I couldn’t help but notice this Ford Taurus on the side of the road as we were coming home from our daily post-supper hike at Mt. Pisgha a couple of weeks ago. And the little black dog looks just like Wanda! Just to be clear: when I take photos like this, I’m not in any way trying to make a statement or judge or otherwise. It speaks for itself, and yes, different people are going to make different assumptions or conclusions. Having once been homeless in my youth, I have a lot of compassion for those that have no stable abode.
I’m actually quite impressed at how well the load on this Taurus has been attached and secured. And no, this Taurus is not stranded here, as I saw it yesterday at a rest area in I-5 about 20 miles south of here.
This is what comes to mind. But fortunately there’s no kids in the Taurus. And the dog looks content.
A symptom of the times. And one we see so often we’ve become mostly inured to it. I hope the old Taurus gets them wherever they’re going, even if it’s not really anywhere at all.
Back in the day, my business flight landed too late to get my preferred rental car and I was assigned a Taurus. Holding my nose, I drove it for the 4-day trip. To my surprise, it was comfortable, economical, zippy and altogether more than satisfactory. Not so much that I rushed home to buy one, but Taurus became my preference rental. I was not in the minority.
Without getting political, I personally find it embarrassing to live in a so-called “developed nation” where people with jobs literally can’t afford to live.
Indeed. The first thing I thought of was the 1926 Hudson ‘Super Six’ sedan that was converted by the Joad family to make the arduous journey from Oklahoma to Cailfornia in ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ during the Depression.
That’s American Exceptionalism at its finest — NOT!
We live in a trickle up society. All those outrageous fees consumers pay fatten the bottom line of corporations, which is translated into dividends and profits. Half of society is sharing in these profits and half is not.
The poor don’t vote and get left on their own. Homelessness is the result.
Steinbeck was an avowed socialist and got a lot of heat from big California food growers from his depiction of them in the book.
Interestingly, in 1966, he took a trip to Vietnam. He would subsequently complain about the press and anti-war protesters before he died in late 1968.
That is a generation 2 Taurus.
I had a generation 1 (1986) that I loved. Got 300,000 miles out of it and could have gotten more if some jerk hadn’t decided it was so old it should be smashed up for his fun.
Skipped generation 2, but got a generation 3 (1999). What a disappointment. Everything that had been nice about my 86 was junk on my 99. Plastic bits broke. Features I loved the 86 for were missing. I bought it because it was the cheapest good transportation thing I could find. My mechanic got it at 4 years old with a seized engine. Carfax research showed the engine had seized in year 2 of a lease. He must have got it for almost nothing because what he charged me (after he went through it to make it reliable) was really just the cost of the engine. It got replaced 11 years later when something broke that was so badly designed that the labor to replace it was more than I had paid for the whole car in 2003. Got donated to a friend who had a private junkyard because it still ran. He said he wanted it as a junkyard mule (car used inside his yard, not on the street).
If they had built Taurii with the quality of the first year car, they would not have become a laughing stock. But they cut every corner they could in later years until the car deserved the derision.
Still mourn for my 1986. Was glad to be rid of the too many circles styled1999.
While I couldn’t stand the look of the 96-99 sedan I had no issues with the wagon. I thought the wagons rode really well. I’m in the process of, you could say, restoring a 98 wagon that has sat for 10 years.
While I couldn’t stand the look of the 96-99 sedan I had no issues with the wagon. I thought the wagons rode really well. I’m in the process of, you could say, restoring a 98 wagon that has sat for 10 years.
Does someone actually drive about in this as well as live in it ?
You’d get stopped by the police here in the UK for what they’d certainly deem an insecure load , regardless how good you were at tying knots!
I remember when the Taurus was the darling of the automotive media .
I never had one but rode in a few and they were okay, not bad / noisy / rattly / squeaky / et cetera .
There was a time in the U.S.A. when this would have been called a “Hoovermobile” and with good reason .
There’s never been any shortage of $ in the U.S.A. just crooks who steal or divert it from those who earned it .
Same deal now, those who support it should be ashamed .
I live in Los Angeles and yes, these folks are fairly common these days .
-Nate
You may know that Hoover-whatevers refer to Herbert Hoover, US president between 1929-1933. As in the start of the Great Depression. Hoover flags are your empty pockets turned inside-out. Non-US readers may not make the connection.
In Canada, cars that had the engines removed, and pulled by horses were called ‘Bennett Buggies’, after Prime Minister, Richard Bennett. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennett_buggy
I don’t recall ever seeing those before. The Wikipedia image https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:35bennettbuggy.jpg is pretty good propaganda, the buggy in front of a university or something. The haves and have-nots. It wouldn’t surprise me if the university was broke too, tho.
The current president certainly likes for things to have his name on them…
All I can think of is Frank, there’s a tornado coming, best get in here, I can’t, I gotta Git Hoome.
Having just packed for a week and half (my wife’s list) into our 2 door Jeep…it’s between this and The Old Mans Chevy in Ollie Hofnoodles Haven of Bliss. I’m not buying any yard junk today.
GOD BLESS those people and I hope things turn around for them.