This site will look much better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

Okay, if you read the title, you pretty much have the story. Nuff said, right? But,hey this is UltraMom talking and UltraMom never makes a short story short. So settle down to listen to the long, wordy tale of a search; a quest if you will: for the car of my dreams.
Chapter 1: UltraMom drives big old junky cars that are always breaking down. Shoot. Again, I gave the whole story away in the title. I’m going to have to stop doing that. My question to my mechanic has lately been: which of these two cars (the ’94 Ford Taurus or the ’95 Chrysler Concord) will cause me the least amount of expensive repairs in the near future. He hemmed and hawed and issued disclaimers before selecting the Taurus. The Taurus proved its worth by breaking down on us in Pocatello when we were pickup shopping for UltraDad, and refusing to start when UltraMom, ignoring the wolf-crying warning clangs, left the lights on all day. It seems that, in this case, the clangings were actually trying to relay an important message (ie, you left your lights on, idiot), but in my defense this car also clangs for no good reason. Now, after several expensive repairs, the Taurus now appears to be running again. I’ve got to admit, that I have been feeling more charitable towards the Concord of late. Although it’s sick, most probably terminal, it’s decline has been more gradual and evident. Her bicep-building, stiff-turning wheel has been with me so long it almost seems natural to have to wrench the steering wheel with brute force to navigate a corner. The deep, grinding noise that sometimes accompanies the operation of the air conditioner is telling me the compressor is slowly going out. I can almost hear the old girl saying “You know, I’ve been around a while. I’ll do my best to take you where you want to go, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this. Just letting you know..” I appreciate the warning. Take lessons, traitorous Taurus.
Chapter 2: UltraDad now has a ‘new’ pickup, so it’s UltraMom’s turn. We decide to trade in the Concord. Actually, I wish we could have traded them both. UltraMom has been doing some research. For a long time, the Toyota Camry has been my pie-in-the sky dream car, but I never thought I’d actually own one. Now is seems that I actually might. Jimbo suggests I also consider the Honda Accord. I do, and like what I see. Only drawback is that both cars are very popular and priced accordingly. I pick up Auto Seller papers from Twin Falls, Jim gets ones from Idaho Falls, and we also look online. Prices is Idaho are much lower than in this area of Nevada. I call a few dealerships with mixed results.
Chapter 3: UltraMom and Dad go car shopping. We drive separate vehicles to Idaho; UltraMom drives the old Concord. UltraDad, who may wish to stay a few extra days, drives his pickup. We will be staying in Howe at Chuck and Joy’s and Jimbo has promised to accompany us on our car-shopping journey. UltraDad, who is several hours ahead of UMom, scouts out a few cars in Twin Falls, which we test drive. We really like the forest green Accord, but decide to check out what Idaho Falls has to offer before making a decision. UltraDad does not like the Camry at all. He feels cramped and uncomfortable..
Saturday finds the three of us driving about Idaho Falls from one dealership to another scouting out cars. Some salesmen just tell us they don’t have any Camrys or Accords and send us packing. The more enterprising ones try to sell us something else. At Smiley’s, where we bought UDad’s pickup, UltraMom test drives a luxurious Audi. At the conclusion of the test drive, Jimbo suggests that UltraMom may wish to let him drive from now on so she can devote her full attention to the gadgets. He jokes that her driving has frightened the saleswoman sitting white-faced in the backseat. Ha, ha. At the Subaru place, hearing the salesman extol the virtues of the Legacy, UltraMom decides she likes the Subaru. It is all wheel drive, after all, and, according to Mark, or Bob, or whatever his name was, has the least expensive maintenance and repair costs of any car out there. We may be back.
On down the road, we stop into a smallish place called “Auto Express.” They have two Honda Accords. The first one is like many others we have looked at. The second is a 2002 luxury model. Leather seats, rear spoiler, power seats, moonroof, radio with casette and 6-CD changer. The color is silver and it drives like a dream. I think I’m in love. The Subaru Legacy, with all its practicality, fades into oblivion. But when Jimbo tries to wheel and deal, he doesn’t get far. It seems that this place has already set the price about as low as they can go. There are a few little things that need fixing, but we are assured they can be done by Monday morning. Also, Scott is willing to throw in a 90-day mechanical warranty and give us $600 trade-in for the Concord. We’ll have to think about it.
This story has a happy ending. Silver Girl now sits in my driveway, getting at last figuring, over 27 mpg. I only hope she can live up to my expectations, which are reasonable. I only want her to keep running, like she does right now, for the rest of my natural life. In return, I promise regular lube & oils. Seems like a fair deal to me.
UltraMom

Sail on Silver Girl….

Isn’t she a beauty?