I’M TORQUING ABOUT FUN

 

How many people do you know who follow the Benjamin Button formula of being born old and getting progressively younger with each passing year?  Well, you’re meeting one now.

 

I’m 73 and just purchased my first Jeep Wrangler!  Yes, I have to climb in and when I get out it’s more like a dismount (Again, it’s a Wrangler!)  The seats adjust manually (what?) and the rear wheels can either spin independently or in tandem thanks to a Dana M200 Rear Axle and brake actuated limited slip differential. If you think that feature can get you out of a jam, you know more than I knew going into this deal.

 

So what makes a retired finance type buy a vehicle intended or at least capable of off-roading?

 

I guess it’s a little late for a “second childhood,” or a “mid-life crisis.”

 

I think it’s really the fact that I got to drive a Jeep rental for a couple of weeks and caught that virus thing they call “Fahrvergnugen.” It translates to “Driving Pleasure.” Of course, since Volkswagen first made this term popular in commercials in 1990, it should be obvious that my familiarity with it categorizes me as officially too old to enjoy it!

 

Jeep Wrangler owners love to wax poetic about torque and towing, horsepower and hauling capacity, skid plates and trailer sway control.  Me? I like the all-around visibility provided by this body shape which is essentially a rolling cube that is taller than other vehicles… kind of like a windowed box.  It has heated seats, phone and entertainment system controls on the heated steering wheel, and a colorful easy-to-use touchscreen.  It has a fun convertible top with a cool sack to hold it that they call a “Freedom Panel Storage Bag.”  And I love that… calling the removal of your roof “Freedom” and the roof itself a “Freedom Panel!”  These comfort features, not typically lauded by Jeep owners, are what I enjoy knowing I have.  I want to have a fun ride without the hard parts.  To own a Wrangler without too much Wrangling.  And when I use my adaptive cruise control while passing a car full of teenage gawkers, I’ll imagine they’re not saying “look at that grey-haired old lady driving her grandkid’s Jeep!” but rather “how wonderful to see vitality and adventure in more mature folks!”

 

So if you live in Northern California, watch for me on the roads.  Notice I didn’t say “off the roads.”  I’ll know my roll bars are there for me, but they can really relax.  I’m not rolling.