I'd been rattling ideas about Mindfulness around in my head for the last month and have had plenty of time to try and put thoughts into some kind of logical order but I'm slowly realising it doesn't actually matter if the order of my thoughts is either or neither rational/ logical. The logic and rationale of the thoughts is what makes them my own.
Working on the Suzuki GS500 last year I've become more confident with mechanical fettling which was also helped along with "Gonzo" the SsangYong ute (Pick-Up Truck). No mechanic wanted a bar f it and although it was running fine I had little confidence in my own mechanical abilities which diminished my confidence in the vehicle.
Gonzo seven its purpose. It fetched and carried many long and heavy items and helped to clear lots of junk from the house. Now we have a trailer and are willing to spring the $10 for home delivery of materials and items we cant put in the trailer. A dual cab ute is expensive on parts both financially and in time. Its also hard to dedicate time to things that we aren't passionate about.
Some time around the 3rd of January I sold Gonzo. Purchased in 2014 for $6000 and Sold January 2016 for $5500. On Monday 4th January 2016 I bought my "dream car", over the phone, having never laid eyes on it myself. I then arranged a person I didn't know from a company I'd never heard of to pick up my $5100 investment and bring it to Whyalla. Mrs I.M was very patient (even when I had self imposed a rule to not talk about "the car" until after 12pm) with me and listened to all the unutterable nonsense that fell from my face like rain over Sunshine North, Victoria.
On Friday last week, it arrived. My Ford arrived! My dream car arrived. Unfortunately as it arrived at 5:00pm on a Friday all it did over the weekend was sit in the driveway as there was no way to inspect or register it until Monday. Mrs I.M is waiting for a DVD to arrive. I have told her that the weekend for me would be the same if her DVD had arrived and she was only allowed to view the menu screen for two days.
My ford is a 2003 Focus ST170, a cheeky sporty version of the mid sized hatchback that had only arrived in Australia in 2002. New, the ST170 cost $37,000 which was approximately $13,000 more than a mid spec Subaru WRX. At 170hp or 127kw it was less powerful because it was naturally aspirated and represented awful value for money at the time. It was brought in begrudgingly by Ford so they wouldn't have to change their marketing materials which were all emblazoned with a car that you couldn't actually buy in Australia. I was a graduate when I first drove a Focus and I wanted one then. But the car I drove back in 2004 wasn't an ST, it was the Zetec, a 2 litre, 5 speed manual 96kw version of the car. By the time I had taken that test drive 12 years prior, all of the 1000 STs sold by Ford in Australia were long gone.
Within 18 months of the ST170 being "released" for sale Ford dumped the design (which had been cutting edge in 1998) for a more subtle LS focus (which I did buy if you remember my silver focus). It was close the the ST. It had VVTI (or Ford's version) it produced 103kw (better than the Zebec) and had alloy wheels and a spoiler. I loved it and sadly parted ways with it in favour of something cheaper in order to buy the house my family lives in.
Until Monday (not counting moving the car) I had only driven past a handful of STs and had NEVER driven one. When I drove it to be inspected by the police (standard procedure for interstate vehicles) I was happy. It pulls wonderfully in every gear, and there are six of them. The exhaust, (which runs extractors from stock) has a nice sound. The interior (Recaro front seats) are blue cloth (RS dreams come true) and leather. Everything works. It has a full bodykit. It is on 17" alloys. The smile on my face got so big on Monday I found myself being like a new "P" plater. Taking the long route and making excuses to drive it.
It handles better than anything I've ever driven and combined with the punchy engine It's a joy to drive for me. I think I'm the beneficiary of the car's initially astronomical cost and rapid departure by ford to other cars which were much more powerful (the XR5 Turbo) which were slightly cheaper. STs seem to have been purchased by enthusiasts who haven't hacked them to pieces (like a GS500) and are thin on the ground but prices are reasonable.
I look forward to my commute to work in a car that I am passionate about.
Car History**
1980 MK2 Ford Escort
1976 MK2 Ford Escort
1983 Holden Camira
1981 Datsun 200B
1986 Ford Fairmont
1998 Ford Festiva
2005 Ford Focus
2008 Ford Fiesta
2006 Honda CR-V
2008 SsangYong Actyon Sports
2003 Ford Focus ST170.
** there have been others but due to the relatively short period of ownership, they haven't been included**
