After yesterday’s failed lunar eclipse photo shoot, I went home and slept. Well, went home, wrote a blog post and then zonked out.
This morning, I checked my bank account and my wallet.
I have enough. I really have enough. I can do this.
This morning, I’m making the final payment on Lightning’s Girl.
By the end of the day, my 2017 Chevrolet Volt Premier known as “Lightning’s Girl” will be mine. As the Beach Boys said, I’ve got the pink slip, daddy.
And nearly four years ago – 47 months, to be precise –
I blogged about picking up this Chevrolet at a used car dealership in Utica and driving it home.
I entered into a six-year car loan, and probably overpaid due to the pandemic and the need for a reliable car. And “reliable” to me means a Chevrolet sedan. I don’t need an SUV or a crossover or a pickup. I don’t need a car whose acronyms are Found On Road Dead, Fix It Again Tony, Drips Oil Drips Gas Everywhere, or any of that.
Owning a Chevrolet Volt opened new driving experiences for me. Quiet handling. Sipping mileage that can top out at over 125 mpg in the summertime. A warranty that, with various Chevrolet rulings, means my car is covered for 15 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first.
I’ve put in minimal maintenance on the car – the usual things a driver maintains, of course – fresh tires, fresh fluids, oil changes, heck I even swapped out a cabin filter AND an engine filter without causing extensive damage.
Lightning’s Girl has been my chariot of choice for various CPKC Holiday Train chases, Competition Season show appearances, a few long-distance road trips, and an overall feeling that I can count on it more reliably than I can count on some people.
Which still begs the question.
On your birthday, various restaurants will offer a discount on your meal or a free beverage.
What can I get from an auto parts store now that Lightning’s Girl is mine, free and clear? An air freshener? A bottle of wiper fluid? Maybe a pack of microfiber chamois for that extra-special detailing run?
Yeah, probably I’ll just get pointed over to Aisle 7 or something. Get a Chevy sticker or the like.
DOES NOT MATTER.
This is now MY car. Mine, straight up. If I want to take it to the paint shop and give it pinstripes and a hot rod flame job, I could do it. I could take it to the body shop and put a spoiler on its back.
Well, I won’t really DO those things, but hey …
As far as I’m concerned, THIS is a personal achievement. And I may celebrate this at some point in time.
I’m thinking when the ice cream parlors open, I might just use a “cheat day” and get a nice thick Boston Shake and enjoy being an owner.
And I’m totally fine with every minute of that.
Chuck The Writer 
You could take the girl out for a ‘day on the town’ – treat her to a wash / wax / detailing.
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I said when you bought it the Volt is one of GM’s best designs ever, and your experiences proved me right. Now just think how much money you’ll be able to save up putting those payments in the bank account – in addition to not shelling out for extra gasoline – in the months to come.
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