Schlatter Family Site

Bubba and Flash
and now, Mini

Bubba, Flash, and Mini are our three vehicles. 

First, a word of explanation.  Why do these two vehicles have names?  Way back in 1989 we purchased a plain-Jane Nissan pickup -- blue, 2.4L 4-cylinder, 5-speed.  We installed an aluminum camper shell on the back of the truck.  In 1990 when I was assigned to Japan, our daughter took the truck with her to college in Alabama.  The camper shell was manufactured by the Leonard Corporation and their logo -- the word "L E O N A R D" -- was printed on a decal across the rear window of the camper shell -- it was in big letters and very obvious.  One of my daughter's sorority sisters asked if "Leonard" was the truck's name -- and the name stuck.  From then on, the truck was not a truck but "Leonard."

Leonard served us faithfully.  Our daughter drove Leonard for three years in college; when we returned from Japan in 1993 she moved back with us to Northern Virginia and she and Leonard went to work, then to grad school, after which she started teaching and coaching in the high school from which she graduated.  Leonard hauled equipment for her soccer and volleyball teams all over Northern Virginia -- hauled car wash equipment for fund raisers -- moved her from apartment to apartment -- and never complained.

By the way -- when we returned from Japan we purchased a new 1993 Nissan Maxima -- which we immediately named "Max."  Leonard and Max became good buddies.

In late December 1999, we decided our daughter needed a new truck and she purchased a 1999 Ford Ranger, 4.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed.   The Ranger was a bright burgundy-red and was quickly named "Scarlet."  We were living in Bristol, TN, at the time and our daughter was in Manassas, VA.  She took Scarlet to Manassas with her and Leonard stayed with us in Bristol.

In late 2004, before we moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we sold Max and purchased a used 2004 Ford Explorer -- 4.6L V6, 4WD, automatic -- after a couple of weeks we named him "Bubba."  More about Bubba later.

Leonard moved with us to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in January 2005.  On 28 August, with Hurricane Katrina bearing down upon us, we left Bay Saint Louis, MS, in the Explorer.  We parked Leonard in front of our apartment with a generator and 10 gallons of gas in the back end.  At this time, Leonard had 192,000 miles and looked and performed just like he did the day we bought him.  Leonard did not survive Katrina -- he was under 6-8 feet of water -- and when we went back to our apartment on 31 August, Leonard was a goner.  For photos and description of our experience with Katrina, click on this link -- there's a photo of Leonard on one page.

We lost everything we had in Katrina.  After Katrina we lived in Louisiana with relatives then moved back to Knoxville, TN, near my parents.  After settling up with our insurance company, we decided to get another truck -- we did not decide to replace Leonard -- there's no way we could replace that little truck -- he was a member of the family.

In January 2006, after a couple of weeks of shopping, we purchased a used 1997 Mazda B4000 pickup.  We were looking for a Ranger like Scarlet but decided on the Mazda -- the Ranger and the Mazda B4000 are the same vehicle, come off the same assembly line.  The Mazda truck has a paint scheme with "flashes" arcing down the side -- so we named him "Flash."

And now we are come to the photos.  Here are pictures of our three vehicles -- Flash, Bubba, and Mini -- photos taken in the parking lot of our apartment, 7 January 2006.

Bubba is a 2004 Ford Explorer, 4.6L V6, 4WD.  Purchased used in December 2004.  Went through Hurricane Katrina, came out with some small dents in his hood where a falling tree brushed him

Flash is a 1997 Mazda B4000 pickup, 4.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed manual transmission, off-road package.  Purchased used in January 2006 with 87,000 miles.

Mini is a 2007 Mini Cooper -- Chili Pepper Red and White; automatic; 16-inch tires; leather seats; lots of other options.  We'll post a photo of Mini as soon as we have one -- right now, we're having too much fun driving Mini to stop and take photos.  Purchased from Flow Mini in Winston-Salem, NC -- great people to do business with.

Here are several photos of Flash.

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Flash hauls the trash from the apartment to the dumpster -- that's a trash bag in the bed.

I am an amateur radio operator and plan to install radio equipment with two antennas on Flash sometime in January.  Here are articles that describe the amateur radio equipment installed in Flash.

And here are Bubba and Flash.

Coming soon:  Mini

In August 2007 we purchased a brand-new 2007 Mini Cooper -- Chili Pepper Red and White; automatic; 16-inch tires; leather seats; lots of other options.  We'll post a photo of Mini as soon as we have one -- right now, we're having too much fun driving Mini to stop and take photos.

Until we take some photos of Mini, here is a stock photo of a Mini just like ours: