The color looks familiar, doesn't it?
And here is my cool sunroof. Never had one of those before! Lots of button, lights, and features that are slowly introducing me to twenty-first century automobiles.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Vibe
So here is my new shiny car....
The color looks familiar, doesn't it?
And here is my cool sunroof. Never had one of those before! Lots of button, lights, and features that are slowly introducing me to twenty-first century automobiles.
The color looks familiar, doesn't it?
And here is my cool sunroof. Never had one of those before! Lots of button, lights, and features that are slowly introducing me to twenty-first century automobiles.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Corolla
I have driven my maroon 1995 Toyota Corolla since March of 1996 when my dad so kindly purchased it for me. He chose this car for me because it was safe, with its two airbags, and it was reliable, because it is a Toyota. I, however, really wanted this silver 1969 Pontiac Bonneville convertible that was a boat, unsafe, and I'm sure very unreliable. I hate to say it, but Dad has been right on a lot of important decisions that needed to be made.
I ended up loving my car right from the start. It had real get-up-and-go, it could hold a bunch of my friends, only got stuck in the snow twice and stuck in mud once (all my fault not the car's) and the best part about it was the freedom that came with it. It was really the first time I felt like I was a grown-up and I could go where ever I wanted. The sky was the limit, literally (I never dared to take her off any "sweet" jumps).
I really felt that all-American freedom (I know it is a Japanese car but some of the parts were made in America and it was assembled in the United States) when I moved to South Dakota. Open road, open sky, a girl, and her car. What more could you ask for? She and I had many adventures and she never failed me, even with my oil change neglect and spark plug ignorance.
Over the years she has needed a little more TLC, thanks goodness as I was moving farther and farther away from my home and my mechanic (Dad) I found a good boyfriend that was willing to keep her moving.
As life kept moving forward, I moved farther, the boyfriend became the husband and the Corolla's color and interior kept fading but kept running along.
So you are probably wondering where is ode to the Corolla is coming from. Well last week through no fault of her own, she was parked in my office parking lot and a gentleman driving a huge Chevy Avalanche reversed into the back and side of her. I was in shock as my boss, who's office overlooks the parking lot, yelled, "Kim! Someone just ran into your car!" I ran down to find her bruised and broken. I told myself, "It will be OK we'll just get it fixed and she'll look like "new" again." Jonathan went to get estimates the next day and called me to come down to the car to chat about it. I left my office and wondered why he didn't want to just come up to talk to me. He told me the news. The Corolla was totaled, her damage exceeded her worth. I bawled and thanked Jonathan for making me come down to the car to talk as he knew what my reaction would be and knew I would be embarrassed to cry in front of my coworkers.
I never thought in all her years that her demise would come from being parked at the office. I thought she would grown old gracefully and end up being that car that was parked on the back of a big piece of property Jonathan and I would someday own. Halfway covered by a tarp, a wheel or two missing or off-kilter, always coming in handy when you needed a part or just drive to the other side of the property, but didn't want to take the "nice"car.
So, now I'm shopping for a new car, 12 years since the first. I'm sure it will be clean, shiny, and have that new car smell. I'm excited about all the possibilities, but some how I know I will always miss the Corolla with her faded upholstery, permanent Coca-Cola stain on the side of the drivers seat, and Batman toy from when I worked at Subway as a Junior in High School hanging of the rear view mirror.
I ended up loving my car right from the start. It had real get-up-and-go, it could hold a bunch of my friends, only got stuck in the snow twice and stuck in mud once (all my fault not the car's) and the best part about it was the freedom that came with it. It was really the first time I felt like I was a grown-up and I could go where ever I wanted. The sky was the limit, literally (I never dared to take her off any "sweet" jumps).
I really felt that all-American freedom (I know it is a Japanese car but some of the parts were made in America and it was assembled in the United States) when I moved to South Dakota. Open road, open sky, a girl, and her car. What more could you ask for? She and I had many adventures and she never failed me, even with my oil change neglect and spark plug ignorance.
Over the years she has needed a little more TLC, thanks goodness as I was moving farther and farther away from my home and my mechanic (Dad) I found a good boyfriend that was willing to keep her moving.
As life kept moving forward, I moved farther, the boyfriend became the husband and the Corolla's color and interior kept fading but kept running along.
So you are probably wondering where is ode to the Corolla is coming from. Well last week through no fault of her own, she was parked in my office parking lot and a gentleman driving a huge Chevy Avalanche reversed into the back and side of her. I was in shock as my boss, who's office overlooks the parking lot, yelled, "Kim! Someone just ran into your car!" I ran down to find her bruised and broken. I told myself, "It will be OK we'll just get it fixed and she'll look like "new" again." Jonathan went to get estimates the next day and called me to come down to the car to chat about it. I left my office and wondered why he didn't want to just come up to talk to me. He told me the news. The Corolla was totaled, her damage exceeded her worth. I bawled and thanked Jonathan for making me come down to the car to talk as he knew what my reaction would be and knew I would be embarrassed to cry in front of my coworkers.
I never thought in all her years that her demise would come from being parked at the office. I thought she would grown old gracefully and end up being that car that was parked on the back of a big piece of property Jonathan and I would someday own. Halfway covered by a tarp, a wheel or two missing or off-kilter, always coming in handy when you needed a part or just drive to the other side of the property, but didn't want to take the "nice"car.
So, now I'm shopping for a new car, 12 years since the first. I'm sure it will be clean, shiny, and have that new car smell. I'm excited about all the possibilities, but some how I know I will always miss the Corolla with her faded upholstery, permanent Coca-Cola stain on the side of the drivers seat, and Batman toy from when I worked at Subway as a Junior in High School hanging of the rear view mirror.
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