We usually don't make posts of this nature around here; given the unique situation I found myself in, I'm making an exception.

It's a full-size station wagon, white with a tan interior, a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park. I bought it online. I first considered one from 1980, the same make and model; I was not thrilled with the brown paint job. I wanted white. Since I liked the car anyhow, I was about to buy it. Then I saw the white one. Better yet, it was a 1989 model.

Without further ado, here is a picture of what I got. What do you think?


Jeanette Isabelle

If you like it, it matters not what we think, but here goes. My thoughts are evident in the questions, but for the record I once owned a Ford F-250 with the 460ci V-8 — 10 mpg and I loved it.

How many miles on the odometer and is it the original engine? Which engine?

How far will it take you on a single tank of fuel? Really 3/4 tank, the last 1/4 is for emergencies.

Keep cash available to keep the tank full if you need to bug-out from a hurricane.

How will the availability of this largish and very capable vehicle change your bug-out kit?

Edit: a few answers are available at:
1989 Mercury Grand Marquis 1gen Colony Park
and
1989 Mercury Colony Park GS specs

302ci V-8, 18 gal fuel tank, 14-20 mpg depending on how you drive (20 hwy, 14 combined?)

As a comparison, my pick-up has a 20 gal fuel tank and the worst fuel economy I’ve seen is 17mpg. On the hwy I get ~22 mpg.

I'm looking at the new 2020 all wheel drive Toyota Prius. Some one here posted a few years ago he powered his home with a prius and a transfer switch after Super Storm Sandy(?).

I was perplexed by your reply. Therefore I mentioned to Mom what I wrote, that I did include the picture of the car that I bought online (which I received yesterday) and the responses I received.

Mom asked to see the post I made. I showed it to her. At first, she said something that, to me, added to the confusion. She went on to say it would be evident to a person like me, who is familiar with the details of a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis, that an image of a toy car is indeed a toy car. For a person who is not familiar with the details of a given make and model, an image of a toy car would look like a real car.

Believing that everyone would recognize an image of a toy car for what it is, I expected that people would see the intended humor.

Jeanette Isabelle

Interesting. A picture is just a representation of a real thing. A toy car is also a representation of the real thing. A picture of a toy car in the age of photoshop, et al is a representation of the real thing. So yeah, I thought you bought a real car, not a toy.


That to me sounds like a real car because it is a real car. My apologies for taking your post literally.

I did set up the joke to make it first appear I bought a real car (everything had to be technically accurate. Otherwise it would not be a joke) and delivered the punchline in the form of an image.

As I said, because I know what a real 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis looks like, I thought it would be evident to everyone that the car in the image is not real. You did not know what details to look for and therefore missed the punchline.

Jeanette Isabelle

That toy car just now fell off my shelf and was totaled: Three wheels came off, and the tailgate was damaged. No, I don't have insurance on my toy car.

I looked online for a replacement, but everyone is out of stock.

Jeanette Isabelle

Awww! That sucks! I used to have that problem occasionally when I was a kid building scale models. I had a pretty huge collection of them at one time.

I was able to put the tailgate back in, and the two back tires were easy to snap back on, though bent. However, the right front tire, made of plastic, did break. Using Gorilla Glue, I was able to put that tire back together.

The back wheels don't move evenly, and the front does not move, but the car is for display only.

Jeanette Isabelle