[Paddlewise] In support of little cars...

Some of the recent posts regarding shuttle size have been eye openers for me.


   I recently sold my 85' full size Chevy Pickup for a Metro.
My life has changed for the better. Now, I have money to spend on equipment 
rather than gas and my wife will ride with me and not hide her face (it was a 
real North Dakota truck). AND, I get stuck far less because I drive smarter 
and have lost that macho attitude.
    I live in the snow belt, and find that my little car rides on top of the 
drifts far easier than my pickup could ever push through them. A pallet 
slipcover (thin plastic sheet) attached to the front bumper and the chassis 
significantly reduced the drag on the bottom, allowing me to fly down rutted 
country roads that have swallowed a truck or SUV every couple miles.
    Honestly, if I ever go in the ditch, I imagine most any vehicle could pull 
me out. The car is way easier to push than my truck. (I pushed that damn thing 
enough).
    I can't haul as many kayaks as my truck (only 5 now). But the front seats 
fold completely back and down making for a very comfortable snooze.
    I find it really interesting to be sitting at a stoplight next to a 
behemoth who is often revving the engine and could easily crush me (this is 
North Dakota - cowboy country) I think to myself "Wow, I was once heavily 
encumbered like that guy." He doesn't know what he is missing.
    I used to use the same argument that I really used the truck. I was always 
moving someone, hauling lumber, heaping bales of hay, huge rolls of carpet for 
the new church, firewood and all sorts of crap back and forth from countless 
faraway destinations.
    When I sold the truck all that stopped. Not because I couldn't haul 
anything, but because friends and neighbors found someone else to do it for 
them. People still see me as a "willing to help out guy" they just are not 
using me for my vehicle anymore.
    Driving a little car is a pleasureable experience. I love the zippiness, 
and how I still have half a tank of gas left over from December (NO JOKE). I 
have become more environmentally conscious - I avoid wasting gas and ride my 
bike a lot more - Everyday to work (2miles) and school (7 miles). People think 
I am crazy, but I guess all that time sitting in a freezing pickup cab 
hardened me to the cold.

Anyways, trucks are overrated,
Later,
Phil


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************