The Great Car Shuffle

We seem to have a kind of a tradition going on amongst us neighbors. Central to this tradition are my neighbors Charley and Sharon. Y'see, Charley is a bit of a car nut...

When we first moved in, 3 1/2 years ago, I mentioned to Mrs. OWW that "the guy two houses up the street is running a used car lot!" There were cars for Charley, his wife Sharon, their son Chuck, and their daughter Maureen (Son Kevin wasn't of driving age yet). Plus a dead-engine Suburban and a dying van (I disremember the make/model of that one).

Well, son Chuck traded the Mitsubishi for a Jeep, which was traded for a Jeep Cherokee, which was traded to a neighbor down the street for a Volkswagen GTI. Charley sold his beat-up well-used (200K+ miles) Chevy pickup and bought a Ford F-150, sold that, and bought a neighbor's Dodge 1500 w/Hemi, and then acquired a Jaguar XJ6 from a friend in Missouri to go with the truck. Wife Sharon had a Saab, which was sold and she bought a Nissan Altima, which was sold, and she bought a Volvo. Maureen was driving whatever wasn't being driven by someone else at the moment.

I was never sure who was home at the moment.

After a while, I started kidding Charley about the used car lot he was running. "Honest Charley's Fine Used Vehicular Transportation Emporium".

Then the vehicle count started going down.

The dead Suburban was sold and towed away. Maureen inherited her brother Chuck's GTI, and then her older sister Peggy's Saturn L200 (from out of town - it just magically appeared one day). The dying van was sold. Chuck moved out of town and got married, so whatever he was driving at the time went away. The GTI was sold to a neighbor. Son Kevin became of driving age, and Charley got him a Dodge Dakota pickup. Maureen moved out on her own, and the Saturn went with her. Kevin went to college, and the Dakota went with him.

Ulimately, it was Charley with the big Dodge pickup and the Jag, and wife Sharon with the Volvo. There was also a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for a while, but it lived in the garage.

There was also the odd boat or two in their driveway, but they don't count 'cause they're not street-legal.

Then, daughter Peggy who now lives up in New York needed a car, and Charley lent her the Jag. Two cars!!! No more smart remarks about "used car lots" from Old Weird Ward.

It was too good to last.... which is where OWW got involved in the neighborhood "tradition"....

I'd been muttering for some time that I want a truck for hauling stuff around. Due to the GHIP (Great Home Improvement Project) involving paint, Pergo-type floors, power-tools, runs to the dump, and other things, I wanted a Ford Ranger/Chevy S-10/Dodge Dakota/Nissan Frontier type of truck to haul said "stuff", with an extended cab so's I could haul Chickie and Meelie around.

So, I started checking out the local used truck market - yee flipping gods! These clowns want a short fortune for anything with wheels that runs! They seem to think that Kelly Blue Book retail, plus $2000 is "reasonable". So I was sniveling and moaning at Charley one fine day....

It seems that daughter Peggy hated the Jag XJ6. "Old man's car" is what she said, and wanted another Saturn. Son Kevin liked his Dodge Dakota OK, but really wanted a Saab. And since I wanted a truck...

Charley went up to New York driving my Saturn SL2, which went to daughter Peggy, and came back in the Jag. Son Kevin found a Saab, and the Dodge Dakota "Sport" (extended cab, 4-cylinder engine) now sits in my driveway.

While Charley was going up to New York in the SL2 and Kevin was finishing the week before Thanksgiving while driving the Dakota, I was driving that big Dodge of Charley's. I tell you true, it's a BIG beast, and drinks gasoline like you wouldn't beleive...

So here's the current car situation:

Mr. and Mrs. OWW have a yellow VUE and a Dodge Dakota in our driveway.

Charley and Sharon have the Jag, the big Dodge, and the Volvo.

The Volkswagen GTI has migrated from one neighbor to another neighbor.

The Cherokee in another neighbor's driveway.

I almost had the Jag as well as the Dakota but I let Charley talk himself into falling in love with it, thank God! Lovely car, but 'way back when, I had dealings with Lucas, Prince of Darkness....