COAL: Epilogue – What A (Road) Trip It’s Been

By
– Posted on August 5, 2023

COAL Collage

I’ve reached the end of my COAL run (6 months), but I’ve got some classics that I’ve encountered that I intend to write up.  Some posts generated more discussion than I expected, some generated less.  (One “mans” trash is another “mans” gold.)  I hope that y’all have found my ramblings interesting.  My COAL run is not quite as long as JP’s.  It only spans 1981 – 2023 and contains fewer cars.  I’ve acquired and sold cars at about the same average pace and mostly along the same trend of longer hold times on cars acquired more recently.  If I’d started with the cars that my parents owned (that I drove) I’d have matched JP.  I got my driver’s license in 1979 but had some time behind the wheel before that.

I’ve bought new cars and I’ve bought used cars (even after I started buying new cars).  I’m a die-hard fan of simple cars with manual transmissions, but my current daily driver (a BEV) is about as sophisticated as they come and doesn’t even have a transmission.  Some of the cars were just tools.  They were bought for a specific purpose.  Others had a bigger impact on my life.  I’ve owned sporty vehicles, family vehicles and vehicles that were just basic transportation.  I’ve owned more Chrysler products than any other brand.  Three of those were the same model year (2001) and the same color (Patriot Blue).

My 2001 Cherokee has the most miles on its odometer (about 252000), but it had most of those before I bought it.  I’ve owned two forever cars.  The 1996 Eagle Talon which met a “premature” end just shy of 247,000 miles after being damaged by an inattentive driver. (AFAIK most 2nd gen Talons & Eclipses were beaten out of existence with fewer miles so its end was only premature from my perspective.)  This is the car that I’ve put the most miles on and expected to last forever.  My other forever car is my 1944 Willys MB (WWII Jeep) that I’ve owned since 1985.  Its speedometer is not original and hasn’t worked in 9 years.  No idea how many miles it has, but I’ve probably put less than 20,000 miles on it since buying it in 1985. My younger daughter will inherit it.

Previous chapters:

  1. 1973 Dodge Charger – You Always Remember Your First
  2. 1982 Dodge Rampage – My First New Car
  3. 1946 Willys CJ2A – Catch & Release
  4. 1983 Jeep CJ7 – A “Modern” Jeep
  5. (Bikes Of A Lifetime): 1982 Honda GL500 Silverwing – The Baby “Wing”
  6. 1968 Dodge A108 Van – Some Cars Are Just Tools
  7. 1944 Willys MB – My Real Jeep – Part 1 AZ & CA
  8. 1984 Dodge Aries – Short Term Transportation
  9. 1989 Nissan Hardbody Pickup – My Graduation Present
  10. 1986 Toyota Deluxe Xtra Cab – L’il Red
  11. (Boats Of A Lifetime): I Was Born In The Sight Of Water
  12. 1996 Eagle Talon – My Last Coupe
  13. 2001 Chrysler Town & Country LXi – My First (Blue) Minivan
  14. 1999 Dodge Intrepid – My First Internet Purchase
  15. 2001 Chrysler Voyager – Another Blue Minivan
  16. 1944 Willys MB – My Real Jeep – Part 2
  17. 1944 Willys MB – Do You Know The Way To Santa Fe?
  18. Trains Of A Lifetime: The Cumbres & Toltec Railroad
  19. 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan · My Last Minivan (So Far)
  20. 2013 Dodge Dart – My Last Brand New ICE?
  21. 2001 Jeep Cherokee SE – At long last an XJ
  22. 2017 Chevrolet Bolt – Chapter 20, My First BEV
  23. A Tale of Two Leafs 
  24. 2017 Chevrolet Bolt – One Bolt, Two Bolt – Red Bolt, Blue Bolt