Last Thursday I did a quintessential guy thing ,I bought a new truck.
My last new one has been a loyal servant since 98 when I brought it home from the Ford dealer.
240000 miles later, it is getting on in years and I can hear the transmission struggling to change gears once it warms up.
The Expedition has lasted through three collies who loved it and jumped in eagerly , always assuming it would take them to places of new and interesting smells.
It travelled well, never breaking down during a trip, always getting us where we planned.
It rolled over snowy mountain passes, cruised up ocean beaches, crossed deserts and Forest Service roads, handled rain , mud and ice with surefooted ease.
Now I drive it while Ford is building its replacement, an F150 Crew Cab with a fair amount of goodies. I even got an engine with the ‘eco’ prefix. Goodbye V-8, I will miss you.
My family always treated dogs and cars as part of the family story, each having it’s place in the saga, each treated as members in good standing, remembered for service and the good times when gone.
We tended to buy new and drive until the wheels fell off. My Dad’s first postwar car , a 54 Plymouth wagon was still going thirty years later , having been handed down to a few cousins. It was the first vehicle I remember sitting in and pretending to drive at high speed at age three.
So I need to find a place I can donate the Ford to, someplace that will use it to help folks who need transport, or train kids who want to learn a trade.
Meanwhile, now I have to replace the Red Headed Irish Wisecracker’s Lincoln LS.
America, what a country.
“Meanwhile, now I have to replace the Red Headed Irish Wisecracker …”
I just want you to feel at home TKC. Nothing like taking things out of context to bring up fond memories.
You must have this confused with some other place. That one with the Conservative Correctness Code of Comedy.
Now I totally disregard the OP and start talking about what I want to talk about.
Here we go again!!!!
Spend that Dime, please…
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Great story!! Car and motorcycles really connect to guys. For years in Japan I didn’t have a car. I didn’t really need one. I got by on a bicycle and great public transportation. When I finally got a car it felt wonderful. A car is so loaded with comfort, music, heat, and even a roof. Who could ask for anything more?
I always wanted speed and serious acceleration with all those other things. Never know when you might need to get to the malt shop real fast for an emergency.
In my misbegotten youth, I had a Ford F150 with a 428 Mercury Police Interceptor shoe-horned under the hood.
It was as you say ‘real fast'(in a strait line). It didn’t get mileage so much as yardage, and an ’emergency’ was anytime I passed a gas station without stopping.
That should be ‘straight line’ though I did find myself in desperate straits on occasion.
:-D
“I got by on a bicycle and great public transportation. When I finally got a car it felt wonderful.”
I’m moving in the opposite direction. I ride my bike to work almost every day. My car sometimes does not leave the driveway for a week or two at a time. I use Uber to get to the airport. I’ve even considered selling my car. Of course, my wife still has her 4-door sedan that we could use on rainy days.
“We tended to buy new and drive until the wheels fell off.”
My husband finally traded in his diesel Benz at 160,000 miles. I noticed tears in his eyes. Even the cat was disoriented.
It was a piece of dust, Liz. Manly Men don’t cry. DocJay will tell you that it is physically impossible for us. My nose just got longer for some reason.
Man, those things are SLOW. Must have taken him a lifetime to accumulate all those miles.
Naw, we lived in CA at the time. You can accumulate those kind of miles in an East Coast minute.
We were on the 5, 405 and Pacific Coast Highway nearly every day. We were always driving!
Now in FL, I’m hard pressed to fill the gas tank once a month.
That’s because you’re sitting on the porch sunbathing so much. ;-)
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God bless pickup trucks.
…And those who drive them…Amen?
Yep, especially those who drive them!
If I could only manage to get in them without a high jump pole! :)
Yep, I reckon gettin’ in one is hard for petite chix!
That’s what those handles up on the windshield frame are for. You grab that, stick your boot up on the running board and pull yourself up – rather like getting on a horse.
Dev, I’m sorry to tell you that my 4″ ankle stiletto boots could not cut it. ):
So enjoyed this “slice of life”, TKC…Tasty! More, please/thank you?
The ecoboost engines have a problem with carbon fouling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ynGWxzJHjA
In theory, carbon deposits are a problem for all gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines.
The reason is that because fuel goes directly into the cylinder the detergents in the fuel never get the opportunity to clean intake valves.
The problem is that techniques for cleaning non-turbo GDI engines can damage the turbo.
If that’s a problem, I just do not renew the lease. I had heard this one. Are you saying there is no procedure for cleaning the intakes?
Remove/disassemble the heads and clean by hand.
I assumed you were going to try to hit 240k on the F-150 too.
I do plan on it. I may lease only for tax purposes.
The Lincoln LS had two main problems. First, its original sin was that Ford intentionally neutered it to not offend Jaguar which sold a platform-mate as the S-Type.
The Jaguar topped out with a 4.2 liter V8. Ford neutered that to make a 3.9 to keep it below the Jaguar. Then, to have a lower tier engine, ford used its 3.0 V6.
The LS should have had a larger engines such as a 4.6 V8 and a 3.5 V6.
The second sin was in not having AWD at a time when that was becoming common.
Ford achieved a near perfect weight balance with the car and it is a great handling sedan. For years, it was the perfect Q-Ship, surprising a number of other drivers with the power it could tap. Not bad for a commuter car .
AWD was unnecessary for our needs, we had a 4X4 right next to it, and it was great in the rain as it was.
Weight balance and independent rear suspension were the LS’s strengths.
The fact is Ford should have been able to sell you a V6 with as much power as the 3.9 V8 for a few thousand less or a V8 with more power for about the same.
AWD is needed in the midwest and northeast. Some manufacturers do not ship certain RWD cars to these markets that they do sell in the warmer states.
AWD ought to be available for all high performance sedans. It enhances the performance.
And let’s face it – an awful lot of Americans have lost their ability to drive a RWD, certainly “sportingly”.
My Mustang is in the shop for some more warranty work. As a loaner, they gave me an F-150 SuperCrew. It’s a Lariat with the base normally-aspirated V6 and 6-speed auto.
The engine is clearly overmatched, but not surprisingly so.