Copyright Vladimir Kagan July 3, 2011
How They Don’t Make’em The Way They Used To
For the past 15 years we have driven the Great, great Grandson of my Motel T. A second hand Ford Explorer that finally died… well not exactly died… the repair bills exceeded its book value.
It was a modest car as far as SUV’s go. Not oversized, not gussied up with chrome trim, it had all the bells and whistles needed to enjoy a car ride: CD player plus cassettes (you remember cassettes, those little frustrating boxes with thin film that invariably became entangled in the player?) it had a sun roof, indispensable for summer driving…it had a boat hitch, a compass, (very useful before GPS), it even read the temperature outside as well as inside, plenty of luggage space, a roof rack, it had a trouble light that warned you to check the engine (which flashed on more frequently than you really wanted it to.) Most often it indicated low window-washer fluid… but how were we to know? It was in cahoots with the auto-repair shop as you needed to bring it in for an inspection before it could pass inspection…. and it loved to drink gasoline. The color was a conservative forest green… so ubiquitous on Nantucket that we would frequently put the groceries into the wrong wagon until we acquired a distinguished vanity plate: VLAD. Every since it was referred to as the Vladmobile.
The Vladmobile lived on Nantucket, never driven on the beach and seldom left the Island, it lived a healthy outdoor life winter and summer. (The garage was reserved for its great, great Grandfather, our Model T). Compared to the great, great grandfather, who is alive and well at 89, it died at the early age of 15. It retained its pretty face until the end… Over the years it acquired Nantucket stripes, those thin horizontal gashes from driving its narrow streets and being caressed by the ubiquitous privet that guards our driveways and backcountry dirt roads.
The Vladmobile with its Great. great grandfather, a 1918 Model T
Winter and summer, it did its duty...
We kissed it good-bye just before the 4th of July Holiday. Stripped of its distinguished license plate,it looked like a dignified old car. In August, it will have one final fling: we donated it to the Demolition Derby, where within an hour, it will be reduced to a rubble of crushed steel and finally taken off island as a pancake on top of a flatbed trailer, along with all the other hulks that were driven to their final demise in this grotesque event.
We will not attend the funeral service.
The car is retired and returned to its maker. It had wonderful days since then. Too bad it wasn't restored as its repairs would cost greater than its book value.
Posted by: Dealership Penciling | 08/15/2011 at 08:01 PM
He is a good friend that speaks well of us behind our backs.
Posted by: Belstaff store | 01/13/2012 at 04:03 PM
I wonder how you got so good. This is really a fascinating blog, lots of stuff that I can get into. One thing I just want to say is that your Blog is so perfect!
Posted by: 2012 jordan | 02/25/2012 at 03:36 AM
Il ne s'ensuit pas que, parce que nous ne subventionnons pas fumer, nous ne devrions pas réglementer les activités malsaines. Coûts et les économies ne sont pas la seule variable. Le fait que l'obésité engendre des coûts est simplement une raison supplémentaire de le réglementer, et non pas le seul. La raison principale est le danger à un individu. Vous êtes méprisant de subventionner le tabagisme en raison précisément de cette intuition morale.
Posted by: Jordan Pas Cher | 03/05/2012 at 04:11 AM