March 28, 2021
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Born and raised in a car company family – my Dad had a dealership at one time and worked for GM for a spell – I always leaned toward buying American. While overseas, I often drove foreign cars, but never owned one. As base commander in Athens, US Headquarters Europe sent us a brand new armored Mercedes sedan that could survive a grenade (supposedly) and had bullet-proof windows that didn’t roll up or down. It was very heavy – even a bit ponderous – but I had a driver, so my personal driving experience was limited.
My 2002 Lincoln LS had been garaged. It was in great shape, had very low mileage and gave me good service, but it began to kill the battery and I needed assurance that I could leave at a moment’s notice to run my Dearest to a medical facility, so I looked around. My son had a BMW on loan and he let me drive it a bit. I was sold!
So I bought a brand-spanking-new 2021 black BMW sedan and I’m truly in love with it: the fit and finish, quality of build and materials, great power, smooth shifting and terrific brakes. Maybe a new 2021 Lincoln would have been almost as good, but when I looked at Caddies and Lincolns, it turned out neither GM nor Ford will produce any more sedans after December 31st this year. No kiddin’; you can look it up. So if the American manufacturers are throwing in the towel on grown-up driving, I guess I was right to get the BMW. I love it. I’m glad I bought it. And I imagine this may be the last car I’ll buy. At least I saved the best for last. And, as it turns out, my car was assembled here in the Western hemisphere and parts of it in the US. Go figure.
I still have my beloved red Mustang GT and will never part with it. I love the vrrooom!
Old Frank
Or you could have bought a $20 trickle charger.