all the cars I have owned over the years, the one that I liked to drive best was my 67 Pontiac Firebird. It had a 6 cylinder overhead camshaft engine with a four barrel carburetor and a four speed transmission that made it fun to drive. I have always regretted getting rid of it.
Now, I drive a Volvo CrossCountry station wagon. This car has every bell and whistle on it you could imagine. My wife is in love with the heated leather seats. The Volvo is a wonderful car, comfortable on the highway. It gets between 25 and 28 mpg driving at 70 mph on the highway. Unfortunately, it is a "family car" and not what I would call a "fun car".
Just filled up the Volvo with gas - over $70. This will allow me about 400 miles of highway travel or about 250 miles of city driving. I need something that is Inexpensive, fun to drive, and gets 30 mpg in town and 40 plus on the highway.
There are actually several cars available on the American market that fit all my requirements except the inexpensive part. My son is taking delivery this week of a car that meets all the requirements except the inexpensive part. He takes delivery of a 4 door Mini Cooper. The mini really is a nice car and has done well in the American market. There are several models of Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Fiat, and others that fit this market. The American automotive standard of Ford and Chevrolet are also making new models that meet my requirements although, like the Mini, they are not inexpensive.
I keep looking at my needs and my pocket book and I wonder what to do. The Smart car has my interest if I can work with its drawbacks. More homework is needed. For now it is me and my Volvo.
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