Mike in the rear-view mirror

Little Joe has been with us for over 160k miles, including lots of roads even Jeeps find challenging. Here is son Mike taking a picture of the town of Platoro. He caught himself in the act in the rear-view mirror.

I joke in the side-bar about the performance of Little Joe, but it really isn't so bad. He's actually a pretty perky little vehicle, and he has gone places many other vehicles have failed to go. Here is Mike, now in high school, going out to ride in Little Joe.

0-45 happens in .1 mile, and 55-60 happens on the freeway on-ramp. It's the 60-75 speed that takes another mile! Little Joe will cruise a flat, windless freeway at 75-80 and get 35-40 mpg. But add a cross-wind and 60-70 becomes a challenge.

Little Joe has been up jeep roads and over rock formations that even an IH Scout owner would find challenging. I used to do residential real estate appraisals, and some of the homes in the mountains were at the end of private drives that ... well ... were designed to keep people out.

It's the low-speed performance of this little guy that often prooves to surprise us. Last month when the drive shaft broke on my 19' Dodge/Newport motor home, I pulled it across the street to a parking space with my Metro. I have a tow-bar attachment on the front bumper of Little Joe to pull it along as a run-about vehicle on camping trips ( the motor home only gets about 5-6 mpg - need I say more?). Well, this time the Metro pulled the monster.

People often kid me about my "roller skate", but it has paid for itself many times over in saved gas and simple utility. A 4-door model, it has ample space. Before I bought the motor home, my son Mike & I would sometimes sleep in Little Joe on long trips. The front seats recline and the back seat folds down. Add some pillows and blankets and you've got a very roomy tin tent - impressive considering the fact that we are both 6'+ and not too skinny. I often carry as much junk around as I used to in my older Buick.

After 160K+ miles, Little Joe seems to feel like he's got at least another 160K+. Some things have been replaced along the way, but it still purrs like a kitten, and goes wherever I take it.