Dad ... Why didn't I listen earlier?

The older I get ... the smarter my Dad gets.

I don't know why, but for some reason as I was growing up, I never paid attention to the things my Dad did. He could fix anything mechanical. He could build, or re-build, anything. He was a great coach. And I could go on, and on, and on.

In fact, even as I became a teenager, I still didn't learn many things from him that I could have.

The funny thing is ... now that I've been working at this new company for almost a year - he already knows the entire industry better than I ever will. And I NEVER learned any of it from him.

SAD!

I know.

However, one thing I've tried to do ... especially as I've gotten older, is listen to his advice. One of the things he talked about last summer, when gas was at $4 a gallon, was fuel efficient cars. And the one he suggested was a Scion XB. I took his suggestion to heart, and picked one up.

Here's ours:



And so, I was pleasantly surprised when Christy found this article, by By Dan Shapley at thedailygreen.com, the other day. An article that talks about the best 'used' cars on the market by ...

ranking the small cars among Consumer Reports' picks by fuel economy. The years were chosen at random, but the fuel economy shouldn't differ within a model. (Do your own comparisons with fueleconomy.gov.)
Most Fuel-Efficient and Reliable Used Cars

1. 2005 Toyota Echo - 31 mpg
2. 2006 Honda Civic - 30 mpg
3. 2005 Scion xB - 29 mpg
4. 2007 Toyota Corolla - 29 mpg
5. 2006 Toyota Corolla - 29 mpg
6. 2005 Toyota Matrix - 27 mpg
7. 2007 Pontiac Vibe - 27 mpg
8. 2006 Mazda 3 - 26 mpg
9. 2003 Mazda Protege - 24 mpg
10. 2004 Subaru Impreza - 22 mpg

Check out #3 on the list. Yep ... that's the one my Dad suggested.

This is just 1 example of the many times he's offered me advice, and it's turned out to be great. Sometimes I wish I had listened a WHOLE LOT sooner.


Thanks Dad!

Al