Slow death

Matt is seriously attached to his Explorer, having driven it since he was 18. It's taken him across the country, up and down the East Coast, and between Raleigh and Chapel Hill a bazillion times.

Until a few years ago, when it was repainted, you could faintly read "Just Married" on its hood from where the mustard ate through the paint on May 25, 2002. It has 190,000 miles on it and smells rank ever since I spilled catalina chicken in the front seat. Only one service station in town will give it a passing inspection.

It's held up OK, but it has developed some problems, including a mystery hum that even our favorite mechanic can't identify or fix. The hum gets louder as you accelerate so it's impossible to have a conversation if you're driving faster than 50 mph.

Also, its AC is broken. I'm sure it could be fixed but the Explorer is not worth putting money into. It's more of a cut-your-losses kind of vehicle. For the past couple of summers Matt's just sucked it up and rolled down the windows, but now it's getting ridiculous and the search is on for a replacement.