The indispensible southern pick-up truck

We are fairly recent transplants to the USA's Deep South, and still learning many of its quirks. Pick-up trucks are one of the quirks that bring a smile to my face. They are HUGE, very fuel inefficient, and everybody and their brother seems to drive one. A majority of my students have pick-ups, though if I were to venture a guess, they use their carrying capacities very seldom if ever.

Imagine my surprise, when I became a co-owner of one! Our work colleague sold one to Husband Dear for an astonishing amount of $1.00.

Ours is an '85 Toyota, named Smugde by Little Man. It looks like a toy next to today's pick-ups. It is a real fun to drive, as it has manual transmission, no power steering, hand-cranked windows, mirrors, etc. Real automobile, ladies and gents!

As it is 25 years old, it makes it into the Antique Truck category, which means we pay the "tag fee" on it only once and not annually. I'll take that.