Full disclosure: I’m the cliched Alberta pickup guy, the kind the Greenies warn you about.
My first ride was a 1970 Ford Ranger with a 390 big block that put out almost 400 horsepower — strong enough to pass anything on the road except a gas station. It was so rusted I had to watch my pocket change lest it fall out to the curb. It was followed by a 1980 F-150 — Old Yeller for its distinguishing hue of beige — with a 351 Windsor that was much easier on the wallet, but had the distinguishing feature of metric body bolts so I needed two sets of wrenches to change the oil. I racked up almost half-a-million klicks on almost every byway and highway in northern Alberta through my early journalism career at rural weeklies north of Edmonton.-- More...