Nothing is sound.

Well folks, this is to be yet another blog in the long line of blogs involving my once beloved (now despised) Grand Am.
I've fought this thing since I got it back in '04. First it was small things like fuel injectors, fuel filters, then the usual things that wear out and need to be replaced as soon as you get it paid off-tires, brakes, headlights, etc.
But yesterday, as I was driving to Joe's apartment, it began ticking. Not "ticking" as in an adorable cuckoo clock on grandmother's wall. An ominous, metallic ticking reverberating from under the hood. It was soon joined by a louder tapping, both in rapid succession. When we got it back to Joe's, he took a listen under the hood. Rod knock.
not good.
The prospects for longevity of the engine were bleak, but it should've held up for at least awhile.
Then today on the way home from work, the little 4-cylinder transformed into a machine gun mimic. People on the sidewalk were diving for cover and drivers in adjacent vehicles sped up to avoid becoming a victim if the thing blew up. and you think i'm kidding. I'm 98.543% sure I now have a spun rod. I made it home (doing 25mph) and the piece of....pleasantry...is parked in the driveway.

not sure what I'm going to do now.

sure would be nice to hear back from Caterpillar in my hour of greatest financial dire straits...