“Ford trucks are built Ford tough.” Exactly how tough is Ford tough? And what about the Ford Taurus? Is that built just as Ford tough? I’m pretty sure I’m the perfect candidate to answer this age-old question with all the things I’ve gone through with my 1993 Taurus. Oh, I do love my car. I have to. I’ve even named her the Hajji, which is Arabic for little peasant woman.

I have been riding in the Hajji since I was five. I spent the best years of my childhood in the back seat; this car was great. Because my mother was really busy, though, it rarely got oil changes and only went to the mechanic when it stopped running, but this Taurus held up wonderfully.

It wasn’t until I was ready to drive that I realized why my mom had kept this car. Having just purchased a beautiful 2003 Dodge Durango SLT, I had no idea why she filled our limited garage space with the Hajji. Then, it hit me ... I was to be blessed with this hard-to-let-go-of vehicle. Of course, she’d smoke occasionally, and two weeks after I got my license, she broke down on the busiest street in northeast Ohio - and because her hazard lights wouldn’t work, I was called words I didn’t even know existed - but I still love her just the same.

I think my Taurus is one of the toughest cars around. Her body is in magnificent shape. If she were on MTV’s “Pimp My Ride,” I’m sure the mechanics would love how beautiful she is. Yeah, maybe an engine replacement would be in order. Sure, I would like a CD player, and every time I let go of the wheel, it would be bliss to have my car not veer to the right, but she is as “pimp” as the day she was manufactured 11 years ago. That’s not really so long ago, is it? So there is a smoother, sleeker, smaller model of my Ford Taurus available on the market now, but hey, how many teenagers can comfortably fit six friends in their car?

To get back to the question at hand, “Ford tough” is very tough for the first seven years or so. I’m not sure how long cars are supposed to last, but my car is still running - well, maybe we should call it jogging.