What's the average lifespan for a car? Six years? Seven years? From what I've seen, most people keep their cars for about a year and then ditch it for a new one. As Americans, we love new things. And each year brings about new innovations in automotive technology. Automatic parallel parking, emergency breaking, lane assist and self driving automobiles. I can happily say that I have none of these features in my classic 2012 Ford Focus Titanium. I purchased my Focus brand new. It was the top of the line model for the now extinct Focus. And many years later it is still running. Not without it's problems of course. A few months back the windshield wipers decided to turn on and off at will. Just as suddenly it stopped and hasn't happened in quite a while. I did put a new fuse and relay in so I'd like to think that I fixed it. My Focus also has a few dings and dents. Nothing terrible, I like to think of it as wrinkles on a human. As the car gets older it begins to develop these cosmetic issues. Exacerbated by my wife driving it occasionally. I'd love to have a new car with upgraded features and more room, but A, I can't afford a new car at the moment since prices on even economy cars are outrageous, and B, my car has been paid off for years now and it still runs well. And it's fun to drive. Plus it's really become part of me. That car and I have spent over 150,000 miles together. I know all of it's quirks. I can almost see myself shedding a tear when I have to say goodbye. I had that car as a single young man and it has seen me through marriage, kids and other life events. It's almost become a part of me. Maybe that's what cars ultimately become if we keep them around long enough. It's a bit like marriage. Some men get married multiple times, sometimes over five or six times. They must do the same with their cars. Then their are men like myself. Once I find a good woman I stick with her. We will grow old together. Even when we begin to develop wrinkles, I wouldn't want to throw my wife in the junkyard and purchase a new model. Of course if Sydney Sweeney decided that I am good enough for her then my answer may change....just joking...I think. She is definitely a very attractive young lady. Getting back to cars, I also don't like many of the new features in cars. Even if they do increase safety, they turn us into lazy drivers. I know how to parallel park, probably better than some idiotic computer. I can see the lanes on the highway and pay attention enough to know when I am swerving our of one. I don't need adaptive cruise control as I can easily control it myself. I guess what I'm saying is that I like to be an active driver. I like to be in control. That also makes me a very bad passenger. Although if I had a professional driver to bring me around I don't think that I would mind it too much. There are many features in new cars that I'm not even aware of! I'm sure that I would not like those either. All I really need is a GPS system, which has been almost rendered obsolete by smartphones, and a backup assist system. Since we also own a minivan, the backup camera is a must. For now I'll be happy to make my five minute work commute in my Ford Focus. I used to have a much longer commute to work so I don't get to spend as much time in my car as I used to. As my car ages I figured that daily highway driving is probably not in my best, or the car's best interest. Eventually I will have to replace my Focus. It will be a sad day as that car has been through many milestones with me. I know that it will never be a collectible classic vehicle but to me it will always be classic.
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