In this conversational, vlog‑style video Chrystal Hurst recounts the emotional and logistical journey that led her from a 12‑year‑old Honda Odyssey to a brand‑new Ford Bronco. She begins by describing her deep attachment to the Odyssey—12 years, 200,000 miles, countless family memories, and a strong aversion to taking on a car payment. Family dynamics surface as her husband subtly pushes for a new vehicle while she wrestles with the idea of change. Chrystal and her friends (Joel, Jesse, and Michelle) discuss the car‑shopping process, including test drives of multiple Bronco prototypes (ash‑blue, silver bullet, sister‑circle yellow) and the excitement over features like the B&O sound system. Jesse, a friend with a Bronco, helps her locate the exact model she wants (Cyber Orange) and arranges a deal through a dealer featured on the CarPro Show. After a surprise delivery, Chrystal reflects on the transition, acknowledging the bittersweet farewell to the Odyssey and looking forward to creating new family memories in the Bronco, including upcoming trips to Pine Cove. The narrative blends humor, nostalgia, and enthusiasm, illustrating how personal values, family input, and serendipitous help shape a major purchase decision.
Chapters
So I got a new car. I kind of wanted it. I kind of didn't want it. It's kind of complicated. I said, "You want to take it for a spin?" He said, "Do you want to take it for a spin?" And then I took it and hauled it out 90 miles an hour going down the street, rode down real hard, turned a hard corner, and he said, "You like it, don't you?" And I said, "I like it." Okay, let's back up. I'll tell you who he is in just a minute. I want to give you the full spectrum of the whole journey. The odyssey begins with the Odyssey. For those who are not in the inner circle, you need to know is y'all know I have my car that I have loved for some time. I do not believe in having a car payment. I do not want a car payment. My wonderful car, my mama who's been with me 2012. So we're about to hit year 12. It has, she has about 200,000 miles on her, 199 and counting. And I don't care. I don't care that this don't work. I don't care that if I press this button, it sticks. And I literally had to buy a tool, like a, it's, what did I buy? I bought an ingrown toenail tool. So that I could pry the, uh, the button out. Because one time I spilled sweet tea in my car and a button sticks. When the button sticks, okay, none of the other buttons will work. So I have to use my ingrown toenail tool to pop out the button so the other buttons will work. I don't care because it gets me where I need to go. So I, uh have a background camera, but the sun was bright and I couldn't see. But I knew all the kids were inside, and so just backed up. But the thing is, my husband had moved his car, so the wonderful wife that I am, I busted up my car and his car. Now the thing is, they still run. I mean, you know, but my husband at this point is like, "Chrystal, you work. Go get a car." It's not that I didn't need a new car, because I needed one. It's not that I didn't want a new car.
I wanted one.
It's not even that I didn't want a new car payment, which I didn't want. It's really about all the memories in the car. Y'all, it's 12 years. 12 years of family memories in the Odyssey. It's not just about going to the camp and dropping off our kids. You have to understand that we went as a family every other year. Every year, y'all, this amazing camp in East Texas, Pine Cove. Man, it's become a part of our family fabric. All right, from camp drop-offs, Joel going from the crazy kid to to the crazy teenager.
Wait, can I see myself?
Can I see myself?
I'm trying to see myself.
Joel being correct. Joel.
Solid. JoJo.
Seeing Kanan go from camper to camp counselor. Much of your senior year. Have a great week!
Bye, Dado! Bye, Dado! Dado, dado! Hi guys!
And bringing the whole family together.
We're in Pine Cove! Look, Ellie! What? Woo-hoo! Baidu!
Summer! After summer.
Adrienne said we are Adrienne!
After summer.
Yeah! Woo! Yeah! Woo!
After summer.
I'm so hyped! Yeah! O-R-E-X!
Open road trips.
It's hot!
I need freeway air.
What are you—
are you talking to me? I hope you're not talking to me.
He is talking to you.
You better not be talking to me either.
I'm hot! Jesse!
The air is not working. Yeah, just don't bother me right now.
It's bothering me.
Don't bother you right now?
Yeah. Because you hot?
And everything in between. The last time I had a busted up car was in my 20s. Somebody rear-ended me from behind. The trunk popped open and wouldn't close. You want to know what I did for like 4 months? I took a rope, I tied that trunk down, and I drove around because I was just like, I'm not doing it. I'm not buying a car. I don't want a car payment. I just don't want to do it.
And I have 2 kids in college. I mean, what is happening?
Okay, wait. I was talking like I didn't want a new car, but I ended up taking a peek at a few cars and taking them for a spin. All right, y'all, but here's what I want to do. You ready for this? Sat in it. B&O sound system. It was amazing. I loved it. It's an ash blue Bronco. Then I sat in this one right here. That one was gorgeous. Silver bullet. Is what I call it. Listen, I'm getting tingles all over me just thinking about it. I love these cards. Then what had happened was I started looking at them again. So there's that one. Look at that beauty. Good grief. Amazeballs. And then look at this one. Is that Sister Circle Yellow? It is, uh, it is. You want to know what they want me to do? For these cars, you wanna know what they want me to do? Let me tell you what they want me to do for these cars. Let me tell you. You wanna hear it? Here it go. They want me to sell my soul. That's what they want me to do. My Odyssey has been good to me. And who messes with a good thing? My husband does. He's actually the he I was talking about. And then she had to bring in perspective.
