Out with the old, and in with the new. Except that the old wasn’t that old, and one of the new isn’t that new.
Goodbye Sputnik, Hello Scrat
On Friday, I traded in my ‘05 MCS (Sputnik) and brought home an ‘06 MCS (Scrat). I’d been toying with the idea of upgrading as I neared the end of the maintenance period and saw the end of the factory warranty looming in another six months (and about three years before paying off the car). I’d also had enough little problems with Sputnik that I thought I’d try my luck with a new car. Due to a snafu with the DMV, the new car’s not getting driven (much), but I should have that sorted out tomorrow. Initial impressions are fantastic, of course; it’s starting to limber up and I can’t wait ‘til the break-in’s done. There’s not yet a single rattle and I’m hoping it’ll stay that way for a little while. 
Yet another Jeep
I picked up a used 1999 Jeep Cherokee last month.
Mater’s got about 143,000 miles on him and will need a little love to get back into tip-top shape, but I’m enjoying having something to wrench on. The body’s in good shape, the engine’s strong, and the four-wheel-drive system works, and those were my primary criteria. It’s a luxury to have a 2nd vehicle, but I really enjoy having something that I won’t freak out about if the dogs get a foot print on the seat or if it picks up (another) scratch. Mater is the sixth Jeep I’ve driven regularly (the first four were my dad’s), and it feels kind of like coming back home. If nothing else, I’m familiar with all the work that’ll have to be done on this one!
I also started putting together a set of pages to keep track of what I’m going with my small fleet of dino juice guzzler.