The Story of My Life

As many people know by now, I got rid of the Red Rocket about a month ago since it was pretty much useless all last winter, and this winter was shaping up to be about the same. I decided it was time to get a more sensible vehicle...an SUV. Well, the night I picked up my new 4X4, they were calling for snow, and of course none came. But here's the kicker...we've not gotten a snow storm large enough since then to justify the use of the 4 wheel drive.

I am opposed to SUV's in general, but determined that after the Hell that was last winter, I needed to suck it up and get one. So I chose a nice 08 Xterra with the Off Road package to replace the Altima, thinking that with the Off Road package we'd use it for camping and such, and it wouldn't be a Barbie Truck. But this is ridiculous. By the time I got the Xterra, there had already been a few days this winter when the Altima was doomed to the garage. But since then, the only time I've even had it in 4 wheel drive was to be a smart ass and park on top of a snow bank in the parking lot at work.

Last winter, beginning the week before Christmas and extending through February, we had about 6 major snow storms (with more than 6" of snow each), two of those were more than a foot, and another (the first one) was almost 2 1/2 feet. There was snow on the ground for 2 consecutive months, every day. The Altima was in the garage from December 21 to February 6. I couldn't get the damned thing out of the driveway because of the ice buildup on the street. (Of course, with my luck, the day that I finally got it out of the garage, some dipshit in a mini-van decided to pop a U-turn out of the right hand turn lane while I was beside her, and T-boned me. She might just be the biggest dumbass I've ever met.)

Needless to say, I didn't want to go through that crap again, especially since this year, we no longer have the 'spare' 4Runner that we had last year (having sold it when Dill got his new truck), so we only had enough vehicles for each of us to have one available. Dill was also worried that me and the Altima would end up in the ditch, and not necessarily because of the snow. But now, I have a 4 wheel drive that is usable in any weather, but can no longer spin the tires all the way through 3rd gear. I guess it's a trade-off. I got safety, security, off road capabilities and 31" Bridgestone All Terrains instead of speed, handling, gas mileage, and 18" low profile speed rated Yokohama summer tires.

I'm not gonna lie, I miss the Altima. I had a blast in that car, it just wasn't made for year round driving in Colorado. I made it through 3 winters with the previous Maxima with snow tires on the stock 17" rims, but the brakes were too big on the Altima to put 17" rims and snow tires on, and they don't make 18" snow tires under $1K a set.

I love my new truck, it's got tons of room, it's not slow (ironically, it has the same horsepower as the Altima, but is a good 1.5 seconds slower to 60), it looks great, has a kick-ass Rockford Fosgate stereo with iPod interface, and is quite possibly the most utilitarian SUV ever built. I think I'll be happy with it for a long time. It'll be great if we do as planned, and take it to Moab this summer. But, dammit, I bought it because I needed something to get around in the snow, and the damned snow won't come. I want to play in the snow!!! I want to be able to get around in the snow while other people are stuck!!! I want to roll my eyes at people who bought cars that are a bad idea for this area!!!

Once again, I try to think something through and fate comes back and laughs her ass off at me.

...And that's the story of my life.