Dear Editor, In spite of current cost of gasoline, there seems to be, and I have noticed, as many cars on the road today, as ever. There are places that people need to be: work, shopping destinations, restaurants, meet-ups with friends and so on. Traveling today for any purpose is more costly and many are making necessary adjustments to off-set high prices at the pump. So, it seems that for all intents and purposes people are on the road and going here and there and everywhere!
My parents were always on the road in their hometown of Bennington. If my dad wasn’t working, he would take my mom on the road to picnic, fish at their favorite fishing hole, or scouting deer for the up-coming deer hunting season. Gas cost them about 23 cents per gallon in the early ’60s. I won’t remind you about what we are paying for a gallon of gas at the pump today.
I paid $65 for my first car at Honest Carl’s Used Car Lot in 1966. It was a 1954 Ford and was so rusty that it changed colors when it rained. It wasn’t exactly a chick-magnet, but people were not afraid to come along for a ride.
Today my wife Sharon and I are on the road all the time! Since retirement we have taken to driving a Miata MX5 for the past 10 years; today we are on our second Miata, a 2006 MX5. It’s a fun drive and averages between 30-31 mpg. We are on the road at the drop of a hat and always with the canopy up.
We do have a Subaru that we use mainly during the winter months when there is snow or ice or slush on the road. Heaven, forbid we get our little Miata dirty! Yes. We do drive the MX5 during the winter months, why not? It is fully equipped with a heater and a wind-guard behind the seats and the windows do roll up! But, the top stays up! If we put the top down, then what is the sense in having a convertible? Cold weather driving simply tells us to bring a hat and scarf and cloves, now you are set to go!
Like most of you I have noticed increased cost in gas and just about everything else, too. I have noticed that people continue to drive their vehicles as though there isn’t any type of hardship associated with diving. However, the one thing that I have noticed and fail to understand is the many people who drive convertibles seem to forget they are driving an automobile that is meant to be driven with the top up! To make matters worse they “put them under wraps” during the winter months! Why?
During the freezing cold and snow of the blustery winter months in Vermont, I lay in wait for that one sunny day with white billowy clouds to get my Miata out of “wraps” and out onto the road for a very short breath-taking ride! Yahoo!
My advice is to enjoy your convertible. Drive with the top up and windows down and only put the top down if …you can’t outrun the rain! Don’t forget to wave as we Zoom Zoom by one another.
Tom Pinsonneault,
Orwell
