My car's odometer passes 75,000

The week before I began Queens College in August 2002 (after my summer in DC) I was given the keys to my mother's green 1995 Ford Contour so that I could commute to and from Queens College each day. When I first got into the driver's seat that sunny August afternoon, the odometer read somewhere around 33,500 miles. Yes, after seven years of use my mother (who, admittedly, works in a public school here on Staten Island) had only driven 33,500 miles.

Well, as I drove back to Staten Island via the traffic-free (only because I left Queens after 7pm) Belt Parkway this evening (between the Pennsylvania Avenue and Rockaway Parkway exits going westbound, to be exact) my odometer crossed the "75000" mark. That means that in less than three years I've driven 41,500 miles and expect to put on another few thousand (I'd bet that I pass 45,000) by the time August 2005 is complete (some trips down to DC might be in the cards...stay tuned for more on that).

Just to have a bit of fun with this:

-I generally average between 27 t0 28 miles per gallon. Using 27.5 as my average m.p.g., that means that I've used 1,509 gallons of gas in under three years.

-If gas prices were at the levels they're at now ($2.34 as of my last fill up) I would have spent $3,531.06 on gasoline in less than three years.

-I usually buy 12 gallons of gas a time. That means that I've been to the pump approximately 126 times in less than three years.

-I change my motor oil approximately every 3,500 miles. That means I've had approximately 12 oil changes since assuming ownership of the vehicle less than three years ago (yesterday being the most recent one).

If you can think of any other fun facts, feel free to post in the comments section!

May my car continue to take me from place to place and back without incident, comfortably, and speedily for many years and tens of thousands of miles to come!