I read this morning that one of the sticking points was that the union didn't give enough concessions in their contracts. So now, they are making this a union issue? BULLSHIT! Maybe we should take a look at the congress men's salaries and their health insurance. Maybe they need a pay cut!
Angry and irritated thoughts such as these swirled around in my head this morning. They were the thoughts occupying my mind as I left my volunteer stint in my daughter's classroom and walked to my............PRIUS! As I sat in my car, the Grateful Dead song "Victim or the Crime" started pounding in my head. Wow, am I the victim or the crime? Did the purchase of my beloved Prius somehow lead to the demise of the auto industry? YIKES!
Okay, buying a a foreign car may have contributed somewhat but, whose fault is it that I bought a Prius in the first place? It's Ford Motor Company's fault, that's who! Our first family of four vehicle was a Ford Windstar minivan. I loved that minivan (never thought I would admit to loving a minivan, but I have and I did). We were being good Americans and we bought an American car. Hooray for us!
The minivan worked well for a while. However, after it hit a certain number of miles, it started breaking down (should have bought a warranty plan!). And, it was expensive to fix. After a couple of times in the shop at prices that were unbelievable, we decided to trade it in and buy a new car. We took our little minivan into the car dealership, they made us a deal and we walked off with a brand new Toyota minivan (with a warranty plan). I loved that minivan too.
When I started commuting to work everyday and when it started to cost $60.00 to fill my gas tank, John began hinting that we should look into a Prius. I resisted, saying that there was no way we could all fit into a small car. Eventually, I caved in and I've been very happy with the change. We are the proud owners of a Toyota Prius that gets 47.5 miles to the gallon. We also purchased a warranty plan and a really cool service plan that rolls the cost of servicing the car into our monthly car payment -- we pay monthly for the servicing and don't have to cough up the payment at the time of servicing. That certainly takes the stress out of getting my car serviced because I know that it's already been paid.
Whew, that's a long story and with all that being said, I am crossing my fingers for some type of aid to the auto industry. I just hope that they really take a close look at their reliability factor. In the next couple of years, we may need buy a new car for John and if the American car industry can come up with a reliable, fuel efficient car, we will give it a thorough evaluation. Until then I'll be singing another Grateful Dead song for our overall economy, "I Need a Miracle."
2 comments:
Do you feel any better now?!
Mark feels the same about driving his infinity...it really is sickening!
Hi! Its me! Blame the govt and the car companies for allowing the oil companies to influence them to suppress development of alternative energy technologies. The car companies are going bankrupt and the oil companies are raking in record profits. Meanwhile the car companies have to license alternative energy technologies from foreign companies. Absolutely zero focus on long term... just tomorrow's results for Wall Street. Common problem across the fabric of America's industry. Is that too pessimistic? I do feel better thank you!
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