Introducing my new, very red, dog car

In February, I wrote about my car search. Fancy Van, my big Ford van, was 12 years old and it was time to retire her. She had been reliable, versatile, and I enjoyed driving her, but the gas mileage was awful and the repairs were becoming more and more frequent.

So after making a list of my ‘must haves’ and ‘would like to haves’  I began researching cars, vans, trucks, and SUVs of all sizes. Then Paul and I began visiting dealers to take a look at vehicles in real life (versus the internet) and we even took a few for test drives.

Eventually we narrowed it down to the Ford Transit Connect. It passed Paul’s tough requirements and even garnered his okay on the test drive. He generally didn’t like anything that had more than two wheels. (He hated driving Fancy Van – kept muttering something about wallowing like a whale.)

So, we decided to save up some money so that we could buy the new car outright. I really like not having a car payment. Paul’s accident and death last month changed everything.

However, about a week ago I stopped by the local Ford dealer and told them I was ready to buy and asked them to find me a red Transit. Most of the ones on the lot are either silver or white, as they’re considered a commercial vehicle. Two days later I got a call that they had a red Transit. Yeah!

I drove down, patted Fancy Van on the hood and told her thank you for a job well done. I signed all the paperwork, wrote a check, and drove off in my new car.

Of course, the new car needed a name so as she sat in the driveway the first time, I walked around her and thought about a name. She is really really red, and I’m a dragon fan. The new car, then, became the ‘Littlest Red Dragon.’ Silly, I know but I like it.

The Red Dragon is one foot shorter in height than the van; one foot narrower in width; and three feet shorter in length. She can even fit in the garage – what a concept! The back seats fold up quite compactly for more cargo room. The dogs have plenty of room in the back with a pet barrier installed for safety.

With the van, I was used to carrying all kinds of stuff as I always had plenty of room. Now I have to figure out what I need to carry and what I don’t need, where to store stuff and how. But that’s okay, it’s all fun.

Meanwhile, the Red Dragon is zippy, fun to drive and I really like the better gas mileage.

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