A snowy day in a ‘98

Originally Posted on The Maine Campus via UWIRE

Brett Salter

For the Maine Campus

 

I spent the better half of my weekend driving through the snow in my 1998 Dodge Intrepid. With 200,000 miles and barely any tread left on its wide tires, I could scarcely believe it would be up to the challenge. But, though the automatic gearbox struggled to adapt to speed changes, and the brakes lost composure a couple times, the Intrepid was indeed intrepid. And I realized a few things: First, there are more factors about a car than its crafting that determines its ability to drive.

 

On this same trip, I observed a Honda CR-V backwards on the side of the highway. Why should a four wheel drive vehicle be worse off on a snowy drive than my low slung, front-wheel-drive-only car? Simple; the driver determines the success of the journey. If you drive a four-wheel drive car thinking it will keep you safe, you will have a crash. The false confidence that off-road cars give operators can lead them into driving too fast or into not paying attention. Remember that treacherous roads can thwart even the best of cars, and always be prepared to lose grip on the road. Four-wheel drive helps your car move, but it certainly does not lend its assistance in stopping. You will notice the difference when you careen off of the side of the road.

 

Secondly, by the time a car has reached 15 years old, the quality of the car at the outset begins to have less bearing on the current quality. For instance, in 1998, this particular car, brand new, would be fat, ugly, and slow. But now that it has weathered a decade and a half, it might as well be a 1998 Nissan Maxima. A Nissan at that time would find a Dodge wanting, but now it would be difficult to find a difference between the two. In fact, the worse car could now seem better for any number of reasons. For instance, if the Nissan had owners who constantly drove the car at six thousand revolutions per minute and failed to perform regular oil changes, they might find that they have lost a few dozen horsepower over the years. If Aesop made a fable about this very situation, it would be an elder tortoise racing an elder hare. The hare would have consumed too much scotch over its lifetime and found itself in too many fights, and the tortoise would have lived its life only drinking an occasional glass of wine and going on a few healthy jogs.

 

The moral? Maintenance is important. When you buy a car that already has 180,000 miles on it, do not take for granted the fact that it still runs well. Many of the cars on a college campus are this way. If you want the car to last the rest of your college career and into the two hundred thousand mile club, take care of it. Check your tire pressure and oil regularly; stop driving the car until it is close to empty, thereby dragging the sludge at the bottom of the gas tank into the engine. If you treat your uninspiring Chrysler with care, it will surprise you by lasting until your children are old enough to drive.

Read more here: http://mainecampus.com/2014/01/19/a-snowy-day-in-a-98/
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