Jeep

I'm a Chevy guy.

Over the years, I've owned more Chevrolets than anything else. I've owned a couple of Caprice, a couple of Luminas, and currently own an Impala.

I've had other vehicles, too: Nissan Sentra, Mercury Cougar, Pontiac Grand Prix ... but I'm still a Chevy guy. My last four have been Chevys. My next will likely be a Chevy.

What brought all this up?

Spent a few days in Chicago this past week. And rented a car.

Usually, I rent from Hertz. Don't rent often, but having dealt with different companies, I've never had a problem with Hertz. I can't say that about the others I've used. And, to be fair, I have't used a lot of others. Never Avis, for example. No reason, just haven't. And, until recently, hadn't used Enterprise.

When someone backed into my car at a ball game last August, I ended up being furnished a car from Enterprise.

They furnished a car at the directions of the other insurance company. I didn't care for the car. It was okay except it was too small for my fat ass.

Still, Enterprise treated me fine. So, when we needed a car for the Chicago trip, I used Enterprise. And, since they showed that I'd be able to get an Impala -- I drive an Impala, remember -- it seemed perfect.

Well, guess what?

That's right. They didn't give me an Impala.

They gave me a Jeep.

A Jeep.

Sure, it used to be an American vehicle.

Used to be. It's owned by the Germans. Nothing wrong with Germans. If I was German, I'd be thrilled. But I'm not. I'm American. And I wanted an American car. Like an Impala.

I'd driven a Jeep before. Years ago. Didn't care for it. It wasn't mine. Not my kind of vehicle.

This Jeep drove okay. But it was a Jeep. Not an Impala.

Sure, some folks like Jeeps. But it's not my idea of a vehicle I want to drive.

I was really looking forward to driving an Impala. You see, not only do I like my Impala, I know where everything is.

The turn signals. The windshield wipers. The cruise control. The radio controls. The lights.

All that stuff, I know where it is in my car.

But in a Jeep, everything's different.

So, when I get the vehicle -- and yes, I did ask for something else, say, an Impala -- I had to spend the first few minutes -- several minutes, actually -- learning where everything is. Because, driving in a strange city, I don't need to be trying to figure out where any controls are; I need to know where everything is.

To be honest, it rode a lot better than the last Jeep I drove. But still, it's not my kind of vehicle.

I'm a Chevy guy.