Thing 1 – Gabe may have caught the inability to keep a car for more than a few years from me. He traded his perfectly reliable, fast, and fun Mazda 3 2.5 Turbo for a used Jeep Wrangler! To be honest, I think the Jeep fits his style and personality better, and he seems to be absolutely loving the Jeep life. He is already planning mods, dreaming of off-road adventures, and handing out Jeep waves and ducks like crazy! Here are a few photos fresh from the dealer down in Olympia.

Thing 2 – Not wanting to be one-upped by my son, I decided to make a change as well. Not that long ago, I was excited to take delivery of a Porsche Cayenne. While it was a great SUV and handled way better than a vehicle that big has a right to, I struggled with a few things. It was expensive and unlike Porsche sports cars, their SUVs depreciate to zero. I never loved the design of the Porsche SUVs, and it didn’t grow on me. The biggest issue I had was with the braking. It wasn’t linear engagement…there was nothing when you stepped on the brake and then it would be a hard brake. Porsche claimed it was normal, but I hated the way it felt.

Since I use my car mostly for in-city driving and for a work commute, I thought it was time to give an EV a try. It helps that EVs are clogging dealer lots, and folks seem to be moving away from them, so there are great deals to be had. I test-drove the Hyundai Ionic 5N, the high-performance model with all the fake engine/transmission sounds. It felt gimmicky, and the interface was complex and challenging to use. I test-drove the Ford Mach E Rally edition (I can’t call it a Mustang), and after a few hours of testing, I loved it. Nearly 500 horsepower, 700 pound-feet of torque, 265 miles of range, a simple but high quality interior, and fun rally-inspired looks. It drives nicely but will get up to absolute hooligan behavior when you put it in rally mode. I handed over the keys to the Cayenne, and drove away with a new heavily discounted Mach E Rally and a fat check! I love the bright blue with the white wheels…cuts through the gray of Seattle winter nicely! I will say that the sticker package is coming off the first chance I get…that is a bit over the top even more me 🙂