Chrystal Hurst had been thinking about getting a car for a while, and then she finally called me and said, Jessie got the car for her. And I was like, "Yes, Jessie, yes." So when it comes to Chrystal and purchasing large items, she has to like let it marinate. She has to pull out the encyclopedia. She has to pull out a map. She needs to go to the library, do the duodec— is it duodecimal system? Everything before she makes a decision on anything. At some point, I thought, oh my gosh, just get a car. Just get a car. Get rid of this mom's minivan. It's gray, OK? It's time to have fun. Ma'am, you're in your 50s, actually beyond 50, you know what I'm saying? Life, let's enjoy life. Just get a car. Get a new one. It didn't have to be so that everybody can ride. Get a Porsche. I actually said get a Porsche. But I finally convinced her. I was just like, Chrystal, just jump. Throughout life, I think she has done what is right. She really wanted that Honda Prelude when it first came out, and I think that maybe she convinced herself not to get it because she was a mom. So what does a mom do? You know, you need a mom car. I feel that it was important to convince Chrystal Hurst to get the car, or encourage her to get it, because ultimately her decision to get the car. I feel like she deserved it, you know what I'm saying? Like, her kids are grown. She has one left in the house, so it's time to start enjoying life.
Like I said, my Odyssey has been good to me, but my husband brought me a new set of keys. It was 4 o'clock. He'd been there all day waiting, and, uh, At 4, he said, I don't want to get on the road this late. He's like, I don't— it's traffic time, all that. He said, I'm gonna leave, but I probably will stop, you know, somewhere. I'll maybe get to Austin or something like that. Okay, that's the whole tenor of our marriage, is him telling me one thing and something else is happening. So I said, where are you? I just passed through Austin. That's what he said. Pull over just a minute. I said, okay, yeah, because it's 9, and I was thinking The paperwork was done at 4:30, but see, Jesse could have stopped at some barbecue place. He could have stopped to go by a pawn shop to buy something for the car. He could have— ain't no tell— he could stop at Walmart to get some snacks. It could have been anything. He could have stopped at Buc-ee's. It could have been anything. So I was like, it's possible. And then traffic. So it wasn't within the realm of whatever. And I'm also trying not to hem him with a million questions. Are you lying to me? Are you really going to be here in 5 seconds? Because also if he was trying to surprise me, then that would have messed that up. So I just was a meek and quiet-spirited wife. I just said, okay, well, make sure you're, you know, stay safe. And then at about 9:30, Joel goes into full Joel mode and just comes storming out of the game room with no shirt on. And he, he says, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, boy, yeah, all right.
Runs out the door.
He's doing all that because he thinks this is his car. He's like, I'm driving in a year, she's gonna give it to me. That's what he thinks. So I gathered myself, he came to the door, and I said, so 23 years and you know me. He said, yeah, and I know this is probably the wrong way, but after 23 years you should know I'm gonna do it my way. Jesse likes to do things his way. But this time his way wasn't so bad.
One of my best friends have a Bronco and she saw it and she loved it. And he actually let us keep it for a week or two or something. He went out of town, he let us keep it for a long extended time. And she loved it. She started driving it and she really, really loved it. She said, "I like this car." So she's like, "I want a Bronco." Then she started She does, she, she, that's Chrystal Hurst. So that's what she, she went online, she looked for every, all the specs she wanted. She looked at every car she wanted. She looked at all the colors. She looked at the sound system. She looked at soft top, hard top, 2-door, 4-door. She did everything you can do to look for cars. And so she figured out she wanted Cyber Orange. She figured that out. So, uh, when she said it, uh, I perked up and I was like, okay, That was my goal, was like, let's get her what she wants.
So I said, okay. I said, you want to take it for a spin? He said, do you want to take it for a spin? Yes, let's take it for a spin. I said, do you need something to eat? Did you eat? Oh look, there he is. So we went and got fries and a Coke, and then I took it and hauled it out 90 miles an hour going down the street to make him feel like I was gunning it. Put the windows down. Made sure my phone was connected, turned the music all the way up, rode down real hard, turned a hard corner, and he said, "You like it, don't you?" And I said, "I like it." It's pretty. I literally took it outside and took out my phone, pulled up the Sister Circle logo, and was like, "This ain't too far off." I started to search, and I searched for months.
I've searched for months, months, months. I happened to find one, the exact one she wanted, and it was in San Antonio. So I called the dealer, and I listened to this car show every Saturday, and he happens to be on there. He's on the list of the CarPro Show. Called him, he gave me the CarPro Show deal. And here we are. So I drove down to San Antonio, rented a car one way, picked up the Bronco, and drove it back.
The question is, is it my car?
Is it your car? That's the question.
All right, all right, babe, she about to take the officer for a ride.
I need my phone so we can play some music though. I left it on the desk in there.
Woo!
It's the new bride! Okay, he listened to his talk radio stuff. Okay, who's getting in the first ride?
In the back.
Although I've created many beautiful memories with my family in the Odyssey, I guess it's time for me to create even more beautiful memories in the Bronco. We have to take Kaden to Pine Cove tomorrow, but we're leaving— what did you say, what time?
Uh, 11:30, I would say.
Probably be best. I'll be home in the morning for sure. He said he wants to leave around 11:30.
30.
Where do I put it? Um, put it in there in the office and bring it up.
I still— I have not packed my clothes. Okay.
So this whole journey of unexpectedly getting a Bronco, which I love looking at on the internet, but having a key in my hand, moving from thinking about it to actually driving it, uh, it's almost like me accepting the fact that a season has passed. And that it's also time, and it's good to embrace a new future, that I can still have fun and build memories in a different way. And it doesn't have to involve me being able to seat 8. In fact, it doesn't even involve me having a little sunroof. It can involve me having the sky all the way around and enjoying the season of my life. It took my husband pushing a little bit, and it took Michelle reminding me that it's okay just to have fun and to live out loud right now. So I guess you could say that this has been the Odyssey to the Yellow Bronco.
