My own car story.

I read with interest the car stories of your readers. I have my own wonder car, and have been driving it off and on for 16 years. It now has over 345,000 one owner, one engine miles on it, and uses only a quart of oil between changes.

It all began when we were expecting our second child. As the due date drew closer, I started worrying about my old Mercury station wagon. It had quite a few miles on it, and was not fun to drive in the winter. Besides I really needed something more economical to commute back and forth to work in. I settled on a brand new 1989 Mercury Tracer. A sporty little Hatchback with a very reasonable sticker price and a mileage estimates of 40.5 highway. A week after I bought it, I rushed my wife to the hospital on snow covered roads. The front wheel drive Tracer easily handled the roads, but drew some complaints from my expecting wife about the harsh suspension. Our second son Daniel was born on Christmas Eve, just a little younger than the car.

The Tracer proved to be an extremely reliable car, and has paid for itself many times over. I have achieved 41 MPG with this car in 55-60 mph range, with 36-38 being more typical when running the air and keeping up with the traffic flow. The cost of ownership has been low with a clutch, water pump, and alternator. It has had a few timing belts put in as scheduled maintenance, and consumed its fair share of brake pads, and tires. It has been very cost effective to drive over the years in spite of events that have ended the career of other cars. I had an encounter with a deer one year totaling out the car. But the damage was only superficial and I bought it back from the insurance company. After a few body parts, and a radiator, we were back on the road. I even handed this car down to my oldest son Brian to drive when he turned 16. He did his best to tear it up as teenage boys do. I sent Brian off to college with a newer car, but kept the Tracer since we couldn't get anything in trade for it except a hearty laugh.

I was now driving a 99 Escort ZX2 to work, also very reliable. But it didn’t survive its encounter with a deer and was a total loss. I replaced it with a Ford Ranger that is holding up well, but obviously gave up good gas mileage in return. The Tracer sat in the driveway, mostly in the way. The license was up for renewal, and I could save a few bucks by dropping the insurance and junking it.  But then gas prices went thru the roof and stayed there. I started thinking about the gas mileage I used to get. I started calculating the cost of bringing an old car with questionable life left in it, up to standards vs. racking up miles on my uneconomical truck. New brakes, tires, and a tune up were about the same as the car payment on my wife’s Explorer. So I figure these repairs will pay for themselves in three or four months, depending on what the average price of gas turns out to be. Besides every mile on the Tracer is one less one on my Ranger.

Now the Tracer is once again my daily driver as I cover the 100-mile trip to and from work. Yes it does look a little out of place sitting next to the Lexus and BMW’s, and perhaps it's not what a typical Engineer would drive. But now I am on a quest to see just how many miles I can squeeze out of this little Mercury and nothing short of a good economical replacement will get me to retire it. Danny now has his driving permit, and the car that brought him home from the hospital is now being used to teach him the fine points of driving a stick. I wonder if this car can survive another teenager. It can't last much longer, or could it? A half million miles is a distinct possibility.

I have yet to find a car that I like that comes anywhere close to the miles per gallon this old car gets. I have had my eye on the new Ford Hybrid Escape, but it falls short in the highway mileage.  So why is it that Ford and other manufactures could build a car that could achieve over 40 mpg 15 years ago, yet are content to brag about their latest offerings that only barely break the 30 mpg mark? As an engineer, I can't help but wonder why a successful platform like the old Mazda 323 - Mercury Tracer platform couldn't be updated and marketed to those of us who really don't want to waste that much gas getting to where we need to go. When Ford introduced this car in 1988, it had a little 1.6-liter engine that was peppy on the low end, but a little lacking in passing power. They remedied that in 91 when they incorporated this Mazda technology into the revamped Escort/Tracer line that was so successful throughout the 90's. Horsepower came at a cost and engine displacement was on the rise. 1.8l, 1.9l, and finally 2.0 liters were powering these compact cars that were quick but only able to achieve mid 30 MPG's at best. I don’t mind an engine upgrade option for those who want it, but lets have a reasonable base model option. These days more and more of us are not as concerned with 0-60 times as we are with mileage numbers. With $2.00 a gallon now being a season low for gas instead of the season high, it is time for Detroit to rethink their whole muscle car mentality for economy cars and grocery getters. If I want horsepower, I will drive my 68 Ford Torino GT, a real muscle car! When I want to get to work, I roll out the faded red Tracer. With the money I save by driving it, I may just give it a coat of paint and some new wheels.