Exit Lane: George Payne

George Payne
Owner and president
Forest City Business Equipment

2009 Dodge Grand Caravan
3.3-litre V6, 175 HP
180,000 kilometres

I’M THE SECOND owner of this vehicle. I needed something with stowaway seats and the room to deliver some equipment. This was handy and the right price, so I bought it.

HONESTLY, IT’S BEEN pretty good. I mean, it’s a minivan. I think they serve a good purpose, and the reliability has been fairly good. They do have some quirks, but most cars do.

MY BIGGEST PET peeve is a defrost problem that’s well documented with this vehicle. When it’s cold and you turn the defroster on, you get a big line of frost across the windshield on both the driver and passenger side. You have to roll down the window to clear it up.

“I have a 1954 Mercury half-ton pickup, a ’56 Mercury half-ton pickup, a ’62 Merc half-ton pickup and a 1967 Cougar XR7 I pretty much rebuilt from the ground up. I also have a few Mustangs. I have about 13 cars in all, and I’m always looking. It keeps me out of trouble”

CHRYSLER DOESN’T SEEM to think it’s a problem. Maybe they’re driving something different, because when it’s 20-below outside and you see all these Dodge Caravans driving around with windows open, you know what’s going on.

I HAVE A 1954 Mercury half-ton pickup, a ’56 Mercury half-ton pickup, a ’62 Merc half-ton pickup and a 1967 Cougar XR7 I pretty much rebuilt from the ground up. I also have a few Mustangs. I have about 13 cars in all, and I’m always looking. It keeps me out of trouble.

I AM PARTICULARLY fond of the Mercury product. I love the way they were built, the ride and the way they hold the road. They’re just really nice vehicles. They are, however, a little expensive because many of the parts are hard to find. You can get remanufactured parts for many classic car brands, but for Mercury, parts can be tough.

THE ONE THAT got away was a 1937 Ford with teardrop headlights. I got talked into selling it. It went to a good home, but I’d really like to replace it.