So after my trusted mechanic told me that the car I’ve been driving for most of the past decade will last to “about the end of the summer,” I’ve begun the process of shopping for a new car—well, “new” to me, anyway. I’ve only bought “new” once, and although it worked out well, I just can’t see throwing away the thousands of dollars that occur by simply driving something off a lot.
Of course, as I prepare to move on to a new car, I have been thinking about
Five of My Favorite Rides
1. 2002 Subaru Outback –
This is my current car, and to be honest, I’ve beaten the heck out of it. (Maybe you haven’t guessed, but I am *a bit* of an aggressive driver.) It has certainly handled my abuse well, never having broken down on the side of the road. (Although it hasn’t started a few times.) Living on top of a pretty steep hill, the all-wheel drive has been very welcome, and after 150,000+ hard miles—including having covered most of Connecticut—plus countless trips to soccer games and karate classes as well as having untold amounts of Goldfish and other snacks ground into its backseat, it has earned its retirement.
2. 1998 Subaru Outback – This was the car we sold about a year-and-a-half ago, and like the Subaru I have now, it served us pretty well with its all-wheel drive, although this one did break down a few times on us. Still, I’ve never driven a car that handled better in the snow, and that includes having owned a 4×4. This was the car we brought our second son home from the hospital in, and also the one he threw up in more than a few times. The “Check Engine” light was inexplicably on for the better part of 21st century, and by the end, we couldn’t open the driver’s side window. Which is more important than you think, especially at ATMs and drive-thru windows.
3. 1978 Datsun B210 –
Not mine, but bright yellow like the one I had—wow, the intrawebz has everything!
This is the first car that was ever “mine,” in that my parents bought it and by the time I was in high school and could drive, I “inherited” it—I had to pick up my dad from the train station every night in order to use it, but it was certainly worth it! This was the car in which I got my license when I turned 16, and it saw all sorts of high school hijinx, including multiple trips to Shea Stadium and the beach as well as the occasional jaunt to “The Spot” down by railroad tracks. [*wink wink, nudge nudge*] One time in high school, my buddy Milo and I forced ourselves to share this car with seven girls—we were packed tight, but you know, we managed.
This car was also witness to one of the more amusing auto anecdotes I can recall. One summer night, me and five of my buddies—including Senior Smoke—decided to go to the old Riverside Park in Agawam. Since we thought we couldn’t all fit in one car (we would be proven wrong later*), we took two cars—I drove the Datsun and my buddy Booth drove his old AMX Javelin, and we split with three of us in each car. After loading up with all sorts of supplies—candy, snacks and one big bottle of Coke—we headed out on the highway in a mini caravan. Senior Smoke was riding shotgun with Booth, and as they passed me and my crew in the Datsun going about 70 mph, he decided to shake up the Coke and point it out the window at my Datsun, with the intent of spraying it all over us.
Senior Smoke is a very, very smart guy, but let’s say at age 18, he hadn’t quite mastered the intricacies of aerodynamics and moving vehicles quite yet. As the agitated soda started gushing out of the bottle, the wind from the highway immediately directed it back into the Javelin and all over the place! It was complete chaos as the soda was shooting out everywhere like a Mentos had been dropped in—at one point, Senior Smoke even tried to put the spouting bottle in his mouth, but that didn’t work. They were all drenched in a matter of seconds, and it was absolutely hysterical. How I didn’t wreck my car from laughing so hard, I don’t know.
[*On the way home, Booth’s car broke down and we all piled into the Datsun. Let’s just say it wasn’t nearly as fun as having seven teenaged girls sitting on top of you.]
Sadly, this car was totaled when I got hit from behind while slowing down for an accident on the highway. Senior Smoke’s brother was with me—we were carpooling to SCSU together—and I’ll never forget the woman who had crashed into us. After we pulled over, she looked at her barely smashed-in bumper and then at my absolutely crushed trunk and said, “Gee … I guess I hit you.”
No frackwit, I put it in reverse at 40 mph on the highway and rammed you! GAAAAAAHHH!
I hated people, even back then. On the plus side, I did get to make a “Okay, the good news is that I’m not really hurt, but …” phone call to my dad. Yay for that.
4. 1981 Dodge Omni – The first car I ever bought myself—a used bargain at $1,000—and it saw a lot of action, too. It was also easy to see in action as it was lifeguard trunks orange. This car got me through most of college, and did it fairly reliably, even if it wasn’t exactly the “coolest” vehicle. Not to sound like a Bon Jovi song, but let’s just say I lost something in the backseat of this car and I never got it back.
5. 1987 Toyota 4×4 – Ahh, it’s true …
(And yes, I have this on my iTunes)
The second vehicle I ever purchased with my own money, and the only vehicle I ever bought brandy new! I had it for 17 years (almost longer than I’ve had my wife!), and if it didn’t essentially rust away from the frame, I’d still have it.
It was a great truck in a lot of ways, although it had 2-40 a/c [two windows rolled down and going 40 mph]. You also had to get out of it to lock the hubs so it would work in four-wheel drive, which sort of sucked in snow and rain. Having a truck also meant that I was always available to help other people move, which I did quite often.
As it was the first vehicle I had bought brand new, I didn’t let anyone else drive my baby for the first dozen years or so I had it. Apparently however, once I was away on vacation in Montana, my dad “borrowed” it—I had marked where I had parked it in the driveway before I left, and it clearly had been moved when I came back. Yeah, I was a bit protective. Or had issues. Or both.
The weirdest thing is that in the 17 years I had it, I never changed a flat. Not once. I had a spare under the bed, but I didn’t even knew how to lower it because I never needed it. For all I know, it was flat, too! Also weird is that despite owning it for all that time, I only have one picture of it that I know about (and can’t find right now). It was taken just before I got rid of it, and it was my two sons—then 5 and 3—playing in the cab. I always hoped it would last long enough for them to inherit it, but that just didn’t turn out that way.
Maybe my new car will have a few stories for them to inherit—wonder if Senior Smoke will be up for a trip to Riverside?