Seeing Red

 Far Guy and I have been thinking about a different vehicle.  Although we like our Buick the seats are very uncomfortable in a longer (more than an hour) trip.  After an hour I have to get out and walk around, my left leg and back get so sore that I have to move around.  

Jen's vehicle has seats that support your whole leg up to your knee.  Of course it is a larger vehicle...but hey I might be worth it.  

So we have been talking and looking...thinking.  Sunday we drove past the dealership and looked at vehicles...they had two red ones.  

Finally yesterday we took the plunge.  Took it for a test drive and talked with a salesman.  We got the one without the moon roof.

It has what we needed ...comfortable heated seats and a heated steering wheel.  It is a 2026 Ford Explorer.

It won't get as good of gas mileage as the Buick and it fills up the whole garage.  We should be good for another three years. 

Love me a red car!  

Next week we have numerous Doctors appointments Up North so we will see how we like it for that trip.

Minnesota weather:  High 79F or 26C  Low 63F or 17C  We have wildfire smoke again.

Far Side

Busy Day

 Far Guy drove me around to do errands in town, whilst waiting for me he played with the new car finding out all about the features.  They have changed a few things in three years. 

2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir

We stopped by the Nursing Home, Wally World and DQ:)  Town was nuts with the Rodeo and the 4th coming up...every other car was  from a different state...lots of North Dakota people. 

After unloading groceries I went off on my lawn mower....came home later and had a nap.  I still have some more to mow here in our yard. 

The place we bought the vehicle is having their 45th Annual Catchup sale...relish a deal don't get caught in a pickle.  A bottle of catsup with a test drive and a case of catsup with the purchase of a vehicle.

Goodbye June...hello July.

Far Side

Blue

 Yup decided on the blue one.  Boy it sure takes a long time to buy a car.  We did a test drive and liked it and they threw in a case of catsup and floor liners.  They filled it with gas while I took everything out of the old car.  ( The Catsup promotion starts July 1st...but they must have figured we qualified.) Catsup will go to relatives and to the food shelf:)

I wonder why we have so much "stuff and things" in that car.   How many face masks do we need anyway and how many bottles of hand sanitizer? I always throw spare change in the glove box....it is an old habit....one day before credit cards and debit cards I left my checkbook at home and scrounged up enough change in the glove box to buy milk and bread at the grocery store. 

Who came up with the name glove box anyways?  We have never kept gloves there...have you?  Ours is more like a junk drawer. 

We have car and Insurance papers, a map of Minnesota, a first aid kit, a puke bag, toothpicks, Tylenol, Kleenex, a crossword puzzle book, sunglasses, reading glasses, Tums, a charger for the I Pads, hand warmer and a multitool in the glove compartment.  In the door we have an umbrella and a lint roller and behind the drivers seat several ice scrapers.  I also have a Sub Zero fold up cooler that I love and several insulated cloth grocery bags and a quilt...just in case, it covers the cargo area.  Winter survival kit will go back in the car when winter approaches.

No time for a photo today...buying a car tired us both out.

Another shot of a pretty Buick.

Far Side

Decisions

 I/we have been thinking about buying a different vehicle.  I thought I wanted a Ford Bronco so that was what I was saving up for.   I drove one several times...I was just not in love with it.  I like the looks and the thought of one...but is that enough?

We have almost made a decision...we have owned two Buicks and we really like them.  I spent some time at a local car dealership and a young fellow there said he would like to sell a car.

It would have been a done deal if they had red...Cinnebar Red...instead they had Ocean Blue. 

It is not baby blue like this old Buick...it is a bit darker blue. 

We will see what the final decision is later today or tomorrow.

Far Side

Wistful Wednesday : 1959 Desoto Explorer Station Wagon

 Far Guy's first Desoto was a nine passenger station wagon.  At the Drive In Movie Theater you could back it in...get out and fold up the seat and get in the back to watch the movie. 

I was along when the Highway Cop gave Far Guy a ticket for 92 mph...we were talking and driving along minding our own business...the local judge thought the car might have been doing 72.

I was also along the day her oil light came on and Far Guy was pretty bugged about that light being on...so I spit out my gum rolled it into a ball and stuck it in the round warning light...it did not make him feel  much better but at least he laughed.  I was just trying to be helpful! 

Now for the Explorer part. 

 A question from  a friend;

So this winter will you drive it or store it?

Far Guy's reply;

As I remember Desotos hate winter.  If they start they may just drive off on their own .... do you remember that?

A friend does have a good recall;

Yep was winter time colder then shit. I was driving my brother's red dodge cornet..  Heading down hwy 34 and saw the sea foam aircraft carrier parked in front of the citizen national bank with the motor running. One could do that back in the old days.

I thought i would just pull in behind and wait for you to come out. As I started to pull in The Desoto slowly drove off.  Thought shit I missed him then noted no one was in the car. I parked got out and ran after it thinking i would hop in and hit the brakes.

That thing went down to the alley way, made a left turn across the oncoming traffic lane and perfectly into the alley, went a few feet and stopped.

The part I don't remember is if I hopped in and hit the break or if it was locked and it stopped on it's own due to the deep snow and me hanging on to the door handle swearing.

Anyway ran back to the bank and you and your dad where sitting at a desk and I told you our car drove away.  You mumbled something about it sometimes slips out of park or something and went out to get it.  I would have been more freaked out but you seemed awful casual about it.

If that happened to me it would have run over a group of small school children or something on that order. 

Far Guys reply was: 

 You have a good memory.  One of the problems is there never was a "park" same with this one.  Emergency brake was  suppose to be the park brake and that only worked if it was adjusted right.  Cold as hell which I think made the fluid thicker and so despite it being in neutral it had enough to move the car.

