My 2021 Ford Explorer

I’m back here at the house in Hope Mills, mostly unpacked and somewhat organized. So, I’m making good on my promise to tell you all about one of several new and exciting things happening in our world. Yes, there are more, but today you only get one … sorry. NOT! I’ve got to have other things to eventually write about, LOL!

So, back in September, the 2015 Edge I had been driving began having some issues, and even though I had been diligent in servicing, passing all state inspections, and even keeping up with any recalls we were notified about, some things caused some red flags to pop up. More so for Jimmy than for me, simply because he didn’t drive it as often and was hyper-vigilant when he did get behind the wheel. The final straw may seem small to some, however, it was a deal-breaker for Jimmy. He had driven it most of the day on Saturday and made sure to lock it up when he parked it for the night. When he drove it on Sunday, the computer and all gauges didn’t display correctly. Nothing he did made any difference. On that same Monday, I had a doctor’s appointment he wanted to drive me to. He went out to start the Edge before I got to the door and all the windows were down. He KNEW he made sure to put them up and lock the doors the night before. It was the craziest thing! AND! The displays weren’t working correctly again!

So, he takes me to the doctor and once we got back to the house, he’s got to run a couple errands to get ready to go back out the next morning. I stayed at home because I had just gotten the injections in both my knees and they were hurting pretty badly. Off he goes to run his errands, I crawl in the bed because by now I’m not feeling very well, I fall asleep for a couple of hours and when I get up he’s not home yet. I check Life 360 to see if he’s on the way back and find him at the Ford Dealership … WTF?? About that time he sends me a couple pictures of this beautiful 2021 Ford Explorer. I call him and say it’s gorgeous but that’s not groceries. To round up this part of the story he comes back to the house after a few hours (you know how car dealerships are!), many calls and texts between us to make sure we can afford the payments and insurance driving a brand new vehicle that had SIX miles on it when he drove it off the lot!!

To tell you this vehicle has bells and whistles is an understatement. It’s got so many cool things I haven’t figured them all out yet. It has a panoramic sunroof, a NICE sized navigation screen with built-in GPS and backup camera, oh so comfy captains chairs not only in the front but also for the second-row seating, and it has third-row bench seating as well. The front seats are heated, the steering wheel is heated, power everything, I can hook up my android phone and use the apps I have to play music from Spotify, it came with a subscription to SiriusXM and Pandora, it uses hands free voice commands to navigate, make calls and change the music, the ride is SO comfortable and the power is unbelievable. It’s also 4 wheel drive and push the button to start, and there is a rotating button on the huge console to shift from park to drive and another to change from all wheel drive to 4 wheel drive and yet another to change from every day driving to sport mode! … the list goes on and on and on! Jimmy’s favorite thing to do is use the remote start function on the keyfob, he can even start it remotely from the Ford app on his phone, even if he’s nowhere near Hope Mills!!!

Now, there’s another reason he wanted a new car for me. We found out in late August that his Dad had a stoke and was hospitalized on more than one occasion. We also found out Justin had some serious health worries and Jimmy wanted me to have a reliable vehicle to drive in case I needed to either meet him in Tennesee to pick him up or drive myself to Vermont or Texas. The safety features on the Explorer are the best I’ve ever known, if I’m in an accident of any kind, even a small fender bender, the car calls 911, it has something similar to OnStar that gives the ability to locate the car for any reason and the safety rating is better than ANY car I’ve ever driven in my life.

Yeah, it feels REAL good to have a brand new car, the first we’ve ever owned together, with an interest rate we never could have imagined being that low, bumper to bumper complete coverage warranty and payments we can afford without being car poor or sacrificing something else to make them.

And on top of ALL of that …it’s SEXY too, LOL!!

So, that’s what I have for now. Once I learn some more about my new beast, I’ll do a follow up post and let you know what else I’ve discovered. BTW, I do not have to go to Vermont or Texas … for now.