I’m known affectionately by my husband and those close to me as the “breaker and the jacker.” It seems I have a penchant for breaking things. I don’t do this on purpose, it just kinda happens. I get hot while driving the car, I flip the knob for the air conditioner and the knob comes off; the battery dies, my husband asks me to pop the hood and I break the lever off (personally, I feel this was a manufactures defect); It’s a gorgeous day, so I decide to roll down the window and the glass slides off it’s track and into the door (again, I don’t think this was my fault. But did I mention it happened twice?); I go to Costco and when I come out to load my groceries, the handle for the back door gets stuck and the door won’t open. My husband was traveling when the “door problem” happened, so when I got home, I looked for the biggest screw driver I could find and “fixed” the problem. I ended up having to keep the screw driver in the car because I never knew when it would happen again (and it did often).

Now, I probably need to back up a moment to give you some history…my husband LOVES his Land Rover (the one I keep breaking). I’m not sure why he’s so enamored by this vehicle. We’ve owned many great vehicles, including other Land Rovers, but for some reason, this is “the one.” It’s his baby. I’m not even offended anymore that he has more pictures of it than me. It just is what it is, and I’m okay with it.

So anyway, one day my husband saw my “door opener” in the car and just about fell off his seat when I told him what I’d been doing with it. So there you have it…the beginning of the end of my Land Rover driving days.

Shortly after the “screw driver incident” he starts talking about G-wagens and showing me pictures. “Wouldn’t you like a G-wagen, honey?” “I think you’d look nice driving a G-wagen.” “You deserve a new car.” “The new car will be aaaallll yours.” Now, I’m not naive. As any perceptive wife will tell you, this is what my husband really meant:  Breaking and Jacking + Screw driver = You’ve lost your Land Rover driving privileges. 

So the next thing I know, my husband is flying to Salt Lake City to pick up a G-wagen. He drove it home and was all excited for me to see it. He asked me to come out and look at it when he arrived home. I had to refuse – it was 2 am in the morning and 24 degrees outside!

So the next day, we made a special trip to a coffee shop and to run some errands so I could drive it. My first impressions: I like it. It’s built like a tank. Very strong and heavy. The inside is nice. The window configuration provides a nice, airy view. Everything’s automatic, which I love. It has black leather interior (never had that before). The paint is showing its age, so new paint is in the works, but overall, I think it’s a great vehicle and I look forward to driving it for many years.

And hey, I know it’s only been two days, but I haven’t broken it yet!

Overland Journal is proud to be the marquee sponsor of the first Overland Expo, to be held April 24-26, 2009 in Prescott, Arizona.