There's a lot of us

I have noticed, there are a lot of us Jeep drivers out there. Whatever make or model of car I've driven over the past years, I usually watch for others like it. I would see some, but not what I would consider a lot. But now that I'm driving a Jeep, I notice there are a lot of Jeeps on the road. Last Sunday afternoon on the way to work, I counted ten. That may not sound like a lot, but I only live about 2.5 miles from work and it was a leisurely Sunday afternoon in Fremont with hardly any traffic on the streets. You can imagine how many I see as I drive the streets of Omaha. Yes there are a lot of us Jeep lovers out there.

I love those mirrors

As I was carrying the meat into our house today, I went through our garage. Afterwards, my wife pointed out that the smart thing to do would have been to back her Jeep Liberty out of the garage so there would have been more room. But I was too lazy for that. Besides, I had already backed my Jeep Grand Cherokee into the driveway right behind her Liberty. To change it now would have meant admitting I was wrong, which I don't like to do. So I carried huge boxes of meat through the garage next to her Liberty. There isn't a lot of room there, and when I got to the mirrors, I had a little problem. I couldn't turn sideways because of the large box of meat. If only those mirrors weren't there sticking out in my way. Oh wait! They are fold away mirrors. I just folded the mirror back and had just enough room to get through. I love those fold away mirrors. It kept me from having to admit I made a mistake.

Easier on the back

Today we picked up a quarter of beef we had ordered from a meat market. Putting those steaks in the deep freeze made me anxious for Spring and grilling outdoors. Yum. The point I want to share today is how much easier on the back it was to just slide the boxes of meat into the cargo area of my Jeep Grand Cherokee compared to putting them into the trunk of a car. It made even more of a difference taking them out. Lifting a heavy box out of a car trunk can sure put stress on the lower back. Plus, the boxes of meat would not all have fit in the trunk of my last car. I would have had to put some on the back seat, which can be just as stressful on the back. It is easy getting things in and out of the rear cargo area. I really like that feature about my Jeep.

Peace of mind

Recently a first cousin of mine died of MS. We grew up in a farming area about a mile apart, which out in the county is right next door. My sister still lives in the area and was planning to go to the funeral. She was hoping I could come to the 10:30 a.m. funeral also so she would have some immediate family to sit with. I work the night shift usually getting home about 1:00 a.m. as long as the carpet cleaners aren't scheduled which makes it later. It would be about an hour and a half drive to the church, and we have had ice and snow recently. So I told her no guarantees, but I was hoping to be there depending on road conditions and how late I had to work the night before.

Everything worked out so my wife and I could go. On the way, the snow was beginning to drift across the highway. The last 3 inch snow had been a very dry snow so it was blowing easily. But the roads were dry and it was no problem. On the way home, however, it was a different story. It had warmed up just enough in the early afternoon that the snow was melting on the highway. As it melted, more snow blowing across began to stick and build up making a slushy icy mixture. As it began to cool off again and more traffic passed over it, the ruts in the slush got deeper and began to freeze. In some spots driving was rathertreacherous. It got bad enough that snow plows were beginning to come out again.

I had driven my Jeep Grand Cherokee to the funeral. As the roads got worse and worse, I wasn't really worried. I could just slow down, kick it into 4-wheel drive, and not have any real problems. It gave me a lot of peace of mind compared to if I were still driving the low-profile sporty car I used to have which would have been hitting bottom on some of the spots were we encountering. The only concern was other drivers who didn't have 4-wheel drive and were too stupid to slow down.

Four-wheel drive gives me a lot of peace of mind. And it is fun looking for snow to drive through instead of having to take the emergency snow routes where I know the snow plows have already gone.

Gas guzzler - not really

Yesterday I attended the funeral of a cousin my age who had died of MS. Unfortunately, funerals are one of the few times we get to see extended family. I noticed that one of my other cousins was driving a Grand Cherokee similar to mine. At the funeral luncheon afterwards, I said, "I see you are driving a Grand Cherokee. Me too!" I was expecting her to tell me about how much she liked it, since I like mine so well. My usual response from people is that they really like their Jeeps. However, her response surprised me. "Oh, my gas guzzler," she said. So we swapped comparisons.

For some reason, her gas mileage is quite a bit worse than mine. She said she is usually between 13 - 15 MPG. A while back she drove across Nebraska at 60 MPH and only got 18.5 MPG. That is the highest she has gotten. I've tracked my MPG since I bought mine almost 2 years ago. I've gotten as high as 22 MPG, and average 18 MPG overall including highway and city driving. So I'm doing much better.

Our engines are basically the same, both 6 cylinder 4.0. Our options are similar. I can't explain it. Perhaps her driving habits are different. Maybe, as she suspects, something isn't quite right with her engine. For some reason, there is quite a difference. I realize 18 MPG overall in no way compares with sub-compact cars getting in the 30s. But for the size and features of my Grand Cherokee, the gas mileage I give up is worth it to me.

That annoying good beep

The information center on my Jeep Grand Cherokee includes a "Miles to Service" feature. I have it set for the number of miles I want between oil changes. When I get my oil changed, I reset the "Miles to Service" feature and it begins counting down. When it reaches zero, it begins to beep. There are three beeps, a slight pause, then three more beeps. The display on the Information Center then reads, "Perform Service." If I don't get the oil changed immediately, it goes through the beeping sequence each time I start the engine. After about three days of "Yeah, yeah, I know" I finally get tired of hearing it and get the oil changed. Then I reset it, and the countdown begins again.

This is a good feature. I used to simply go by the odometer reading - knowing which mile marker it was time to change oil. I don't like the little stickers that are put on my windshield when I get my oil changed. It clutters up my windshield. So I take them off. Besides, I don't change every three months or three thousand miles like they suggest. It seems like I would be changing oil all the time. I change oil every five thousand miles. I've had five vehicles that I've run well over 100,000 miles and have never had a problem with an engine starting to use enough oil that I had to add any between oil changes. One was close to 150,000 miles. So I continue that 5,000 mile practice. At the end of the 5,000 miles, that annoying beep begins to remind me it is time. It is an annoying beep, but it is a good beep, a helpful beep, a welcome beep.

There are other good features included with the information center. I'll do more posts on them in the future.

Anti-lock brakes revisited

We finally got our first snowfall of the year, about five inches. That was preceded by almost two inches of rain, which made the streets slippery underneath and snow packed on top. That brought out the snowplows and made driving a little dangerous. On my way to work New Year's Eve, I was again reminded how great anti-lock brakes are on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. This incident occurred at the same intersection as my two previous experiences. I am beginning to think this is an unlucky intersection for me. A road grader was plowing snow, approaching a stop sign. As I got near the intersection, the road grader driver decided he didn't have to stop and went right through the stop sign. I didn't realize road graders had the right-of-way through stop signs, especially when there is another vehicle coming. I slammed on the brakes, and the anti-lock system went into effect, stopping me just before I hit the road grader. With regular brakes, I'm sure I would have slid right into the road grader. Anti-lock brakes are a great feature. They've saved me a couple of times.