RAISIN'
During the first few years, we hardly made enough money to "pay attention!" I had an old '56 Dodge that had about a half round of slack in the steering wheel, and JoAnne was driving the old '58 Ford we had bought just before Andy was born from Treadwell Ford.
The '58 finally "gave up" and we bought a used '61 Ford Station Wagon from Bolton Ford, downtown. This was in about '64.
The wagon was in fair condition when we bought it, but we had a couple of "mishaps" with it. First, JoAnne and the kids were in Waveland, MS where Daddy and I stayed while working at the Mississippi Test Site. She was about ready to leave for home when we noticed smoke coming up around the tailgate window. The motor in the tailgate that operated the window had shorted out.
Another time, JoAnne was on the way to work one morning along Government Boulevard. The car backfired and died. She let it coast into a Chevron station, right by the gas pumps, and asked the guy to see what her trouble was.
Her trouble was....it was on fire! She got QUICK action. They got an extinguisher and put out the fire. The breaker points were so bad, it caused the car to "belch" back through the carburetor and it caught fire.
I had traded the wagon and the old '58 to Treadwell for a '66 4-door LTD, but they needed a day to get the new car ready. I drove the wagon home and back to work (at Otis Elevator downtown).
By the time I got downtown, the water pump shaft was worn so badly that the fan was touching the radiator. I called Treadwell and told them they'd better send a wrecker downtown to get THEIR wagon.
Other vehicles we've had were a yellow 1969 Ford Station wagon, a 1956 Ford Pickup, a blue 1973 Ford Station wagon, a green 1977 Ford F150 Pickup, a brown 1979 Ford Crown Victoria, a white 1984 Ford Crown Victoria, a red and white 1982 Ford F150 Pickup, a blue 1992 Ford Crown Victoria, and a blue 1989 Ford Ranger 4 X 4 Pickup, and a white 1996 Ford F150 Supercab Pickup. Also, we had Daddy’s 78 F-150. We are now driving a Green 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis and a red 2007 Ford F-150 Super Crew Pickup.
As you may note, there was only one blot on the record of having all Fords. That was the old 1956 Dodge.
I had a 1977 Ford F-100 pickup that I bought used on 2/28/80 and traded it off on 3/1/85. I put 39,846 miles on that truck; used 2,847 gallons of gas for a cost of $3,465.95. I averaged 14.0 miles per gallon and spent from $1.039 to $1.329 per gallon for the gas.
On 3/1/85, I bought a used 1982 Ford F-100 pickup and traded it off on 1/21/89. I put 33,050 miles on that truck; used 2,458.7 gallons of gas for a cost of $2,564.47. I averaged 13.4 miles per gallons and spent from $0.889 to $1.099 per gallon for the gas.
On 1/21/89, bought a new 1989 Ford Ranger 4X4 and traded it off on 2/7/96. I put 139,242 miles on that truck; used 7,229.2 gallons of gas for a cost of $10,339.00. I averaged 19.2 miles per gallon and spent from $0.719 to $1.179 per gallon for the gas.
On 2/7/96, I bought a new 1996 Ford F-150 Super Cab and traded it off on 7/16/07. I put 226,380 miles on that truck; used 15,223.9 gallons of gas for a cost of $26,316.43. I averaged 15.76 miles per gallon and spent from $0.719 to $3.199 per gallon for the gas.
On 7/16/07, I bought a 2007 Program Ford F-150 Super crew. I still have that truck. I have put 15,087 miles on this truck; used 957.1 gallons of gas for a cost of $2,306.32, I have currently averaged 15.76 miles per gallon and have spent from $2.549 to $3.399 per gallon for the gas.
During the –years from 2/28/80 to today,(07/24/09) the cost of gasoline has increased from a low of $0.719 to today’s cost of $3.599 per gallon, an increase of $2.78 per gallon with no end in sight as the prices soar daily for as much as $0.22 per gallon per day. The real kick in the head (and wallet) to all this is that the big oil conglomerates are making unheard of profits into the Billions per quarter year.
With the five trucks, I have driven 475,480 miles for a cost of $74,488.87.
These exorbitant prices are sending ALL things we have to purchase from gas to food, clothing, vehicles, building materials, tires, etc. through the roof. It especially hurts us retirees that are on fixed incomes. I don’t have a clue as to how high these prices will continue to skyrocket, especially since we elected a Democrat President and Congress that are promising huge tax increases that will further escalate all prices and cause this country to go into a real depression.
I don’t have a clue as to how we can turn this do nothing, spend, and spend government around. If anyone has a clue, please cue me in!!!
27. VEHICLES
During the first few years, we hardly made enough money to "pay attention!" I had an old '56 Dodge that had about a half round of slack in the steering wheel, and JoAnne was driving the old '58 Ford we had bought just before Andy was born from Treadwell Ford.
