The million-mile car

The million-mile car
Her name is Madeline.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

PT Cruiser the Rental car

The dent in the side of the Subaru necessitated a call to my insurance company, who instructed me to take the car to a local dealership/car repair enclave in a nearby, but dodgier part of town.
There it was determined that the driver's side door needed replacement, and that it would take at least a week. I was to have a rental car.
An exciting prospect, but with hidden downsides.
Coming up was the weekend of a family reunion-- the Cousin's reunion. Originally started as a gathering of first cousins-- the offspring of my grandfather's generation-- it has in recent years come to include my generation and our children. My grandfather was one of twelve, so it is a large group.
I rented the PT Cruiser based on looks alone, with little thought to the considerations of gas mileage or durability.
And drove it from Baltimore to the cousins' reunion in southern West Virginia.
From Baltimore to it is highways most of the way to Greenbrier County. US 70 W to 81 S and down, down, down the spine of Virginia. Then lighting out to the West on a slightly smaller state highway, then a state route, then a county road and ultimately a dirt road.