"Cash for Clunkers" Poster Child

Oh, I could talk more about the painting and the tree, but I just have to share this. Yesterday, I bought a car. But this was no ordinary purchase. It was a car we have been eyeing for a long time. The Suzuki SX4 Crossover.

What makes the purchase exciting is that our 1985 GMC Suburban with over 322,000 miles qualified for the $4500 Cash for Clunkers rebate. We purchased the Suburban from our folks in 1989 for $6500. And after 20 years and 280,000 miles, we get 69% of our money back in the trade. Amazing! And we received an additional Suzuki $2000 customer rebate, a dealer rebate, and a Suzuki "gas for the summer" certificate.

I did have to drive the Suburban in 100 degree heat (with no air conditioning) for almost 3 hours to the dealer. Would it make it? Would it overheat? Could I even open the hood? Not to worry. Like it has for many years, the Suburban was a trooper and delivered me to the dealer safely.

Of course, EVERYONE at the dealership had to come out to see this clunker!!! When asked what color it was for the forms, the answer was easy. Two-tone. Blue and Rust.

So long Blue. You were a wonderful vehicle and you can be proud of all the times you: pulled other vehicles out of the snow, conquered rock strewn mountain trails for geology field work, drove us to Alaska so we could camp and go fishing, and carried heavy construction loads .....without complaint. You served us well and we will remember you fondly.

I kissed the Suburban good-bye.