My father’s generation was readily identified by the cars they drove.
Influenced by their fathers, they were basically either a Ford or Chevy man, I
never really met anyone whose family was a confirmed Chrysler man. Although I
know they exist. The only exception to the rule was being a GM man, buying up
through the Chevy-Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Buick-Cadillac hierarchy that Alfred P.
Sloan had successfully instigated, but when it came down to it, it was Ford vs.
Chevy. From race on Sunday to sell on Monday, Chevy vs. Ford dictated America’s
car buying habits. Now I do not consider myself a Ford man, although I
currently own three, and have over the years strayed to Chevy-three times, VW,
Mazda, BMW, and Buick-but never to Chrysler. So maybe I am a Ford man at heart,
and maybe my experiences with Chevies help perpetuate that.
My first Chevy was a 1973 El Camino, bought used. Used to haul my trials
bike, it was pretty basic, always served its purpose, but the 350 liked to drink
too much gas for my college student budget. So I traded it for a 1972 MG
Midget, great gas mileage when it wasn’t in the shop, the Chevy won the
reliability award, but made up for it in fuel costs. Plus you couldn’t put the
top down-always the first consideration when buying a sports car. My next Chevy
was a 1981 Citation X-11, white with a red velour interior. It was the
hi-performance model, and with its wide Goodyear Eagles, buckets seats, and hood
scoop-functional, it was a good looking and performing car-when it ran. Back to
this later. My most recent was a 1995 S-10 pickup, that I bought many times
over via repair costs. Great when it ran, nicknamed the Money Pit. So that is
my history of Chevies owned over my 42 years of driving. But back to the
X-11.
It is 1983, and the Carter recession is still strong, we were young parents
driving a new 1983 Ford Escort. When one day driving past Morehart Chevrolet in
Durango, there was the X-11. And after a few trips around the block had to stop
in. It was priced low, should have been my first clue, and after a test drive,
was able to trade it straight across for the Escort. Boy was I a negotiator. I
had put something over on the car dealer, until the sales manager met me just
before signing the papers-“the car has been hit, I don’t know how hard or where,
but it checks out OK. Just wanted to let you know.” Words I never heard, a
good reason to never make a decision on a high or low emotion. And with a
straight across trade, I could keep my old Escort loan at a lower interest rate,
just swap keys and drive off. So I did, and the car was great, it seemed to
like Colorado, and took us across to California one spring on vacation. But
when we moved to New Mexico, it started to unravel. First the trans cable
broke-only one I ever heard of, and had to be towed to the dealer. Where they
damaged the fibreglass hood when trying to open it, and then fixed it in their
body shop. Where a parts man recognized it as his wife’s old car, and showed me
the photos of it after the crash. A good sized truck had t-boned it, and
totaled the car-and although it was straight, drove straight, and looked good,
it had been a mess. In this preCARFAX and pre salvage title world, I had bought
a wreck, a very skillfully repaired wreck. The body shop even repainted some
black trim for me for free, their work was incredible. But a wreck is a wreck,
and somehow some of the patina was gone.
But its final trip was to Texas. Rumored as the best place to buy a used
car, it seized a main bearing just outside Brownwood, after Dean’s graduation.
Hitching back with a goat farmer, with Christopher who was five at the time, the
Chevy store opened it up, pronounced it dead, and treated me fairly on a trade
for a 1984 T-bird. The X-11 was dead, RIP, lesson learned, and it was back to
the safety and security of Ford ownership. Maybe I am a Ford guy after
all.
As many times as the X-11 had failed me, I turned to prayer. But never
thought to pray before buying it, despite the warnings. But God showed me mercy
during the ownership, and as one bad purchase led to many expensive repairs, of
a total wreck, one good decision to trust Him led me back on the right path, not
necessarily Ford. We live like that, making bad decisions before asking God,
and His mercy never fails to amaze me. He still loves us even when we go
astray, staying close so when we are ready to repent, He is right there. Even
harder for me to accept as a young Christian was the fact Jesus loved me while a
sinner, remember John3:16? But Romans 5 tells us that while we were ye sinners,
Jesus died for us. Before we could make a choice, His choice was made to love
us. Despite how we acted, looked, said about Him, or what we drove, He loved us
first. Never did god wake up one morning and decide to love us, He loved us
first. And even though we didn’t wake up one day and decide to find God, His
Holy Spirit from day one has been urging us to seek after Jesus. And some of us
were pretty tough to convince.
So if God can make good on a bad Chevy purchase, can forgive a Ford guy for
going astray, maybe even forgive a Chrysler owner for their questionable choice,
imagine what He can do for you? Consider that next time that shiny new car
demands you drive around the block, before you are unable to live without it.
Or when sitting on that new Harley, or Triumph, that now you cannot live
without. Ask God, and when He says no, thank Him. For a better yes is coming.
He knows the vehicle’s history and He knows yours, too. No CARFAX could ever
replace the knowledge that God has. And if you have been living off of a
salvage title in life, He can make that new too. For He makes all things new,
the old is passed away. And His warranty is always in force, even when 1000
miles from home. He knows what you need before you even pray. Can GM or Ford
promise you that?
Maybe the old win on Sunday is right. Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday.
The first day of the week. Are a Sunday winner? Or forced to sell on Monday?
One bad decision can steer you away from God, one good one can bring you back.
Now what will it take to get you and Jesus together today?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com