For the past dozen years, I drove a gold-colored Ford sedan and loved it. I lived and worked in an inner city urban area, and I always felt safe regardless of what was happening on the street around me. It was as dependable as the red 1995 Ford that preceded it and got twice as good mileage! As a large woman, I appreciated the ample space for the driver's long legs. Passengers were comfortable also, even those in the back seat had a bit of legroom. The gas tank only took eight or nine gallons so I could usually fill it with less than a twenty dollar bill. Since I am not a smoker, I used the ashtray to collect quarters for the parking meters. There was room under my seat for my billfold, which never got stolen. I had had an old Chevy wagon before the red Ford, it was stolen three times. They striped the steering column. No one ever did that to my gold Ford. With regular maintenance, the engine ran well into the high 90 thousand miles before I had to give up driving. After several horrid winters and salty streets, I did have to replace the exhaust system once, which was understandable. Always got the winder underside wax from then on. As I got to know my car, I came to recognize that most of the police cars in my neighborhood were the same make and model, so I know I am not the only one who considers those cars reliable.

For the past decade I have driven this Ford Taurus and I just did the 95,000 mile service check. Many of these years were in a dense urban neighborhood where I felt secure: all the doors lock automatically when I start driving.