Until two months ago I drove a 244 in awesome mechanical and cosemetic condition with a not-so-common 5-speed stick and a host of carefully chosen suspension and engine upgrades. It was maintained mostly by me and almost per the owner's manual schedule.

Then I rear-ended someone in busy pre-Christmas traffic. Neither I nor the occupant of the other car were hurt. The Volvo was deemed a total loss with an estimated $8000 repair bill. The appraiser gave me a generous settlement and his sincere regrets for the loss of a car in such fine condition.

Amazingly, I have lived without a car the last two months in LA without unbearable burden. Not only that, I don't really miss driving and owning that Volvo. Losing the car has freed up considerable money, time, and energy to focus on other, new pursuits.

I suppose my next vehicle will be either a pickup, a compact SUV, or a small FWD wagon; and I will do no more for maintenance than car wash, vacuum, oil change, fluid checks, and brake pads. That's more care than many drivers give their cars, but far less than I showered on my dearly departed Volvo.

Content I am...