Five Cars I've Had
197? Dodge Duster - This was the first car I drove on a regular basis. My family had a thing for Dusters, and between all of us owned at least 3-5 at one time. They had big, powerful engines, very unlike today's cars. The inside was a mess (truly, it was) most of the time and often smelled like Crazy Bread from many trips with my sister and friends to Little Ceasars. Once I left the window open at night and a stray cat peed in the back. -It was LONG time before that smell left. Despite the mess and the smell, my dad put an AWESOME stereo in it for me. It was a good car for a 16 year old.
1978 Fiat Mirafiori - It was love at first sight! When I was 17, I saw a little silver car on the side of the road with $200 painted on the wind shield. I told my dad about it, and he bought it for me! Then, he and my uncle spent MANY hours getting it to run well. A combination of their tinkering and Italian engineering made it the best handled car I've ever driven. I could weave in and out of traffic and take corners at speeds I would shudder at today. My sister, a friend and I had fun posing on top of it, trying to look like sexy models atop a zippy European car. Good times.
1983 Dodge Turismo - After the Fiat went the way of all old cars, I got a Dodge Turismo. This, too, had a big engine and also had louvers on the back window, which somehow were "cool" back then. The front bucket seats were soft and plush, but the back seat was small and hard and difficult to get to. In a fit of rage (truly, it was rage) after sitting there to and from California, a friend called it "the rat cage." Just thinking of the episode makes me laugh. The name stuck and forever more we either sat in "front" or in the "rat cage."
1995 Mercury Tracer - This was the first car I actually paid for myself. It was brand new when I bought it after graduating from college. I loved that car. It was my faithful friend for 13 years. It went as far north as Cardston, Alberta, Canada and as far south as San Diego. It was the road-trip-car-of-choice for my friends and me and carried us all over the Intermountain West. It safely took me to work and to visit family and friends. When it finally went the way of all old cars last winter, I could barely look at it parked by my house for the Kidney Foundation to pick up. I suffered from separation anxiety when it was gone. Pathetic, but true.
Bleu, My 2008 Ford Focus - Bleu is the first car I've named. It is a unique color for an American car. I think of more European cars being that shade of blue, so I named it Bleu (as in the salad dressing). I did not like it at first. I wasn't ready for a new car when my Tracer gave out six months earlier than I planned on buying one. Combine that with the separation anxiety of being parted from my faithful friend, and you get bitterness for blue steel. Fortunately, I got over it before Bleu developed an insecurity complex. I love it now, and even missed it dearly when it had to spend the night in the car hospital a few weeks ago.
On a related note... I'm very glad to have a car and to always have had a car. Since the day I got my license on my 16th birthday, I've never been without a car. My family didn't have much money, but my parents did make sure we always had wheels to drive.
Fun post. You remembered each car individually and with detail. When one gets married at 19, one never really has a car of her own, but I remember a '55 Ford wagon, '61 Chevy Impala, '64 Buick Skylark (terrific car), '7? Subaru, '80 Oldsmobile Omega (lasted forever), '84 Chevy Blazer.....there's more, but you get the idea.
ReplyDeleteI actually love the '07 Toyota Avalon I drive now.