July 2009: Cash for Clunkers

It was one of those events that you just don’t see coming. It was just supposed to be a regular check up, but as the technician called my name I sensed that something wasn’t right.
My instincts were correct; the ball joints were shot as were the brake cylinders. She would soon need tires and brakes. It was time to car shop.
The Wrangler has been a great car; good in snow but great on those summer days when the top was down and the music loud. But it has had its downside. I didn’t love it when she guzzled four dollar a gallon gas. And it was very embarrassing when I could use the Jeep as a teaching point in my Environmental Science class (“If my Jeep gets 15 miles per gallon and a gallon of gas adds twenty pounds of carbon dioxide……)
So tomorrow is our last day together. I have traded her in for a new car as part of the “Clunkers for Cash” deal (I really resent calling my car a clunker. Just the other day a guy at Sheetz said that it was a great looking car.) The new car has a great sound system and gets twice the gas mileage, but I’ll miss those great top-down drives in my Wrangler.