Saturday, Apr. 9, 2005 - Today the Nassau West Federal Government made good on a promise to help out in times of turmoil, rising fuel prices to be exact, by purchasing a more economically viable vehicle for Nassau West official business, like Presidential travels, etc.

This afternoon in Tucson, a 1999 Hyundai Elantra was purchased for $3,500 cash, which came from a personal loan from Wells Fargo Financial in Sierra Vista. A CarFax report showed no negative report about the vehicle, and a test drive proved impressive.

The fuel effiency couldn't be much better, either. The Elantra gets about 24 city and 33 highway miles per gallon. Some of the comforts of the 1995 Chevrolet G20 SportsVan will be missed, however. The Elantra, which is considerably smaller, has no cruise control, and at the time of purchase had no stereo. A Pioneer MP3/CD/AM/FM Stereo receiver deck was purchased and was installed in Tucson.

Immediately following the purchase, the vehicle was taken to Jiffy Lube, also in Tucson, for an oil change and general inspection. Several procedures were recommended for the Elantra, which like the Van, has nearly 80,000 miles. None of the procedures were performed, other than that the oil was upgraded to a higher quality.

The Elantra has a few cosmetic blemishes, as does the Van. The Elantra has several minor dents, a chip in the windshield, and the Hyundai emblem on the hood is broken. There's some minor paint damage in the front hood area and the plastic hubcaps need repair or replacement.

The tires and the rest of the car seem to be in good shape. The dark gray interior has no obvious damage to it, other than a broken window crank and visor clip, and goes well with the exterior white. The steering wheel is a bit worn down, but it will have a cover on it soon and the worn area will be unnoticeable thereafter.

Although not in absolutely perfect condition, and one of the criteria for a new vehicle was not met, that being cruise control, the Elantra does have an alarm, ice-cold air conditioning and it handles well at all speeds, has great acceleration power, and can turn on a dime and give you up to nine cents change!

The Chevy van won't be going anywhere for the time being. The original plan was to trade it in or sell it to buy a new car, which was to be a Kia Rio or Spectra. However, with the trade deficit between the payoff and the Kelley Blue Book value being about -$3500, disposing of the van would not have been financially responsible. The Department of Administration plans to continue operating the van for long journeys.

Most trips to Tombstone will be done in the van, as it can act as comfortable temporary shelter for overnight excursions, which the Elantra can not. The Elantra was purchased to do the majority of the high-mileage daily driving between Benson and Tucson, however, the Van will still make occasional trips to Tucson when needed or requested by the President.

"I'm ecstatic about the new Elantra. It's great to have two vehicles that can handle any scenario that may present itself. The Elantra is going to save a lot of money on fuel this summer, and that's great! I think we did the right thing," stated an elated Nassau West President Kelly K. Bartram this afternoon at the Capitol in Benson.