A 2007 Chevy Silverado. Pretty sweet. We found that living in our parsonage, we needed to haul dead tree branches, etc. around quite often, and borrowing trailers was a chore. And moving in stages to our parish town required renting a lot of trailers.
We were looking for a lighter, cheaper truck and went into the dealership to find a GMC Canyon or its Chevrolet equivalent, the Colorado. They were trying to get rid of this 07 model and sold it to us for the same amount that we were planning on spending on a much smaller truck. We have named her Regina.
Regina is replacing my noble steed, Red Baron -- a 1991 Buick Century. I went for two years without air conditioning down in Orlando, got it fixed for the past summer in CPE, only to have the compressor blow out last week, taking the alternator with it. He might make it around the backyard, but is not really roadworthy.
Ah, the gallant Red Baron! A mixture of refined class and rough grit. He could parade down a downtown street or haul a trailer off-road. He was a good car, and never let me down when it counted. And there were times when it really, really counted.
Sunny is, of course, thrilled about his new truck. He had seen other dogs in our small town riding around in the back of their own trucks and wanted one of his own.
10 comments:
Ahhh...new wheels! Welcome to the JtM family, Regina.
Those Century's were good cars though. I drove my '89 'til the wheels fell off... almost.
Yes, there are many Centuries from that era roaming around the roads today. They were sturdy cars, unlike Red Baron's predacessor, a 1986 Olds Cutlass.
You can probably make the Century back on the road pretty cheaply too. I'd imagine a new battery and alternator would run you less than 200. You can probably put them in yourself if you have a decent set of wrenches.
I think you'll be a lot happier with the full-size pickup. I drove a Colorado for a few days when my car was in the shop. It was too big to be nimble, but didn't have enough power to be a proper brute. I'd much rather have had a full size.
Yes, but I do insist on having air conditioning, and that means a new compressor. And that I couldn't install myself. I think that I could do an alternator. I did once years ago.
I kept in mind what you wrote a few months ago about light trucks -- power vs. fuel economy -- but decided that the Silverado/F150 level was more than we really needed. Basically, we wanted to duplicate the Buick's hauling power, which is considerable.
I'm astonished that there are trucks on the market with 2.3L engines. What's the point of such a vehicle?
Ah the life of a country pastor. I tried making do with a motor scooter to visit my parish members back in the day. The wild dogs on the country road could run faster than the scooter, so I gave up on that. Wound up with a Nissan pickup for the same reasons you suggested: hauling trash, debris from the 2 acre parsonage yard, and stuff to take care of the 2 acre parsonage yard. On some days, I wasn't so much a pastor as a gardener. Anyway, the truck had a very sketchy emergency brake. One day my then 2 year old son knocked off the brake, took the truck for a ride down the hill and crashed it into a tree. Good times.
My first vehicle of any motorized kind was a pickup...I made it thru college and graduate school with a bicycle and a bus pass. Be prepared to be asked to help anytime someone you know/serve is moving. But it would also give you a vehicle (pun intended) for a pretty good youth project. You could offer to clean out cluttered attics/storage areas for older parishoners with the help of several youth, then use the items gained for a major church yard sale. Trucks can be real handy!
The Mazda B series and the Ford Ranger (the same truck under the badging) come with the 2.3 liter I4. A buddy of mine from Wesley Foundation got one at my recommendation. He started subbing and coaching lacrosse about 40 miles from where he was going to school. Its the perfect truck for him; he could haul pads, sticks, and goal nets and still get nearly 30 mpg on the highway.
The Colorado/Canyon is getting the 5.3 liter in option the mid-2008. they redid the frame so that the Hummer H3 can take that drive train (the H3 shares the C/C frame). Imagine that small truck with 315 hp and 338 lb/ft of torque. That'd be a fun little truck.
Sweet ride!
Thanks! I love driving it.
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