1045583
I had a '92 Trooper for eight years. It was, without a doubt, the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. I bought it with 70k miles on it, and yesterday when I said good-bye at the Jeep dealer, it had 160k. We both new it was time to move on. It had surely worked hard enough to earn that new clutch and massive front end work it needed. The myriad other things which had broken, including the O2 sensor, a back window motor and a speedometer that took long lunch breaks, had been adding up over the years. It wasn't so endearing any more. With a new wife and a baby on the way, I just had to make a clean break. It was time.
I married Grace, in part, because she shares my aversion to automatic transmissions. She drove an Accord, kept it messy like my cars (but not as bad as my house), and seemed to really like me for some reason, so here we are. I was lucky to find the Trooper. It was an LS, with cushy seats and an electric antenna, but it was, by god, a five speed. I'm the kind of guy who actually likes to help people move. (Note for future reference - I do not pack or unpack.) I hauled a spinet piano inside that thing once, while pulling a full trailer. I kept a tow rope and a pair of jumper cables at all times, and never turned down a chance to use either. Last spring, it trailered two motorcycles from Nashville to Baton Rouge and back. I will take no blame for the condition if its clutch when I gave away the keys. I think I got my money's worth.
Imagine my horror when, for the first time in many years, I went forth in search of an SUV with a real transmission. Grace is a truly devoted Honda Girl. She has a Prelude now, but aesthetically, the CRV just doesn't appeal to her. Go figure. I nixed any consideration of the Xterra, because I'm just too old for that. The new Pilot is an auto-only car. We came very close to deciding on a Forester when I impulsively pulled into a Jeep dealership. The Liberty earned huge points with Grace from the very start, simply due to the cute factor. (Come on, admit it. How many other cars have eyebrows?) Of course, they didn't have a five speed on the lot. When we learned that the Limited model isn't even available with stick shift, it looked like we'd have to go with a base model, or perhaps even the dinky four cylinder, to get that most elusive of options, a clutch. We could order one, but the salesman said the factory will close for the season on Dec. 11th, and while I'm sure that the assemblers in Toledo will make good use of the long holiday, we were ready to smell that new car smell.
There are, of course, other Jeep dealers in this world, and in our very town, as a mater of fact. Next day, I found one five speed Liberty out by the airport. We drove there and there it was, and it was red. We'd discussed color before. I was partial to the khaki, but Grace wanted black. We both took one look at the red Sport, with its big black skirts and bumpers, and wondered why neither of us had never owned a red car before. It looked tough and playful. It smiled at us. It had everything we wanted except a sunroof. It was an '02 model and had been there since last December. As it turned out, they were probably glad to see it finally go. It has the convenience, power and security packages, upgraded stereo and speakers and even side air bags, and we got it for less than twenty grand. Not bad. It has base steel wheels, but that will change shortly.
That was Yesterday. Today, Grace and I went to Nashville for Thanksgiving. The drive from Knoxville to Nashville is about 180 miles, very curvy and hilly, with one long, steep grade, both up and down. Our route took us out of the foothills of the Smokies, up and down the Cumberland Plateau, then deep into the Cumberland Valley to Nashville. Nothing about it is boring. The Liberty was up to it.
I miss having a place for my left foot. Those cavernous wheel wells, which take up almost a third of the area ahead of the windshield, leave room for the pedals but not much more. The seats are adequate, if perched a little higher than necessary. The combined noise of the engine, gears, and all-terrain tires adds up to very noticeable at least. The power window switches are not intuitively located, and for some reason I can never find that damn ignition key release button without looking. I think I can get used to all of that.
On the plus side, I like the way the 3.7 liter V-6 feels. It's eager and responds nicely. The transmission feels a little tight, so you have to shift gears like you really mean it. I expect this to mellow out a bit with time, but it is indicative of just what I like about this car. The cute factor is only skin deep. I can tell that I'll be confident in getting out the tow rope to play hero when the snow comes this winter. And it's great to finally own a red car.
