I know, I know! It surprised us probably even more than you! But, in the end, it made total sense....
Yes, we had just bought a brand-new car last year about this same time:
She (Merlot) was a VW UP! that replaced our well-loved 10-year-old Škoda Citigo
BECAUSE, since the Škoda Citigo was no longer being made, she would be the "exact same."
In other words, she was supposed to be a new model of the car we were giving up.
Except that she wasn't!
Very soon, both Astrid and I started seeing that the brand-new car we had just purchased was not an upgrade (or even "same" grade) but a downgrade, even though it was new. Astrid felt it in the lack of power she had had in the Citigo engine, especially when on mountainous roads in Belgium. I felt it in the "little" details, like no overhead handles when getting in and out of the car.
So...one day this past July, out of the blue, I asked Astrid if she'd consider upgrading to another Škoda, trading in our almost still-new VW UP! (under 10K km) at the same place where we bought the UP! (which also sells Škodas). Pedro, our dealer for all 3 cars in our 15 years together, would be good to us, we knew.
Guess what! Because the Tour de France was just ending (which has been head-sponsored by Škoda the last 21 years!), Škoda was giving a €2K rebate for any purchase of a new car. THAT was the fait accompli of our decision to order a new car on August 2....
...which still had to be made (in the Czech Republic) and which was finally delivered and ready for pickup this past Tuesday, November 26!
[All of that was for our record, as I always feel obliged to add!]
Drum roll, please!
The Škoda Fabia Selection in "brilliant silver," and automatic (Astrid's first)!
A foot wider and a foot longer than both our Citigo and UP!
ANY IDEAS FOR A NAME???
It took 45 minutes to finish all the paperwork and then another 45 minutes
to learn the entire entertainment center, connected to Astrid's iPhone.
DONE!
EVERYONE VERY HAPPY!
And THEN...Pedro pulled this trick out of his hat:
Pedro hadn't forgotten that we drink a "bottom" of whisky each Saturday
after Sander's death in April of last year, in remembrance.
Another tear and smile to celebrate Life as we know it!
Let's all drink to that.
