cars

I have owned four cars in my life. Only the first one was purchased for me. We grew up poor but not as bad off as others. I think I was fairly aware of that as a teenager. But like every teenager, I wanted what it seemed everyone else had. A sweet ride.

My first car was an '89 Ford Probe. It was April '93. Yes, that's right. I had to wait two whole months of my 16th year without a car of my own. The horror. I'm not quite sure how I ended up with that car. We were looking at used Hondas because they were safe and reliable. I think I ended up with the Probe primarily because my mother--with her one, small income--could get credit at that dealership. I loved that car. It had a digital readout that told you mystical things like your gas mileage. It had a CD player. I didn't even have any CDs yet. And it just seemed cool. Oh, and had pop-up headlights.

In April '97, I decided to send the Probe on its way. Mom had died months before so I had the money to buy a car. Since I was planning on going to grad school up north somewhere (anywhere), I decided to buy an SUV. Ah, the good ol' days of cheaper gas prices... My '94 Toyota 4-Runner was da bomb. (Are you seeing how I'm matching the lingo to the times? Who says "sweet ride" or "da bomb" nowadays?) I didn't miss my old car much. This one was so much fun and so manly. I felt tough. Like a lumberjack. Well, at least I did when I bought my Christmas tree and strapped it to the top of my red SUV. I could off-road if I wanted to. I could move furniture. It was the first time I had leather seats and a sunroof. It was a nice car. Nicer than a 20-year-old needed. But I drove that thing into the ground.

November '04 rolled around. The 4-Runner hadn't had any major problems, just a few things here and there. I was coming up on the end of my two year sentence at UTMB and was hoping to move into what I'm doing now. I knew I'd be making lots of trips to the airport and didn't want to end up missing a flight because of an old, broken-down car. Out of necessity, I bought my first new car. An '05 Honda CR-V. This was the first car I bought on my own. With my own money, not money I inherited. I did the wheelin' and dealin'. I made the payments. It was a decision in practicality. I didn't love it but I liked it a lot. It served its purpose.

Not long after buying it, though, I was already dreaming of other cars. What's that about? I had loved my first cars so much I didn't want to get rid of them for several years. This was a new car--my only new car--and yet I liked it the least. I stuck with it because I had cheap payments, the car worked well, and I was determined to buy a house. Why would I want any more of my income to go towards a different car when it could be getting me one step closer to my very own home? Then I had the house but was a bit freaked out about the payments. Turns out I really can afford it. That's a nice feeling. So I started thinking more seriously about a different car.

Kind of on a whim and kind of not, I bought the '04 Saab 9-3 on Monday. Yes, it's a year older. However, it has 11k fewer miles. Go figure. I really do like this car. It was a compromise between the very practical side of me and the side that wanted to just be young and fun. The other cars I pondered before were very small. Most had no backseat and little (if any) trunk space. Like not enough to fit my luggage. The Saab has more luxury than the CR-V for sure. Leather seats like the 4-Runner, a similar fancy digital readout like the Probe, some other stuff I'm not yet sure how to use... But it has a backseat and a reasonable size trunk even with the top down. It's fits people and luggage. And, like cph told me, it's sassy. I can live with sassy.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Aahhh cars.........I can honestly say that I have loved every car I have owned. Maybe it's a boy thing but having a car that I like has always been important. I even have pictures of my cars around the house like other people do their friends and family. Here is my list of past and present loves.

'67 Mustang
'87 Mustang LX 5.0
'92 Camaro B4C (cop car)
'94 Chevy Z71
'90 Corvette
'77 Jeep CJ5
'99 Chevy Z71
'02 Ford King Ranch Edition 4X4

The Brother
cjm said…
Hey, what about that ghetto car that never ran? Was it a Datsun? And I thought the Mustang was a '68.
Anonymous said…
Yes, it was a '68; I've hear Jarred talking about '67's too much lately; and yes I did leave off the Datsun. It was never allowed to reach it's full potential.
Hubby and I have had about 16 cars since we've been married! Before him I had a couple, so I'm getting pretty close to 20. That's ridiculous. But it's only because he's in the car business and we get nice opportunities.

Love the Travel Horoscope thing! Here's mine:

Travel Horoscope for Libra

When you travel, you want to relax and laze around.
You want a vacation that doesn't demand too much of you. It's time to refuel.

You should travel to:

Napa Valley
Morocco
Ireland
The Gold Coast of Australia
Any small private island

Sounds good to me!!!!!!
Anonymous said…
Wow i feel behind. I have only had three cars. but i think you are getting may car dreaming though.
Anonymous said…
I drove my co-worker's saab the other day and fell. in. love.

swoon.

congrats again!
StaceyG said…
It's so funny how we get attached to cars. I remember being emotional when trading in a couple of old ones...
Katie Lady said…
I've had 5 cars since I started driving myself to school at age 14. Yes, I'm from the sticks. My first car was a '76 Pinto. Nice.

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