Marriage/relationship maintenance guide for dummies

When it comes to relationship sometimes folks aren't sure how much "maintenance" is enough, I've thought of a way so that men/women (especially men) can put relationship in context of something we all know well enough to understand. I'm equating relationship to automobiles. It goes like this:

Essential:
gas = sex
schedule maintenance (tune-ups, oil changes) = anniversary, birthdays, valentines
wear-tear maintenance (brakes, tires, shocks, etc..) = vacations

Nice to do, but not necessary:
car wash = dinner out, movies
detailing = special night out

This should help us all understand how much "maintenance" our relationship requires to be in good running condition. In the same way our car does not run/look well if we neglect the items above, our relationship suffers as well. You can put off some of the items for a little bit, but if you go too long without proper maintenance the car/relationship will stop working.

We will look at other aspects of the car-relationship model at some later point. Hope this was useful to you.