Good-Bye, Big Red; Hello Fred

A few weeks ago, I took my 2001 Chevy Tahoe (known as Big Red in our family) in for a thirty-dollar oil change, and came out with a $2000 estimate for half of the problems they found. I've been keeping Big Red patched together for a while now, but essentially, she was starting to cost me more to repair than she was worth. Among other problems, she had a rear main seal leak, differential leaks, and oil pan gasket leaks. Big Red was bleeding to death.

It was time for a new car.

So I found one.

Much to my son's chagrin.

"But the new one has bucket seats in the back," I tried to explain.

"They're not going to be as comfortable as Big Red," he fired back.

"It has a DVD player," I offered, thinking that would sell him.

"Still not as good as Big Red."

"Why don't you want to get rid of Big Red?"

"We've had Big Red almost my whole entire life!"

And that's when it hit me. He is MY son. Emotional attachment to cars? Yes, please! When I was a kid, we had a Ford Gran Torino (you know, the car from Starsky and Hutch?). My dad sold it when I was about 14. He bought it when I was about 3. It was blue, and we named it The Blue Bubble. My sisters and I swear it even looked like my dad. The day he sold it was a sad, sad day. In fact, it was so sad, that my dad had to leave the house while the guy came to pick it up! So as you can see, it runs in the family.

I had to give Jamison a moment alone with Big Red to say good-bye. We took a drive around the block a couple of times that day.

It's taken a couple of weeks, but our new car, Fred, is starting to grow on him. He likes the bucket seats. And he's already watched Transformers 3 on a trip to Salt Lake City. And red is his favorite color.

By the way, Fred (which stands for Ford Red -- and short for Fredericka because all cars are girls) is a lovely 2005 Ford Freestyle. And for all intents and purposes, Fred is NOT a station wagon. I don't drive station wagons. She's a cross-over SUV that seems to have nearly cut my fuel costs in HALF!

Welcome to the family, Fred.