The Taurus has been my much-beloved car for ten years now. Happy birthday, Taurus. :)
Some fond memories and stats:
- First song ever played in the Taurus: Trent Reznor’s version of Supernaut
- CDs burned for use in the Taurus: like, at least a hundred or so, all of which are in the car’s storage console
- My first solo driving trip was in the Taurus: I was 19, and I drove it home from the Ford Dealer in Roselle, IL
- The Taurus has traveled to: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan (where Jim proposed!), Washington state, Oregon, Vancouver B.C.
- The Taurus was once shipped cross-country on one of those giant car-carrying trucks. I don’t know what adventures it had, but it arrived absolutely caked with bugs.
- Driving home from ILIAS in a crazy blizzard
- Driving home from Jim’s house in a crazy blizzard
- This car took me to my first job, my second job, and my third job
This car and I have done a lot. I tend to think of it as a tank, rugged and strong, able to clear parking blocks, curbs, and piles of snow. I loves it and it’ll have to be pried from my fingers when it’s no longer roadworthy.
After much (MUCH) careful debate over the course of about four years, we bought the Subie to offset the risk of relying on aging car in a 1-car family. Part of the reason this took so long is because WHAT CAR COULD POSSIBLY REPLACE MY BABY?!?! The 2013 Forester came the closest of everything we’ve test driven over the years, so that’s what we got!
Here they are, my darling car children. :)
But this 10 year anniversary brings up some important questions in my mind.
- How much longer will the Taurus remain reliable? The Taurus has been completely solid, aside from a failed cylinder last year (a fun $1200 repair). 85k miles was about when Jim’s 1999 Ford Escort started having serious problems to the tune of $1000+ every other month for repairs and new parts.
- Do we really need two cars? We work at the same company (and even when we didn’t, we found a way to make the commute work even though it meant I ate dinner at the office) and we do our errands together. In the three months that we’ve had two cars, we’ve had just one day where having two cars was very helpful. It’s about $1000 a year to insure the Taurus, and that’s probably worth it, but is it worth the cost of replacing the Taurus?
- What would we replace the Taurus with? We love the practicality of the Subaru, but do we need another practical car? Or can I get a flashy sports car instead? :D
My favorite aspect of the Taurus when compared with the Subie is its power. It feels heavy, tank-like, and sturdy. The Subie is bouncier, more upright, and more agile. These are good traits. But sometimes it’s fun to just VRROOOOM, y’know?
We took a quick “just looking” trip to the Ford dealer today, just to, you know, look. Because I like to look for about 5 years before I actually make a decision. My favorite thing to look at was this blue Mustang:
I didn’t test drive it (because therein lies the path to damnation and a more crowded driveway), but it sure was fun to sit in. And at $18k / 30k miles it’s a pretty sweet deal. But is it too silly to get a fast, fun car instead of another practical car?
My dad, who just got a convertible Mustang of his own, advises me to buy myself nice things while I’m still young. He played it safe his whole life, just like me, stashing away savings and buying few luxuries. So I don’t know yet what we’ll do. Fortunately, the Taurus is in fine shape (knock on wood) and should last the many years it takes me to make a decision.