In 1997, my 1988 Mercury Colony park was getting up to 205,000 miles. It had been an amazing car but I needed to keep my eye out for something with less miles to carry the four kids around in. The wagons from Ford that I loved had been discontinued in 1991, but I was on the prowl for one of the last ones made to extend my enjoyment years with this excellent design. I left a note on the windshield of a very nice silver blue 1990 Colony park wagon on Easter Sunday 1997. I heard nothing back and continued my search In late October of that year, I received a call from an older gentleman. I had left a note on his car was I still interested? I said yes and I went to see the very well maintained car and bought it. About a week later I was prowling the wholesale trade in line behind the Mercury Dealer on my way to work as I did almost every day. To my amazement sat an almost identical silver blue Colony park wagon in perfect condition. I could not believe after all these months I had now found two cars in two weeks! I struck a deal with the Used car manager and now had two identical wagons.
After a few weeks I realized I needed to let someone else enjoy one of these wagons so I put one with the CD player in the paper. A nice older lady called and I made a few repairs and she bought the car. I would go by her apartment house every few months just to see how it looked if I had business nearby. One day it was gone and I realized she had moved away. A few years later I was on WBT radio in Charlotte talking about the station wagon club and she mailed me from the show and told me she had moved and we began to talk. A year or so later she said she was having some problems with “The Beast” as she called the car and would like to sell it.
I drove over to inspect my old friend and it still looked good and smelled the same as before. The blue leather still looked good and she told me about the things she had replaced. A few weeks ago I brought the old machine home and it looked great in the driveway. I enjoy driving it and found the picture of the two cars together from long ago and the window sticker on a shelf in my garage. While driving it the other Sunday I thought that it was really lucky to be able to get such a great car back in the family. I have now had eight of these wagons and hope to always have one to knock around town in. There is a very familiar feeling when I look under the hood and I feel like I could do most of the repairs in the dark (which I sometimes do) I love the leather seats and the engine and the way it handles, just like the very first one I bought on February 14, 1989 as a surprise for my wife. Its Déjà vu all over again!
Picture of it soon after I got it back in 2006.
Both in the Driveway in 1997.
Posted by: ASWOA
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