Nearby Thomas Jefferson Middle School is getting a major do-over this summer, and the parking lot nearest the construction site is one I walk by every morning at 7 AM with the dog. I’ve been noticing the sea of big pickups, but there’s one interloper almost lost between them.
OK; I’m not trying to editorialize about big pickups, and they fact that these get driven every morning to work by one guy. Whatever; it’s freedom of choice. And on the weekends, they hitch up their giant combination toy hauler/camper, stuffed with modern day “dune buggies” and head for the dunes, which we have many miles of out at the coast. That justifies their existence, no?
But one guy hasn’t gotten on the bandwagon. Well, just think of all the money he’s saved. These big trucks go for pretty serious bread, especially since almost every one was packing a big diesel. Maybe the Metro could hitch a ride in the back of that Ram?
To each their own. BTW, the Ram pickup is the best selling vehicle in Oregon (2014 data).
Or, maybe it’s due to a lack of the money he doesn’t have due to life circumstances, such as a ex wife and child support. I have a couple of friends in that position. Cool part is, the Metro will outlive them all.
Not everyone is into showing off or impressing others with his ride.here in YAZD i know alot of folks who owns pamogranet gardens that worth tens of millions USD.they don’t even got a car.most drive vespas or Honda supercubs.BTW YAZD is a town in center of IRAN.
Hats off to the Metro owner for being content with what he has. Back in the late 50’s my father drove a 52 Nash. He loved it and it treated him well, but he was always getting razzed by the guys at work about it. He drove it until it died and then he bought another Nash.
How do you know that the Metro driver s content with what he has? As suzulight mentioned maybe he has some reason that he can’t afford a big truck of his own and in reality he hates the Metro but it is all he can afford at this time.
On the other hand he may have a brand new ____________ sitting at home that he doesn’t want to take to a job site and then get into when he is dirty and sweaty, nor have it exposed to the dust and debris usually associated with a construction work site.
If he is down on his luck financially, then driving this Metro is what he needs to do. Living within your means makes you content.
Funny part is, I have yet to meet a Metro owner that hates their car. Kind of like Suzuki Bandit motorcycle owners.
Drive faster, Neddy! I can’t, it’s a Geo!
Ha!
Some guys don’t have to compensate. 😉
You do, judging from your avatar. 😉
Oh Boo, Hiss. -_-
Looks like the Metro’s roof is lower than the Dodge’s door window! BTW does the latter have a lift-kit or is that factory ride height? It’s hard to tell anymore.
I think the Metro was popular as a cheap reliable commuter box.
“Got 3 cylinders; Use ’em all.
Got overdrive, just won’t stall …. “
It looks like cars have “Bring Your Kid to Work Day” too. 🙂
I’m surprised the Ram is the best selling pickup there. Though I think it would be my choice today. Ford’s been having major engine problems for the past 12 years and GM refuses to put head restraints in for 5+ passengers. So that puts Ram at the top of my list by default.
Whenever I meet a guy, especially a young guy, who has one of these massive machines, he always complains that he’s broke because of high taxes.
Makes sense to use a beater if you are working a dirty job. I wouldn’t want my nice leather interior getting gummed up. I also wouldn’t assume he drives that Geo in protest to the big trucks or because he doesn’t care about image or whatever. Maybe that is the case, maybe he’s broke as a joke or going through a divorce. Who knows?
I think it makes all sorts of sense to have a beater to save your good car. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice luxury in my daily driver in order to just have one vehicle. I’d never have one as my primary car, as I rather like big luxury/near luxury sedans but my family had a Geo Metro as a beater and it served its purpose as a transportation appliance just fine.
Not many bro dozers driven by working guys here never mind the purchase cost the feeding goes for $10 per gallon so unless your on $40 plus per hour the commute could be a killer.
This reminds me of a recent Steven Colbert Confessional. A viewer wrote in: “Forgive me, audience, for pulling my small car all the way forward when I park between SUV’s just so that others are sprinting for this spot.”
LOL @ QOTD.
I actually stopped doing that with my Caprice and Minivans because I watched someone barrel into a spot and nearly rear end my Caprice. Course the issue now is that since I did not pull far forward enough the vehicle next to me sometimes struggles to back out at an angle.
Maybe it runs, it fits his needs, and he is loath to sell or scrap a perfectly working vehicle for peanuts when it provides him with more utility than the pittance he’d get for it.
I used to make fun of Metros but I’ve come to respect the little things. They seem to be capable of very long lives for such small, inexpensive cars. Carry on, little Metro.
The Metro would be a stellar candidate as a future (if not already) hipster-mobile to replace the ubiquitous early sixties’ Ford Falcon which has a well-known reputation as being all the rage with that group. Those Metros have a legendary rep as an über-cheap, ultra-basic ‘cockroach of the road’ (COTR) which are impossible to kill, no matter how neglected or abused, making them a potential good fit for the hipster profile.
Not ironic enough. 🙂
Good point, irony being high on the hipster desirability meter.
Years ago I had a friend who was an apprentice with our state-owned power company. He had a couple of mates in his town who also worked there, and they used to carpool with him to ride to classes about thirty miles away, and put in for petrol. He sidelined his ’72 Falcon and bought a little 550cc Suzuki Hatch for the daily commute, and ran it at a profit. It must’ve looked similarly out of place in the car park!
Looking at it another way, perhaps the Metro is spending time with those he wants to be like when he grows up. 🙂
That white Tacoma also looks a bit small, next to all those ‘big-rigs’.
Happy Motoring, Mark
Good article, but we all know the Tacoma is used to help out that illegal Marijuana grow they have out in the woods. *wink*
I am surprised there are no vintage trucks around or flag poles mounted on truck beds.
Well it is legal in OR and while I don’t know their regulations in WA the legalization pretty much ended the black market. It is amazing the number of houses that have been coming on the market in the last year or so that have obvious signs or being former grow houses as well as ones where they have tried to cover it up a bit.
In one case the neighbor came over and said that he knew that the owner had done some work on the electrical system because the last tenant had “modified it … for his… business”.
Bypassing the meter? Easy enough to do….
No co-opting the power for the range to power the lights. In our area the meters have built in cellular phones that send a signal to the power company if the power to the meter is interrupted. So if your meter says that the power is out and none of your neighbors do that will set off a flag.
Years ago the person who owned the duplex across the street from the ones I owned had a company come out to do some wiring work. They pulled the meter and the following business days not only did they get a visit from the power company they got a red tag from the city for doing work without a permit.
Seeing these things now always associates me to the movie “Rampage”, where the main angry young man character drives one. In his case, at least, I’m pretty sure it was all he could afford.
gawd i see this everyday as i work in construction. hey, whatever tows yer boat. myself, i’d show on the jobsite in my “work” Festiva and had a nice low mileage Festiva at home for backup and Sundays drive. never needed the backup. my priorities are downright Un-American. as is my savings account.
Every time the gas rates go into ream me a new one prices, these cars seem to crawl out of the woodwork. As they drop back down, back into their storage places they go until the next ‘crisis’.
Maybe the backup is being used while the Powerstroke is in the shop once again.
7.3 Powerstrokes are never in the shop.
The term “Powerstroke” also refers to the 6.0, 6.4, and 6.7.
maybe he’s just a kid starting out in the construction field and driving it till he can swing one of the big boy toys?
Most guys who work construction only need to bring their own tool belt since the contractor usually provides all the rest of the tools to do the job. Ask me how I know! Therefore it makes no sense to commute with a big truck when a little toy will get you there just as easily. I used to hear the noise when I showed up at the job site in my Mazda GLC. I only used my truck for my own side jobs when I had them.