Age and gravity are having their way! While we live in a community, mostly populated by retired people, when we moved here, I didn’t really count myself in their number. Despite countless surgeries for this, that and the other, I was as fit as a flea and Terry and I got involved with our neighbors and built a social network and calendar that was dizzying. We both love to cook so entertaining was a catalyst for making new friends.
In a youthful spirit I treated myself to a Jaguar F type R Coupe in Sorrento Yellow. It’s not my everyday car but excuses to unleash all those horses (and that exhaust note) come along with some regularity! Although I’m not an acrobat I was able to jump in and out without looking like I needed a shoehorn.
A little while ago I accidently injured my back and where I would happily walk for a couple of miles, now I’m reduced to going fifty yards before having to stop due to pain and numbing in my hips and legs. An MRI proved that surgery was out of the question and even injections would be useless.
Taking things carefully now means slowly. That includes getting in and out of the Jag – where’s a shoehorn when you need one!? So, much as it pains me (duh), it’s got to go and be replaced with something a little more sensible. I’ve had many different Land Rovers and still have an affection for their, sometimes, quirky character or quizzical mechanicals.
So an investigatory visit to the local dealership proved to be a real eye-opener. I’ve been in the car business all my working life and I was dumbstruck; a nicely equipped Range Rover is over two hundred thousand dollars. So that now involves me in looking at something smaller or used with a thinner price tag. I’ve been casting around some of the local dealerships and I’m dumbfounded. Most cars, SUVs or trucks are adorned with such high specs that prices are through the roof.
I’m left wondering how a guy or girl starting out could get new, reliable transportation; something basic with air and a couple of doors. Something like the old Mini comes to mind – basic but cool-looking. Or how about a small pick-up truck so running chores or using it for work still fits into a lifestyle. We don’t always have to haul 8’x4’ drywall – that’s what borrowing is for.
I realize that safety is a consideration but surely today we can come up with a design that works universally. The Mini became so popular in any social group; it was like reverse snobbery. Today’s Mini looks nothing like it’s forbear and I’m not sure it has the same panache as the original. I had four of them. The first was a van version as basic as a roller skate but my brother and I went everywhere in it. (It was the one that I wrote about a while ago that was clocked!) It ran like a top because there wasn’t much to go wrong. A Mini pickup may have some appeal.
One of my best buddies had a Ford Ranger base model; he upgraded newer ones with better specs each time he replaced them but you get my drift.
So now I’m thinking of a used Defender 90 or 110 with its boxy look and easy access as well as utility when I need it. The off-road bit is way in my past but I used to love it. I’m lucky to be in a position to choose what I want; I can’t justify an arm and a leg – just my back.
