I was fortunate enough to have navigated my way through the 80’s and 90’s with at least two cars in my driveway. As an old car lover, and more importantly, an old car driver, the benefits of this practice were realized on numerous occasions. However, as the latter part of the 90’s rolled around, circumstances in my life started giving me the impression that changes were looming on the horizon.

The 108K miles on the odometer of my Dad’s old 1982 Lincoln Mark VI didn’t bother me as much as the large hole in the trunk floor that, strangely, wasn’t that big a few months earlier. My 1988 Firebird Formula, while a beautiful car with low mileage, had just spent the previous winter parked in my driveway, rendered useless by the snow. Having to make payments year round on a vehicle that could not be driven year round was starting to get old.

Ok, I admit it. Like most of us, I find shopping for a vehicle to be more fun than Christmas, and will use just about any excuse to do so. But this time was different. The above mentioned life circumstances had also dictated that more than one vehicle in my driveway was not going to be possible. Finding a one-car-fits-all vehicle did not seem like much of a challenge, that is, until I started searching . . .

I have always loved the 1970's Lincoln Continentals. They are big, beautiful, luxurious cruisers. But, they are also not that quick, not exactly what you would call nimble, and not really economical. Ditto a 1977-78 Eldorado Biarritz, plus the fact that a really nice example blew my small budget. I looked at Corvettes. The examples I could afford weren't daily driver quality. Even if I could afford a perfect one, it would still have been a Corvette - confined interior, no space for cargo, harsh ride, useless in a Pennsylvania winter. Ditto a Mustang GT or Camaro.

Then, on my way home from work one evening, I spotted a 1993 Taurus SHO at Wilson's Auto Sales in Hollidaysburg, PA. My first reaction was one of confusion - I normally would never consider this class of car, yet I found myself actually liking it, wanting to have a look. Here before me was a mint condition, 30k mile original car that was only three years old. It had comfortable seats and a large trunk. Surprisingly, it was affordable.

But my Old Car mindset was having trouble processing all the other information. It was front wheel drive. It had 4 doors. It was V-6 powered. It was the polar opposite of everything I had owned previously. I had trouble looking upon it as anything other than a “family car.” It took a lot of soul searching, but in the end, all the positives and the really affordable payment sealed the deal. I signed the papers on November 1, 1996.

Over the next 3 + years, this car proved to be a good decision. The comfortable seats and large trunk made this car a great choice for a road trip, with the 30 mpg highway mileage being an added bonus. The lack of any major repairs proved to be easy on the budget. But, best of all, the pile of 15.6 timeslips made me smile.

I drove this car until May 18, 2000, when those life circumstances showed up again, and dictated that I must get rid of a car payment, FAST. Right at that same time, a mint condition 1984 Cadillac Coupe de Ville was traded in at Courtesy Motors in Altoona, PA, my employer at the time. Thinking that this was a sign that I really, really needed to pay attention to, I traded the SHO in with 66k miles on the odometer, and drove home with an old Cadillac and no car payment . . .