My Favorite Vehicles: Jeeps and Ram Chargers

When I was a kid we had a Willys Jeep. It was bright yellow, Michigan Yellow. Mama and Daddy met in the Army, so I think there was some nostalgia involved in buying that car. One of Mama’s favorite Army stories was the one of her taking a turn too fast and flipping her Jeep over. I was just a little kid, but I loved that Jeep. It was a source of adventure. When we drove to visit my grandparents in Upstate New York my sister and I were packed uncomfortably in the small back seat. We were confident that Daddy would get us through any obstacle in our Willys Jeep. Driving from our home in North Carolina to New York we forded flooded roads in the summer, and that Jeep got us to my grandparents’ house in time for Christmas Eve through a snow and ice storm. I remember the snap-on side curtains and the convertible top which made it an ideal ride to the beach.

One day Daddy traded in the Jeep for a Hudson Hornet, which he seemed pleased as punch about. I cried. I missed the Jeep and just could not understand why we needed a big ole car. Our next-door neighbor’s son bought the Willis from the car dealership where Daddy had traded it in. He worked that summer at the Outer Banks so I know he had a ball driving on the beach. Sometimes he’d come home for a day or two and drive around town in “our” old yellow Willys Jeep, his Iris Setter sitting on the passenger; the dog’s ears flapping in the wind. I would run out the front door and watch until he drove out of sight, feeling a little proud that our Jeep was enjoying a new life as a beach buggy.

The first brand new car my husband and I bought was a Dodge Ram Charger. Again, that car got us places you could never go in a regular car. The 4-wheel drive enabled us to ford a West Virginia river when the bridge was out, we drove onto the beach to fish on the Outer Banks, and didn’t have to worry about getting stuck in muddy roads. I pulled my horse trailer with it. We even pulled a backhoe out of a pond we were building when it got stuck in the thick clay. I loved that car.

When my husband and I parted I chose the pickup truck between our two vehicles. I knew I would have to haul hay and horse feed. I was trying to be practical, but I really wanted the Ram Charger. I missed it.

Time moved on through a couple of vehicles until I ended up with a Ford Taurus station wagon. Being single and on a fixed income I doubted I’d ever have another SUV. It seemed like the station wagon would last forever, and I enjoyed it. The back seats folded down giving it lots of room for horse feed, shavings, and even hay. I could cram nine bales in there if I packed it right.

I slept in that car at horse shows and I hauled almost all my belongings in it when I moved to Franklin County. But after 250,000 miles it finally died. RIP Ford Taurus Station Wagon, you were the next best thing to a SUV, just didn’t have the four-wheel drive.

It has not been easy finding a replacement. Finally I found a little dealership run by a really decent guy. He had a Jeep Grand Cherokee, an old one, but in good shape, and I could afford it. And, once again I am driving a SUV with four-wheel drive. I don’t know that I’ll ever have to use that feature, but I am thrilled to have it just in case. I know it’s not the most practical vehicle I could have chosen, but I like that I am sitting up truck-high again with a good view of what coming and going. I like that I can haul plants and flea market finds. I can drive on the beach for a day of wild horse watching and fit all my paraphernalia to art shows. The back seat makes the SUV better than a truck so my little great-grandson can ride with me in his car seat.

I love when God sends me these kinds of little surprises just when I least expect them. I never imagined I’d have another Jeep.