"Found On Road Dead," But At Least Not Bankrupt!

Yeah, so the Obamessiah got to buy a car company today. As far as I'm concerned, I think I got the better deal.

Here's my track record with cars over the last 20 years:

1988-1992 - 1988 Chevy Cavalier
Mileage: Can't remember - I blocked out that nightmare
Cause of Death: Euthanasia.
Comments: A track record of poor transmission and fuel injector sensors from day one: kinda sucks when your 5-speed can't get out of third gear! The original muffler rusted out and fell off 13 months after I bought it. The replacement muffler crumped 6 months before I traded it in. Eggshell-thin paint job: seriously, a raw egg was thrown at my car on Mischief night and managed to expose the primer and bare metal under it from the impact, not the acidity of the egg!

1992-2001 - 1992 Ford Tempo
Mileage: ~115,000
Cause of Death: blown transmission
Comments: God, I missed that car! Homely-looking, but rode hard and put away wet more times that legally allowed. Absent the transmission going (as much a fault of the repair shop as age), I easily could have gotten 150,000. Only had one minor issue all those years: a balky fuel injector that needed professional cleaning every third or fourth oil change!

2001-2009 -2001 Ford Taurus SEL
Mileage: 105,500
Cause of Death: Multiple System Failure
Comments: What the BitterMom called my "luxury car." Has some sensors issues early on, then ran like a champ. In the last 6 months, a combination of rust, diminished fuel economy and a bad suspension added up to costing more than the value of the car. Who knows, with a little TLC and some cleaning up by Garnet Ford, someone will give her a good home!

2009-??? - 2009 Ford Fusion
I looked at Honda and Toyota and liked what I saw. My wallet, however, had a different opinion. I saw the Chrysler collapse over six months ago, when other Daimler holdings like American LaFrance fire apparatus, Freightliner trucks, and MedicMaster ambulances started to go Chapter 11. That was enough to make me shy away.

So it came down to the Chevy Malibu and the Fusion. I like them both. They handle well. The look good. The Fusion gets a slightly better fuel economy, but not enough to make a big difference in my wallet.

What turned it for me? Ford, like myself, had the fiscal prudence and judicious forsight not to give in to the Obamessiah's siren song of Socialism to forgive past transgressions and union largesse.

I'm sold on Ford. Are you?