not the disney pixar movie. not an acronym for some fancy thing like, Caring, Agile, Rhythmic, Skater (um, pulled that outta my bum). but a pile of metal (or more likely, really hard plastic) with four wheels and a coupla lights. a car, car.
since i can remember i’ve always had a thing for them. like, i may not remember a person’s name but i can tell you what kind of car they drive. in the late 80′s when my dad and step mom bought a sable wagon instead of the dodge caravan i so desperately craved, i was crushed. at 9 years old i was helping my mom car shop and fell in love with this way over priced mini-van of sorts by nissan called the axxess (apparently, we were like the only suckers; never saw another besides ours) because i was so smitten, my mom stretched her budget to appease me. i was so stoked.
my memory is jogged not by pictures or trinkets but by the car i was riding/driving/noticing at that time. like my mom’s first brand new car, a vw golf, with a sunroof (it was way beyond cool in those days) that she let me hang out of while we rode down my grandparent’s road (please don’t turn her in. my life was never in danger, really.) and my dad’s super cool 1991 (i think) volkswagen gti. the seats were like a race car’s and had a funky red and black pattern (suppose they still do?). i used to think it was wicked fast. when i was 15 it was the first manual car i drove for any distance. my dad came to pick me up, passed me the keys and said something along the lines of, “you can drive”. like two + hours to his house. i think i may have pooped in my pants, but i tried like hell to act cool, calm and collected. i’m not sure my white knuckled fingers left 10 and 2. i’m fairly certain at least 5 cars swerved, beeped and cussed me out along the way. but we made it. and i’ll never forget it.
now, i don’t do mechanical stuff. checking oil and adding it is about as much as i can handle. my 1991 honda civic had a leaky trunk which led to soggy rear brake lights and i figured how to change those (like every other day). but by and large i stick to studying the designs, makes and models. when i’m on the highway i try to name the passing or approaching vehicles as quickly as possible. only rarely do i need to get up close to inspect. and by the way, this part is kind of a secret. no one i regularly drive with knows this. it happens inside the walls of my brain and really, should probably stay there. but today, i’ve decided to let you in on the secret. please don’t think i’m any more delusional or deranged than you did already.
i try not to judge people by the car they drive. but sometimes, like the shoes you wear, it’s inevitable. by ‘judge’ it’s not in a discriminatory or a i’m-better-than-you way. it’s just like how you can usually match a dog to its owner. some things just, well, go together. and i’m fascinated by that. with that said, i’ll let you judge me. in order, here are the cars i’ve driven the last 12 years:
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- 1991 honda civic lx
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- 1996 toyota camry
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- 1999 vw beetle (raffle prize. seriously)
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- 1993 (ish) vw eurovan “maggie”
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- 2002 vw golf
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- 2003 nissan pathfinder
