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Writer's Block: My First Car
May. 3rd, 2008 10:22 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]My first car was a 1983 Brick Red 240 Volvo Stationwagon. Its name was Green. My parents gave it to me when i graduated from college. That car saw me through numerous trips from Pittsburgh to Connecticut and back, and also on huge numbers of hiking trips and one drive across the country. Eventually i had to be realistic and realize that it was costing me more in upkeep than it would cost me to buy a new car, so i moved on. But thats not to say that i never missed it.
Sometimes i still do. Sometimes i see a 240 in good shape on the side of the road and i consider leaving a note asking if the owner will sell it to me.
Among the reasons i miss my old car is because i liked the person i was in relationship to the car. I did the maintainance myself, within reason. I put in a new water pump, i cleaned and reset the valve clearances while putting in a new head gasket, i installed a tachometer. I liked being someone with mechanical competence. I used the car to go everywhere. I expected it to get dirty, and filled it with muddy gear, and drove baby's across Pennsylvania, and slept in it in a very rain rain forest. I liked being someone whose car was a beloved tool.
My current car is a 2001 Subaru Outback. It is also a go-anywhere, do-anything car. Its starting to show its age, which makes me feel a bit more at home with it. Even though it is still a 'new' car. Right now it has sand in it, and a bike rack on the roof, and a new clutch, which surprisingly, it didn't need until 60K miles. But, i don't work on it myself, and i haven't yet slept in it, and its been no further east than Spokane. I guess there is time.
Sometimes i still do. Sometimes i see a 240 in good shape on the side of the road and i consider leaving a note asking if the owner will sell it to me.
Among the reasons i miss my old car is because i liked the person i was in relationship to the car. I did the maintainance myself, within reason. I put in a new water pump, i cleaned and reset the valve clearances while putting in a new head gasket, i installed a tachometer. I liked being someone with mechanical competence. I used the car to go everywhere. I expected it to get dirty, and filled it with muddy gear, and drove baby's across Pennsylvania, and slept in it in a very rain rain forest. I liked being someone whose car was a beloved tool.
My current car is a 2001 Subaru Outback. It is also a go-anywhere, do-anything car. Its starting to show its age, which makes me feel a bit more at home with it. Even though it is still a 'new' car. Right now it has sand in it, and a bike rack on the roof, and a new clutch, which surprisingly, it didn't need until 60K miles. But, i don't work on it myself, and i haven't yet slept in it, and its been no further east than Spokane. I guess there is time.
