Dear J-
At least part of the reason why I don’t take better care of my car is that it hasn’t seemed to need it so far: despite my abuse, it’s held up well and (knock on wood) should last me quite a while longer. I went to the oil change today and instead of the one that’s closest to the house (with terrible reviews — everyone complains about how they try to upsell and I’ve been a victim of that too), tried one that got good reviews instead. The verdict? I’m sticking with the new place.
On the other hand they did tell me the timing belt was due and if I think right it’s really PAST due as I’m closing in on 150K miles and can’t remember ever having it changed. Um. Should be good enough to get me to work, right? On the way back to the house I spotted this Ramcharger (only sold en Mexico, as Dodge never brought that style to the States) and started thinking back to the other car that I’ve owned — the 1973 Super Beetle from high school.
Let’s see … I started driving that in 1990-91, so the car would have been … seventeen at that point. The ’97 Subaru I’m driving hits fifteen this year and that gives me some pause: how can the Beetle have seemed so primitive and the Impreza so modern in comparison? I suppose that even by 1973 standards the Beetle was a bit quaint, but I haven’t had the adventures I had in the Beetle with the Impreza, which I’m grateful for.
Mike
