New Truck

Well, I finally had to do it. I didn't want to, but after 267,000 miles by old truck just couldn't pass the Harris County emissions inspection required to remain legal to drive.

She still runs great but if I can't legally drive the old pig, I was forced to buy another one.

My family is glad. The old dog was more than ten years old and had been rear-ended so badly two years ago that it was totalled. But the truck still ran so good that I kept pushing it in service thinking I would trade it in when I got to 250,000 miles.

But at 250, she just kept cranking up like she was brand new and running great like she always had.

I've rather enjoyed not having a truck payment these last seven years. I've gotten spoiled, in fact.

But my new ride promises to spoil me in new ways. V-8 (compared to my old V-4) makes for really quick starts when I need them (I never do). A diesel engine provides far more towing power than I'll ever need. I have to mention these engine things because I am a man, but I really appreciate the cabin.

Four doors, leather seats, power everything. This is all new to me. I've been driving a stripped down, bashed-in model for more than a decade. My wife assures me that I deserve it, and I allow myself to enjoy driving now even more than I did before. But I still sometimes feel a little bit out of place in a truck that is almost twice the size of my old faithful.

It will take some time for me to learn where everything is by touch, the way I used to access things in my old truck. But it will come with time. My brother tells me that because diesel engines last much longer than gasoline engines and that because I'm notorious for driving a car until the wheels fall off (the truck BEFORE my last one had 252,000 miles and ran great when I sold it), he's quite sure that this will be the last vehicle I ever own.

That would suit me just fine.