I know. You thought it was going to be a person, didn’t you? Since it's coming up on the month for lovers and all…but my secret love is different.
I love cars. All kinds of cars. I think I could be a car salesman if I were a guy. I’m not sure what all the technical jargon means, and don’t really even care that much. I just know what I like.
My first car was a 1962 Chevy Impala that I had to share with my sister, who was divorced and had moved back home with her two kids. I had my first wreck in that car. I was coming out of the parking lot at one of our high school football games and turned the corner too sharply, hitting the end of a 3’ tall rail fence. I scratched the back passenger side door all the way back to the wheel well.
My next car was a 67 Impala. Now, the wreck I had in this one was not my fault, and it was so freakish that I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it happening to anyone else. I was on my way to college one morning, and a West Virginia State Road Dept. truck was merging onto the interstate. His back wheel axle broke and half of it, with the tire still attached, crossed three lanes of traffic and stuck into my front tire. I loved that car because it was all mine—but after that, the frame was wrecked.
When I met my husband, he’d just bought a hot little car—a German made engine for Mercury graced the “Capri”. It was a 1974 ½ “special edition” car. I learned to drive a stick shift on it, and that car is still my all time favorite car we ever owned.
I think we’ve had about every type of car, truck or SUV out there. Favorite SUV? My Isuzu Rodeo, hands down. I’d still be driving it if the transmission hadn’t quit. Favorite truck? The Ford Explorer Sportrack. Beautiful, great to drive, but about as “un-functional” as a truck could be. My brother-in-law, the wisecracking lawyer, told my husband it had a “vanity bed” in it. We still laugh at that—it was true—there was nothing you could haul in that thing.
I have to admit, when it’s time to go look for a new car, I don’t dread it at all. I know what I want, and I know what the payment has to be to make it work. My husband tells his buddies that they should take me car shopping with them. I’m a tough nut to crack. Here's what I negotiated for the last time we went--a Chevy Cruze. I love it--it's got a killer Pioneer stereo system in it, and what's more, it never costs more than about $25 to fill it up. Yes, I loved my Silverado we had just before this, but...the gas was almost more than the mortgage payment.
My secret guilty pleasure? I LOVE watching Velocity TV. Wheeler Dealer, Pimp My Ride, Orange County Customs, Mecum auto auctions…yep. I get mesmerized, and I’ll watch those shows for hours. I look at the clock and feel like I’ve been sucked into a vortex somehow, of these never-ending car shows. I have to force myself to get up and go to the grocery store.
Anyone else out there like me? What’s your favorite car you’ve ever owned? Any memorable “car tales” you want to share?
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