Thanks To FAOL Readers

[flyguy66]

Hey,

I just wanted to tip the hat to all the folks who commented on my thread from waaay back about fly fishing vehicles. You may/may not remember, but I asked what everyone's best fly fishing vehicle ever was or something to that effect. A lot of folks posted up accounts, descriptions, reasons why, and photos. It went on for several pages. The reason I posted it was because our Mitsubishi Montero was beginning to show its age with about 230k miles at the time, and I knew it was just a matter of time until it had to be replaced. And at 230k miles and a lot of new innovations in the automotive industry since I last did a lot of research, I figured I would turn to the biggest on-line collection of traveled fly anglers on the planet for vicarious knowledge - some pointers as to where to begin my research in preparation for the impending doom of having to buy a new car/truck.

Well, at just over 250k miles it finally happened. Monty the Montero had plenty of "quirks." You know the stuff I'm talking about: all the little things that don't work anymore or don't work right that some days make you laugh and other days make you crazy. The stuff that gives an old truck "character." But none of it was mechanical, operational equipment, or safety issues. But you could tell it was coming. On the way back from Dallas after the Holidays the hood latch gave out on the Interstate at highway speed. It wasn't pretty! So Monty...like an old franchise quarterback...got traded for a younger up-and-comer on Monday. When all was said and done, that Montero LS 4x4 cost us 6 cents per mile to own!

But the advice and guidance we got from here on FAOL led us to a beautiful and highly capable 2007 Ford Edge SEL w/factory class 2 hitch and 6-pin harness. 21-27 mpg, 285 hp, 3500 lbs towing capacity, fwd w/traction control system. And it is loaded with comfort and performance options. Heck, it even has one of those DVD players in the back seat that we'll never use! I got the hitch installed at no charge due to some wheelin-and-dealin'. Also got brand new tires at no charge and $1000 off the sticker, which was $1,000 below KBB and Edmunds. That allowed us to put a 3 year unlimited mileage bumper-to-bumper factory warranty and gap coverage on it for $1500. It has 50k miles on it.

We got the right vehicle for our needs and were led to the Edge as a result of the thread here on FAOL. So I wanted to say thanks to everyone who participated in that discussion. It was very interesting, and turned out to be incredibly helpful.

[Kerry Stratton]

Nice!

I hope my wife doesn't see this thread. She has a 2005 Escape but has wanted the Edge for a couple of years now. The Escape has 80,000 trouble free miles on it so she has aways to go before getting a new vehicle.

Good luck with the new Edge. Nice vehicles, they are.

[LadyFisher]

What a nice thing for you to do - a little credit always goes a long way and I'll bet the next request for this kind of help will garner the same kind of results!

[flyguy66]

LF,

I don't think we spend enough time and energy as a culture giving credit where credit is due and saying thank you to folks for their contributions to making the world a better place. We spend plenty of time complaining about each other, griping about what we wish was different, and ignoring positive stuff as if it were typical. But the truth is that positive human behavior isn't typical. It's extraordinary. Talent isn't the norm, it's special. And today, competence isn't "business as usual," it's exceptional. We seek to repeat the things we do that make us feel good just as much if not more than we seek to avoid the things we do that result in unpleasantness. So I resolved several years ago to make a conscious effort to become far more complimentary and express my gratitude more often. My best friend growing up became a Navy SEAL and died when we were in our 30's. He was always very complimentary of others and expressive in this way. People felt good when they were around him...unless there was no reason for them to feel good, or the gov't had told him they were the bad guys. As the echo of the last report of the 21 gun salute faded into the treetops at his funeral, I resolved to be more like him in that way.

[Grubb]

flyguy66 lol I know whats its like to have the latch give out at highway speed, it happened to me some years ago with an old ford I got the last miles out of. On the way home from work one morning on int 64, the hood came up blocked the wind shield, then, the hinges gave out and the hood went flying over the cab and landed in my rear view mirror sliding down the interstate, turned around and tyed it on with rope. thanks for the memories ..and glade you got a new one...