Saturday, August 8, 2009

Clunker Kaput

Our US government's "Cash for Clunkers" buy-out program was an unanticipated opportunity for DH to say good-bye to his trusty 1994 Nissan pick-up truck. Rusted and well-worn, with nearly 167,000 miles on the odometer, and getting only 17 miles per gallon mileage, it has now gone to "the happy hunting ground." Liquid glass will be poured into the engine, and then the whole thing will be flattened. A gas-guzzler off the highway, but it's a bit sad to think about.

Here is DH looking very sad. He says, "It was my favorite truck, ever."
So many memories in a vehicle...kids learning to drive, moving kids to college, bringing home decking, a repaired lawn mower, hauling brush, loaned to the neighbor...

However, it's nice having a new Nissan Rogue in the garage. I've been put to task making a few accessories for it.

The first was this console cover made from a print featuring DH's alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, Iowa). Since the console is upholstered, we agreed that it wouldn't take long for resting elbows to make it smudgy. The fabric cover is elasticized, so it will be easy to remove for washing.
This accessory took a bit more time, but was worth the effort. The Nissan version of a cargo cover was $170. Mine cost $22. It's made with a spring tension rod (behind the rear seat), a wooden dowel (fits in the grooves near the hatch), and two pieces of fabric.
Denim is on the top, and a Timeless Treasures cotton print with "Ride the Trail" and cowboys on horses is the hang-down or flip-up curtain.
Still to come...a cover for the back when the dog travels with us.

1 comment:

  1. You are the first person I know that has taken advantage of the clunker thing. We have a 1989 GMC truck but my husband only drives 10 miles a day to work so we are keeping it for now. It has 161,000 miles. Our kids learned to drive in our truck too.

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