G93/Cars

Best-Laid Plans

I'm writing this from Bend, Oregon, where M and I have been spending a few days over Thanksgiving. Before leaving, we bought a new set of snow shoes for the mini, which proved their worth Thursday night on the mountain pass just before Goldendale.

For many of our road trips, the Mini has been a solid go-to car; chief among its virtues are its heated seats, good gas mileage and excellent road manners. Did I mention heated seats? Because of its relative youth compared to my other cars, we always assume it might be more reliable.

Friday night, after a walk in the woods 15 miles from town, it refused to start.  it would crank, catch for a second, then die. leaving only an engine-management error light on the dashboard.

All cars can break down at some point. Although modern cars are lovely creations, there's simply not much you can do but call for a tow when problems happen. I can't help wishing, every now and then, for a reliable old car I understand.