I've always been a slo-go for some reason, low HP good mileage kind of guy...You know, like late 70 Plymouth Volare stick wagons with the slant 6 deuce and 1/4? Chevy C/10 work trucks, Datsun 310 hatchback's..Even had a little Plymouth Arrow PU that I paid $300 for and it was a Peach! I would never pay anymore than $1000 for any rig, most less than $200, all were rotted and ugly, one step away from the crusher, but I could keep them running for a very long time and get from pt A to B cheap...
Anyway, in the mid 90's I think it was, Kia went bankrupt..remember? Well, I happened to be caught between various junk, the Wife needed a car... In a moment of weakness, I stopped at a dealer in Huntsville Alabama...Got a brand New Kia Sportage loaded w/leather for I believe @12k...All was well with the World.....Bear with me here...
So...fast forward to 2005, the Wife said she wanted to trade in her Kia and get into a 'PT Cruiser'...she was very insistent....So I took her into the local Chrysler dealer ....The sales guy on the lot, listened to us politely and attentively, said, "OK, while I get that PT prepped for your test drive, can you do me a favor? See that New 2005 Magnum over there? Its got the Hemi in it, and I sure would appreciate it if you would just get it out on the Highway, mash and blow the soot out of 'er"...He tossed us the keys..."Hemi? Whats a Hemi?" I wondered...
Well, being a helpful guy, I figured OK, what could it hurt? Its just another damned old Chrysler station wagon? The Wife took the wheel, eased out of the lot onto the approach, mashed the pedal, and....GREAT MERCIFUL SWEET ODIN! I felt like I was in that ride at the Fair where the room spins around and the floor drops out and you are pinned to the wall? Or in a jet fighter launched off an Aircraft Carrier? There was NO top end to that Monster! White lines all ran together in one continuous string..Up until now, I had never seen a road behave like this before, or the strange wild intense look on my Wifes face, not even on our honeymoon!
So needless to say...the PT was off the menu, and that Mag went home with us......I learned a whole lot about the 'soft sell' that day, also, fast cars are an aphrodisiac, even if it is just a wagon!
You know what else? Theres 16 sparkplugs in that Hemi engine! I changed them out at 100k! Did it myself of course. Got to thinking, I have never in my Life bought 16 spark plugs all at once! They cost me more than my 77 Volare!