Sunday, July 9, 2017

Stop the world, I want to get off

I had to take a couple of days off of work to deal with some family issues. Got back today.

       I rented a 2017 F150 Lariat 4x4 to get up north for a few days. Last minute tickets on a train or plane were insane, and rental cars anywhere in NY or Boston were starting at about $160 a day, it being tourist season and me having no lead time to work with.

 Luckily, no one at NY's airports wants to drive a full sized pickup truck around Manhattan. I got the truck for less than half of what they were asking for a frigging compact car.


     I prefer Ram trucks. They just drive so nice. Pretty reliable, too. Ford finally made a pickup that rides just as sweet as Rams do, and holy shit that truck had some ass. Between that and a super smooth transmission, I may just convert.
     I'm like a car Calvinist. I don't like frippery in my trucks. First time I drove that truck after dark, all the lights and screens and shit was off-putting. I like a truck that I can clean out with a garden hose and a jug of pine-sol. They don't make those anymore. My last truck, a Ram I sold a while back, had a lot of bells and whistles too, 99% of which I didn't want, need or use... and that's OK.

 My rental truck had leather seats and they were heated and cooled. A cooled black leather seat on a warm day is great when you're someone who doesn't like the heat that much. No sweaty back.

 The fancy foofoo community I live in right now doesn't allow pickup trucks, not even the fancy ones. So I won't be buying a pickup until I move. But it was great to drive a full-sized truck again. I felt normal.

 Boston, even the nice coastal suburban communities of Boston, is awful drab and dirty. Dealing with Florida Man and his shenanigans suddenly seems like less of a price to pay.

 Well, either way, I'm back at work, and I got the stuff I needed done.

3 comments:

Andrew said...

Home Owners' Associations suck.

My idiot yuppie brother lived in one that did not allow you to use power tools at your house. Only 'contractors' could make power tool noises.

Does your HOA allow big assed SUVs? If so, get the biggest, loudest, most obnoxious vehicle that fits their rules, because, 'Murica!!!

Mage said...

Welcome back.
I drive a Chevy step-side truck that had a floor mat, roll up windows, and 5 on the floor.

MD said...

Holy cow where do you live? I can see 6 pickups from my living room window, including my chevy silverado in the driveway.

Glad you had a chance to enjoy the Ford. Like you, I dont crave all the bells and whistles in new vehicles, but one gets used to them.