We’ve been a 2 car family for some time. I typically drove the tan colored Dodge man-van and Emily drove a green Chevy Lumina. The van was fairly new but we had the Lumina for awhile…it was 10 years old and starting to get wrinkles and excess gas. I mean that…the old girl had a few dings and started smelling like gas. We did our duty and took her to the mechanic to find the gas leak problem. They spent all sorts of time (and all sorts of our money) looking for the problem to no avail. We coped for awhile but finally decided that our family going out in a fiery car crash was not the way to go (at least until I get much older).
We started doing our homework and decided we needed a few things in our new car. First, we needed space for Isaac to grow. He’s becoming gigantic with no signs of a slowdown in the near future. He wears the same size shoes as I do (he’s 9) and he’s approaching Emily’s height. I didn’t want the backseat to be too large though. Isaac will be driving before too long. Enough said. We also decided we wanted a car with all-wheel drive. Winters here aren’t awful, but we do definitely get snow and it can be a problem at times. Safety was important because we figured Isaac will learn to drive on this car. By the way, 15 year olds should not drive. It’s crazy! And boys especially should not drive until they are 30. I once was a boy and I remember some of testosterone induced stupidness of 15 to 30 year olds. Finally, I wanted a car that polluted as little as possible and got good gas mileage, etc.
We looked at the Honda CR/V, the Toyota Rav/4 and the Subaru Forester. We didn’t like any of those options for various reasons. While we were at the Subaru dealer, we spotted an Outback that was beside the Forester on the showroom floor. It looked cool.
We decided to drive the Outback and that was all she wrote as they say.  It had all those things I mentioned above plus heated seats!  There were a few other cool features that made it even better…it is a PZEV car (partial zero emission vehicle) which means there are times when it runs that it release no emissions.  It also has a continuously variable transmission (CVT).  The details are fairly interesting but let’s just say it is heavy on cool and also enhances fuel economy.
So we drove Steve home. Â You see, like many people, we name our vehicles and this one is named Steve. Â He’s green and he’s green. Â We like Steve!
And of course, in typical fashion, the man-van (Bessie) started slipping out of gear right after we trade the car. Â Mind you, this is not an old van. Â We bought it new and have had all of the maintenance done on it since day one. Â It is a serious heap. Â We’ve had one problem after another but keep thinking, “this will be it…once we fix xyz, it will be fine.” Â I will never buy another Dodge again (sorry to all my Dodge friends). Â We may go have a look at Steve’s twin Ronny…
My wife is on her 2nd Outback. She likes it a lot. The PZEV must be new on the 2010 models because her 09 did not have it. As tall as you and I am the newer ones are easier to get in and drive. Enjoy it
I think it’s hilarious that you name your cars – we do, too!! But what’s even funnier is that my dad’s name is Steve and my father in law’s name is Ronny – do you do this stuff on purpose?!?!
Beautiful color… and I agree, 15, 16 or 18 is waaay to young for boys to be driving! When I think back… oh, nevermind.
.-= Beau´s last blog ..After the Rainbow =-.
ooh… Steve is hot!
Car names… love ‘em.
Steve IS hot! And he keeps your hiney warm in the winter…my kinda man.
Welcome Steve! Nice to “meet” you!
.-= YDavis´s last blog ..June Update =-.
Cousin Celeste wants to welcome Steve to the family. Celeste is a red Forester. Not as fancy, she’s a country girl.
Steve….what a name. I thought you were more into buttercup and pumpkin. I guess it just didn’t fit this one. Well, congrats on the new car. It is still hard for me to imagine how big Isaac is.
We’ve had Outbacks for years…hubby wouldn’t be without one. Then again he also thinks the ’61 Vette and the ’62 Nova are ‘must haves’ also. Me? I drive a 19 year old minivan that runs like a trooper with 270K miles in her. Mine might not get the best gas mileage but I have kept something out of the landfill for a loooong time! Congrats on the new car, I hope you two are very happy together! Kim
.-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..Playing in the Mighty Columbia River =-.
So instead of a man-van you went with the modern day Hippy-Wagon! Fall prey to the Stang Fever you had and get rid of the Man-Van!
Susie fits than Steve or Sunflower or Starchild!
Very nice! I like Steve, he’s quite the looker. That said, I have never named any of my cars lol. I also have drove a dodge for the past 7 years and never once had a problem with my old clunker!
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Subbies rawk!
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