Fun for me to hear this story as it was one I had not heard before...it truly was an Explorer! . 

1959 Desoto Explorer Station Wagon...Sea foam Green or Willow Green or Spring Green or Birdshit Green...photo taken about 1970.  Far Guy sold it in 1972 for $100  We are not sure of the purchase price when Far Guy's Dad bought it from Bob and Mary Harris in about  1966.

Far Side 

Azure Blue

 Well we did it.  We bought a new vehicle. 

It has a few things our other Buick did not have..this one has an engine heater (for sub zero days) and the lift gate lifts by itself if you want it to.  Handy if you have your hands full and can stand on one foot and wave the other under the car with out falling over.  This one is a Buick Encore GX and it has more headroom and legroom than our previous Buick. 

The color is called Azure Blue.  

I don't feel real guilty as we saved up for this vehicle for quite some time. No car payments has been our goal...and we did it.  Now we will begin saving again for the next three years and the next new vehicle. At our age having a reliable vehicle under warranty is a plus. 

My super dooper Weather tech floor liners fit just perfect from one car to the other.  I am totally sold on those liners...they contain the melting snow in the winter and the sand in the summer and make cleaning up a vehicle a breeze.  I have not been compensated in any way by the Weather tech company but if they want to send me back seat floor liners or a hatch liner...I will give them a whirl. 

It took us quite a while to get everything switched from one vehicle to the other.  I certainly didn't need two Minnesota road maps....not sure why I need one...but I have one just in case. 

We haven't had a vehicle this color before...Red, Black, Red, Green, Navy Blue and White, Silver Blue, Red, Tan, Red, Black, Black, Turquoise, White, Light Green, Baby Blue, White, Willow Green were colors we have had before.  One of those vehicle was a favorite of mine and I drove it for 20 plus years it was a 1984 Navy Blue and White Ford Bronco II that I bought used in 1987...I cried when it left the yard...no tears were shed yesterday...three years isn't long enough for a real attachment to a vehicle.  

Far Side

C for Changes and Car

 I got the car to town for the oil change /tire rotation appointment.  What is there to do in a car dealership whilst you are waiting...give our old salesman Joe a bad time about vehicles. Joe has been gone for a year he worked for a different dealership for a bit.  Now he is back...I shared with him how the other salesmen just didn't want to find us a Buick that had heated seats and steering wheel that was NOT white, black or silver.

I sent a text to Far Guy...then Joe called Far Guy. 

I took a picture so Far Guy could see the color. 

Far Guy says "I like that color."   This is NOT the vehicle...cause this one does not have heated seats or steering wheel.  However one this same color with  heated seats and heated steering wheel is available at a different dealership... so we are thinking about it. 

Yes it is a Buick...my Grandparents always drove a Buick.  

It is exactly the same as the Buick we have now...except that one is three years old and Winterberry Red. Far Guy says we should probably trade it in since the bugs are hard to get off the front.

Oh well...time will tell...who goes to town for an oil change and comes back with a new car anyways.

Far Side

Car History

I like red.  I especially like red cars.  Red is a cheerful color.  Have you noticed how many different colors of red there are…Fire Truck Red, Orange Red, Deep Red, Raspberry Red…

The Cruze was not red because the red one sold really fast so I settled for black…years ago I had a red Dodge Charger…oh how I loved that car.  It was an 1982 I think.  Brand new.

A week ago Far Guy test drove a different car…and he was sold on the vehicle almost immediately, but it was a charcoal color.  The red car came into the dealership last Thursday.  On Friday I took it for a drive and three hours later we left the black Cruze and brought the new red car home.

Chance was not real sure about this whole new car thing.

We put his car blanket in the back seat and he took his first ride.

Winterberry Red is the color.

It is the new Sunday car.  It doesn’t get as good of gas mileage (only 28 - 32mpg) as the Cruze that almost always got better than 38 mpg, we only filled with gas every two months for the Cruze now I suppose we will have to buy gas once a month.  We are not exactly big travelers.

All Wheel Drive should get us through the snow.  The heated steering wheel and seats will be appreciated on really cold Minnesota winter days.

How cool is a back up camera? Yes the yard is a lake…it was 50F here yesterday.

Maddie asked “Why did you choose red?”  Jennifer answered “ Duh…your Grandma loves red cars.”

Andrew asked How many brand new vehicles have you had over the years?

1973 Gremlin (White)

1978 Plymouth Horizon a special order with a special paint job (Black with yellow, orange and red trim on the bottom.)

1982 Dodge Charger (Red)

1986 Dodge Caravan (Silvery Light Blue)

1990 Geo Metro (Red)

1995 Nissan Pickup (Torquoise Green)

2017 Buick (Red)

The 2012 Cruze (Black) was not new it was either a rental or a program car.  It had 18,000 miles on it when we bought it and had 52,000 miles on it when we traded it in.

The 2005 Chevy Tracker (Red) was also a program car, it had some miles on it when we bought it, it is a 4 X 4 and is it our everday vehicle that now has 152,000 miles. It has some rust…Minnesota roads are very salty.

Other vehicles that were not new.  1959 Desoto Station Wagon (Willow Green), 1966 Mercury or Dodge Caliente (White with a black vinyl top), 1968 GMC Pickup (Baby Blue), A 1963 Ford Cortina (We called it our English Ford and it was light green), 1974 Gremlin (Torquoise Blue), 1973 Ford Pickup (Black), 1984 Nissan Stanza (Tan), 1984 Ford Bronco II (Blue and White)…I drove the Bronco for 20 plus years…I still miss that vehicle.

So much for Car History.  Far Guy says the best vehicle he ever had was the Nissan Stanza…he called it his office because he spent four hours a day in it commuting to and from work in Fargo.