Cigarettes. Wet dawg. Dead farts. A defeated Christmas tree air freshener. Perhaps trace amounts of aftershave. Varsol and gasoline. Minus the rifle - It coulda been Pop’s old farm truck. The thing was always spotless and ran like a top. The various stenches weren’t over powering; but they were there like old memories that don’t go away. You’d notice them if they were gone.
The other day I saw an ad for a new truck. It drives itself. Tilt-power everything-cruise-a/c-etc-ad nauseum. Full leather interior with a TV screen in the console with full avionics. Whadda they call it? An infotainment console? So ya can drive it with your cell phone? I dunno what’s going on with the powered tailgates now… the one I saw looked like a transformer autobot glitching as he tried to turn from a truck into something else.
They say us guys used to have a life expectancy of about 30. You had time to grow up, get married and then ya died. There occasions when I wonder if I have lived far, far beyond my time.
i feel the same way
ReplyDelete...Ditto...
DeleteThings I want on my pickup truck:
ReplyDeleteheater
4 wd
rear view camera (prevents backing over something)
V8 engine with serious torque
industrial grade cooling system for engine and trans
serious trailer hitch
radio
two bumper stickers:
Smith & Wesson
Tailgate Me and Find Out
Y’know, A… that’s all I’d want too, if I were towing. I do not like the new vehicles at all. They’re too smart, too complex and a truck that’s too pretty to work is no good to anyone…
DeleteI have an "air freshener" hanging from my rear view mirror: Hoppes' Number Nine! Got it from the 'zon, and you can too.
ReplyDeleteFord jammed our collective butts with that "twin-ibeam" bullshit. It rode smooth because most of the time the wheel assemblies were in the air. I drove and owned a slew of them. All were an excercise in false marketing. POS of the highest order.
ReplyDeleteDon't know what happened to you, but the Twin I system is the BEST thing since self contained metallic cartridges (as long as you double shock 'em, tread scalloping without). I ran 'em from '74 till last year. Been abusing them ('67-'79, 1/2 and 3/4 ton) in tree service, daily driver and off road. Durable, rock, curb and bullet proof. Apparently, your mileage varied.
DeleteThese new trucks are FANTASTIC when they are new. The ladies LOVE them. Buuuuuuuuttttttttttt t t t - they have to be disposed of before the warranty runs out. Otherwise when some computer gets a BSOD and it costs 3 x the value of the car to repair. The best car we ever had was an old 45-series Toyota troop carrier. Had vents on the floor you opened with your foot, vinyl interior etc etc etc. The reason we sold it was the body rusted out. I wish I had Snoopy-the-Troopy today, but I’d love to win the lottery too. Prob should buy a ticket eh?
ReplyDeleteYep, I'm old and broke now, my '86, 1 ton toyota and my '74, 1 ton Ford are all I have left of my once mighty battle fleet of Fords.
DeleteThough, I went through a phase of Datsun 620, pick ups, back in the '80's and '90's, but they were gutless wonders until I started putting '72/73 Merc. Capri V6's in them, then they were hhhaauuuught.
Give me Carburetors or gives me death. I’m sick of vehicles I can’t work on.
ReplyDelete