Contendah,
I don't know if I am more impressed with your grandiose description and superior driving skills, or the fact that you admitted to driving a Maverick. I hated those cars. My grandmother had one, dark blue, and it was truly one of Ford's worst automobiles.
Sorry, RP, but I am not a big fan of the Maverick. The only car during that period that I could think of that was as bad was the Ford Mustang II, although they did come in some interesting colors....haha
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I don't know how you could have concluded that I claimed "superior driving skills". In claiming "journeyman 'level" skills, I had no intention to claim any kind of superiority. A journeyman-level practitioner is not ordinarily considered to have "superior" skills, whatever the craft, but merely to have achieved some level of competence.
As to the Maverick, that was not what I chose, but was what Hertz provided, probably dictated by their contract with the gummint. Yes, I "admitted" driving the thing, but that does not in any way imply any kind of approval of that model. I was just reporting a fact. Full disclosure, however, compels me to admit that at the time I was the unfortunate owner of a Pinto, not one of the jewels in Ford's crown.
As to the Mustang II, I agree. A fellow car-pooler drove one of those and it had as little rear seat room as any car on the road. After a 20-minute commute, I was all but crippled after sitting in the rear behind the long-legged driver.
I am a bit puzzled by your characterization of my description as "grandiose" You seem to have intended some snarkiness there. My dictionary (American Heritage) defines that term as "[c]haracterized by greatness of scope or intent; grand." I re-read my post and in all candor and with due modesty, I must say that it appears to me to be no more than a straightforward accounting of the facts, scarcely anything of "greatness of scope or intent" or "grand." Perhaps you could apply your skills as a literary critic and provide a bit more detail as to your conclusion.