Rip
Knoxville, TN[addsig]
I had a '92 Trooper for eight years. It was, without a doubt, the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. I bought it with 70k miles on it, and yesterday when I said good-bye at the Jeep dealer, it had 160k. We both new it was time to move on. It had surely worked hard enough to earn that new clutch and massive front end work it needed. The myriad other things which had broken, including the O2 sensor, a back window motor and a speedometer that took long lunch breaks, had been adding up over the years. It wasn't so endearing any more. With a new wife and a baby on the way, I just had to make a clean break. It was time.
I married Grace, in part, because she shares my aversion to automatic transmissions. She drove an Accord, kept it messy like my cars (but not as bad as my house), and seemed to really like me for some reason, so here we are. I was lucky to find the Trooper. It was an LS, with cushy seats and an electric antenna, but it was, by god, a five speed. I'm the kind of guy who actually likes to help people move. (Note for future reference - I do not pack or unpack.) I hauled a spinet piano inside that thing once, while pulling a full trailer. I kept a tow rope and a pair of jumper cables at all times, and never turned down a chance to use either. Last spring, it trailered two motorcycles from Nashville to Baton Rouge and back. I will take no blame for the condition if its clutch when I gave away the keys. I think I got my money's worth.
Imagine my horror when, for the first time in many years, I went forth in search of an SUV with a real transmission. Grace is a truly devoted Honda Girl. She has a Prelude now, but aesthetically, the CRV just doesn't appeal to her. Go figure. I nixed any consideration of the Xterra, because I'm just too old for that. The new Pilot is an auto-only car. We came very close to deciding on a Forester when I impulsively pulled into a Jeep dealership. The Liberty earned huge points with Grace from the very start, simply due to the cute factor. (Come on, admit it. How many other cars have eyebrows?) Of course, they didn't have a five speed on the lot. When we learned that the Limited model isn't even available with stick shift, it looked like we'd have to go with a base model, or perhaps even the dinky four cylinder, to get that most elusive of options, a clutch. We could order one, but the salesman said the factory will close for the season on Dec. 11th, and while I'm sure that the assemblers in Toledo will make good use of the long holiday, we were ready to smell that new car smell.
There are, of course, other Jeep dealers in this world, and in our very town, as a mater of fact. Next day, I found one five speed Liberty out by the airport. We drove there and there it was, and it was red. We'd discussed color before. I was partial to the khaki, but Grace wanted black. We both took one look at the red Sport, with its big black skirts and bumpers, and wondered why neither of us had never owned a red car before. It looked tough and playful. It smiled at us. It had everything we wanted except a sunroof. It was an '02 model and had been there since last December. As it turned out, they were probably glad to see it finally go. It has the convenience, power and security packages, upgraded stereo and speakers and even side air bags, and we got it for less than twenty grand. Not bad. It has base steel wheels, but that will change shortly.
That was Yesterday. Today, Grace and I went to Nashville for Thanksgiving. The drive from Knoxville to Nashville is about 180 miles, very curvy and hilly, with one long, steep grade, both up and down. Our route took us out of the foothills of the Smokies, up and down the Cumberland Plateau, then deep into the Cumberland Valley to Nashville. Nothing about it is boring. The Liberty was up to it.
I miss having a place for my left foot. Those cavernous wheel wells, which take up almost a third of the area ahead of the windshield, leave room for the pedals but not much more. The seats are adequate, if perched a little higher than necessary. The combined noise of the engine, gears, and all-terrain tires adds up to very noticeable at least. The power window switches are not intuitively located, and for some reason I can never find that damn ignition key release button without looking. I think I can get used to all of that.
On the plus side, I like the way the 3.7 liter V-6 feels. It's eager and responds nicely. The transmission feels a little tight, so you have to shift gears like you really mean it. I expect this to mellow out a bit with time, but it is indicative of just what I like about this car. The cute factor is only skin deep. I can tell that I'll be confident in getting out the tow rope to play hero when the snow comes this winter. And it's great to finally own a red car.
Rip
Knoxville, TN[addsig]