The '58 finally "gave up" and we bought a used '61 Ford Station Wagon from Bolton Ford, downtown. This was in about '64.
The wagon was in fair condition when we bought it, but we had a couple of "mishaps" with it. First, JoAnne and the kids were in Waveland, MS where Daddy and I stayed while working at the Mississippi Test Site. She was about ready to leave for home when we noticed smoke coming up around the tailgate window. The motor in the tailgate that operated the window had shorted out.
Another time, JoAnne was on the way to work one morning along Government Boulevard. The car backfired and died. She let it coast into a Chevron station, right by the gas pumps, and asked the guy to see what her trouble was.
Her trouble was....it was on fire! She got QUICK action. They got an extinguisher and put out the fire. The breaker points were so bad, it caused the car to "belch" back through the carburetor and it caught fire.
I had traded the wagon and the old '58 to Treadwell for a '66 4-door LTD, but they needed a day to get the new car ready. I drove the wagon home and back to work (at Otis Elevator downtown).
By the time I got downtown, the water pump shaft was worn so badly that the fan was touching the radiator. I called Treadwell and told them they'd better send a wrecker downtown to get THEIR wagon.
Other vehicles we've had were a yellow 1969 Ford Station wagon, a 1956 Ford Pickup, a blue 1973 Ford Station wagon, a green 1977 Ford F150 Pickup, a brown 1979 Ford Crown Victoria, a white 1984 Ford Crown Victoria, a red and white 1982 Ford F150 Pickup, a blue 1992 Ford Crown Victoria, and a blue 1989 Ford Ranger 4 X 4 Pickup, and a white 1996 Ford F150 Supercab Pickup. Also, we had Daddy’s 78 F-150. We are now driving a Green 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis and a red 2007 Ford F-150 Super Crew Pickup.
As you may note, there was only one blot on the record of having all Fords. That was the old 1956 Dodge.
A Look at Vehicle Gasoline Usage and Pricing
I have kept records on all the gasoline used in my last 5 pickup trucks, so I decided I’d work up the amounts of gasoline used in each vehicle, how much I’ve spent on gasoline and the average prices per gallon on each truck. It is quite interesting considering the enormous amount we are now paying for gasoline.I had a 1977 Ford F-100 pickup that I bought used on 2/28/80 and traded it off on 3/1/85. I put 39,846 miles on that truck; used 2,847 gallons of gas for a cost of $3,465.95. I averaged 14.0 miles per gallon and spent from $1.039 to $1.329 per gallon for the gas.
On 3/1/85, I bought a used 1982 Ford F-100 pickup and traded it off on 1/21/89. I put 33,050 miles on that truck; used 2,458.7 gallons of gas for a cost of $2,564.47. I averaged 13.4 miles per gallons and spent from $0.889 to $1.099 per gallon for the gas.
On 1/21/89, bought a new 1989 Ford Ranger 4X4 and traded it off on 2/7/96. I put 139,242 miles on that truck; used 7,229.2 gallons of gas for a cost of $10,339.00. I averaged 19.2 miles per gallon and spent from $0.719 to $1.179 per gallon for the gas.
On 2/7/96, I bought a new 1996 Ford F-150 Super Cab and traded it off on 7/16/07. I put 226,380 miles on that truck; used 15,223.9 gallons of gas for a cost of $26,316.43. I averaged 15.76 miles per gallon and spent from $0.719 to $3.199 per gallon for the gas.
On 7/16/07, I bought a 2007 Program Ford F-150 Super crew. I still have that truck. I have put 15,087 miles on this truck; used 957.1 gallons of gas for a cost of $2,306.32, I have currently averaged 15.76 miles per gallon and have spent from $2.549 to $3.399 per gallon for the gas.
During the –years from 2/28/80 to today,(07/24/09) the cost of gasoline has increased from a low of $0.719 to today’s cost of $3.599 per gallon, an increase of $2.78 per gallon with no end in sight as the prices soar daily for as much as $0.22 per gallon per day. The real kick in the head (and wallet) to all this is that the big oil conglomerates are making unheard of profits into the Billions per quarter year.
With the five trucks, I have driven 475,480 miles for a cost of $74,488.87.
These exorbitant prices are sending ALL things we have to purchase from gas to food, clothing, vehicles, building materials, tires, etc. through the roof. It especially hurts us retirees that are on fixed incomes. I don’t have a clue as to how high these prices will continue to skyrocket, especially since we elected a Democrat President and Congress that are promising huge tax increases that will further escalate all prices and cause this country to go into a real depression.
I don’t have a clue as to how we can turn this do nothing, spend, and spend government around. If anyone has a clue, please cue me in!!!
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