I love you fellows! You’re ahead of me, which I appreciate. There are now not only great manuals but CD versions so that you can watch someone else do the repair job you have in mind first.

Yes, indeed, a big part of driving superb cars economically is knowing how to do basic repairs and maintenance ourselves and not driving on what Daddy always called scathingly “the American plan,” which is putting in gas every time the car needs it and oil on holidays starting with T. I drove the “new” 240D 3 blocks and pulled into a service station because she was clearly on her last drop of steering fluid! For our purposes we’re defining a “superb” car as anything you love that will keep you from having to make car payments for decades at a time. Your Duster is a good example, still chugging along well after 38 years! My heart belongs to the European cars I grew up with (which my youngsters tell me is dreadfully old-fashioned) but to each his own, so long as it is reliable, safe, comfortable, and preferably fun to drive. I imagine by now you get a kick out of seeing how much longer the old girl will last! The object is to ensure that we have cars that we can trust in bad times and to free up capital for use now. If you view a car payment as six thousand dollars a year (current dollars) you have saved rising a quarter of a million dollars over time by sticking with your baby. What’s her name? I KNOW she has one! Cars run better when they do, and they are mechanical “people” to us.

We who love cars LISTEN to the motors and we fix things before they break. We like vehicles with real gauges, not idiot lights.

You gave me a great idea, Ken: not only will we save a bit by changing our own oil AND know that the job was done correctly and what sort of oil went in there, but instead of paying to have the old oil disposed of we can begin storing it for use in tractors, Black Dawg #5, and assorted other oil-burners like generators or heaters. I LOVE it! Filter the stuff using something sensible like worn-out tee shirts…

When we do our own grease jobs we know nothing was missed. I mourn for today’s youth who seldom never know the joy of “Grease,” or at least being a shade-tree mechanic. Our son’s first car was a ‘76 280 Datsun Turbo Z for that very reason. We still have it. Wow, y’all are making me think. Consider the effect putting all those dealers out of business is going to have in terms of finding mechanics easily, and where are the mechanics going to get jobs?

Y’all might get a kick out of how Daddy taught me to drive. First he explained the internal combustion engine. Then he put me on the smallest tractor to learn how gears work. He taught me to change oil, grease cars, and replace wheel cylinder kits on brakes. He taught me to parallel park by setting up two large wooden saw horses a couple of feet longer than a big old Ford pickup (named George, after General Patton), one hot afternoon, and I tried until I could get in the space without knocking either over. Daddy lounged under a tree reading a book to be certain I didn’t expand the size of my imaginary parking place. There is something about wrestling large hunks of wood in 98 degrees that leads to good spatial judgement.

Once I mastered the basics he proceeded to defensive driving and then to rally tactics. One day he grinned ruefully and said, “Honey, I have always wanted to jab you with a straight pin to simulate being stung by a wasp but I’m afraid you’d wreck the car!” He may have been right. The worst disaster I’ve had to date is dropping a lighted cigarette in my lap, but I coped well.

There are many things we should NEVER trust the government to teach our children, starting with how to read and proceeding to how to drive.

Thanks for the great anecdote and comment, Ken.

Regards, Linda

As for a manual transmission…it isn’t a CAR unless you can stir it around yourself. An automatic is just dull transportation, even if it is luxurious, comfortable, safe transportation.

What do you consult on, Ernie?

Happy smiles for the comment and finding another car nut, Linda