I used to poke fun at trucks when I was a kid. You know, the old country music listening, beer drinking, football watching, hunting dog toting stereotype.

That all changed when I grew up and bought a house. As a new homeowner with a family, I really needed a way to carry "stuff." Things from the hardware store, the furniture store, appliances, kid's bikes, trash to the dump, etc, etc.

I also added the hobby of racing homing pigeons, and that required many long training trips out into the country... something I could not have done with an ordinary car.

I went to the auto dealer looking for something used. I ended up with a brand new S-10 at 0.9% interest! An interest deal like that is almost impossible to give up. Over the life of the five year loan, interest will only amount to something like 300-400 dollars!

Because of the young family, I chose the extended cab with two jump seats in the rear of the cab. In case our car was ever out of service, the truck must be able to serve as a family vehicle. As large man, I find it difficult to get in and out of the jumpseats, but my wife and kids have no problem. If it weren't for the kids, I would have gotten the four wheel drive option. Maybe on the next truck. :)

To keep costs down, I chose the manual transmission. In retrospect, choosing the stick was a good choice. Not only is it fun, but I get great gas mileage, along with precision control of the vehicle, especially in the winter snowy months.

The four cylinder engine lacks some power when going up hills or toting heavy cargo, but for general around-town and highway driving, it's more than adequate.

In all, the Chevy S-10 is a great starter truck, or for folks with light and occassional hauling requirements. It's easy to drive, gets good gas mileage, and it's also great not to have to pay delivery charges every time you visit the nursery, hardware and furniture stores.