This past week, I had the pleasure of sitting in the Saline County Sheriff's Office. I know the first thought that comes to mind and I was not issued an orange-colored jumpsuit. I was not even offered a free chance at fingerprinting. Much to my dismay, I found myself waiting on my now 16-year-old son while he took his driver's test.

Has it really been nearly 27 years since I waited to take this same monumental step toward becoming an adult? I remember getting a new purple bike with a banana seat as just a few years ago. My childhood best friend and I rode the neighborhood streets and burned the pavement up between our two houses. As Edith Bunker would say, "those were the days".

Times have changed, teenagers have changed but over the years the need and desire for independence has not. Certainly one aspect of the teenage driver that has evolved over time is the value of these young driver's vehicles. Most of us can vividly remember our first vehicle, if you were lucky enough to have your very own vehicle I should add. Several of my friends shared cars with siblings or drove the family sedan. My first vehicle was a 1971 Datsun 510. For the younger generation, the Datsun name changed to Nissan in1983. This four-door, automatic transmission "green bomb" had no air conditioner, AM radio only, and 176,000 miles when purchased for $500.00 in 1981. All the mathematicians reading this should figure out the car was 10 years old.

Not ever having been a car salesperson, insurance agent, or loan officer my assumption is going out on a limb but how does this generation afford newer vehicles? Driving into the Marshall High School parking lot is almost like visiting an auto superstore. To add insult to injury, gas prices were under a dollar a gallon in my day. Goodness, I sound like my mom and dad's comparison to their "when I was your age" epic tales.

Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research administered a survey on kbb.com from August 12-15, 2005, to 399 parents of 16-25-year old drivers and 509 drivers ages 16-25. According to the survey, the number one desired car by the "youngsters" was a Ford Mustang. The preferred choice by the parents of young drivers was a Honda Civic. Hmm, let me think about this one for a moment! Insurance on a Ford Mustang versus a Honda Civic, gasoline comparisons for the two different models, and speed factors?

Let me be clear, I am not trying to bash the quintessential all-American Ford Mustang and promote the believed to be foreign competitor Honda. The parent and the person with the checkbook within me votes for the sensible choice. You guessed it, the economical cheaper mode of transportation, not the sporty impressionable sports car.

The real question remains, what did my son get to travel near and far? Proudly, a 1994 Ford F-150 pickup graces our driveway and let me say it was his choice in vehicles. That Ford Mustang that we talked about earlier, it sits next to the F-150. Please do not give it a second thought, the 1967 Mustang is mine! My daily driver is a Toyota Highlander so I think I just broke all of the aforementioned rules.