@jtsanders. Mrs. Triedaq is still reacting to the Ford Tempo. It’s the only car we didn’t drive over 120,000 miles. We bought the Tempo because Mrs. Triedaq had just finished her degree and taken a job 120 miles away, so we were commuting on weekends. The Ford dealership had a special on the Tempos. The dealer had about 10 that were all alike except for color. I think Ford had built them for rental fleets. The dealer had a special price on the cars, so we bought one. It was reliable and trouble free in the time we owned it. However, it wasn’t the most comfortable car for long road trips. We traded it to the Ford dealership for a Taurus that had 7000 miles and had come from a small rental company that had gone out of business. We had the balance of the warranty and the Taurus was certainly an upgrade from the Tempo.
I don’t have any problem with a luxury car as long as I don’t have to pay for the car or the upkeep. However, I don’t want to ever be a slave to my possessions. I had a colleague who dressed the right way, said the right things and had a wife that had a professional position. They had no children. They had a nice, comfortable house and a nice car. However, they had to have a luxury European car and an upscale house. This colleague did get a high paying administrative position. Yet, the couple had to file for bankruptcy.
Mrs. Triedaq and I both grew up in the country. Luxury items don’t really appeal to us. When I threaten to trade the Toyota 4Rinner Mrs. Triedaq drives for a Cadillac Escalade, I can really provoke an argument. Mrs. Triedaq had a high level administrative position before we both retired. I kept teasing her that she needed the Escalade to keep up her image. She wasn’t having any.
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