I Want A Tank

It’s always a right of passage in a teenager’s life when they turn 16 and can drive.  For a parent, it’s a passage into stress like we’ve never known.  There is the stress over the cost of a vehicle that ultimately will be ruined through multiple fast food drive thru opportunities and other normal teenager uses.  And, what type of vehicle, short of a tank, will safely surround our beloved offspring that we have worked so hard for sixteen years to protect from harm?

When the first of my children was close to turning the magical age, she was very well aware of the minimal financial resources she had at her disposal.  She was the oldest of seven children.  There is the expression that “you either have kids or money… but you can’t have both.”  Well, she knew we were a part of the first group.  This is what jumped her into the purchase of a red Ford Fiesta for $500.  True, the cost of the vehicle was manageable and the insurance on this piece of junk was next to nothing despite her being in the high risk group.  The problem was the match book size and cracker box construction.  I planned a Buick Lucerne type car where a large amount of mass and substantial sheet metal would keep crash forces from my priceless cargo.  She loved it, and thankfully, it died within a year.  I jumped the minute it looked weary so that I could make the next selection.

An Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was just the ticket.  It had over a 100,000 miles on it.  It was perfect.  It was the tank I was looking for in everyway.  No CD player.  Definitely no iPod capabilities.  Solid.  This car lasted through many a driver in our household and withstood the pressure.  A daughter hit a pole and I couldn’t have been more pleased.  The pole was dented at a good 45 degree angle, but the Oldsmobile… didn’t have a scratch.  Next, a daughter rear ended someone.  Again, damage to their puny vehicle was substantial and required we contact our insurance carrier.  The Oldsmobile didn’t even look like it was involved.  Then the car reached the point where the DMV issued a “Selvage Title” which again, dropped our insurance.  In explaining to my children what this meant I said, “It means the car is worthless”.  You could total the thing and insurance won’t pay us a dime for it.”  Again, thankfully, no one ever did.

I am participating in a blogger campaign for Bucks2Blog about ChicagoSubaru and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.