By: Revanche

My ride: the non-clunker

April 20, 2007

I was just reading TFJ’s post on his pimpmobile and admiring the rustwerks on the driver’s side.

Last week, I was struck by my coworker’s reaction to my car. Since I usually take the train to work everyday, and rarely ever talk about the details of my personal life, my car’s never come up in conversation. None of us are really car fanatics, either, so it’s a fairly low priority topic.

She drives a 5-year-old automatic Honda Accord, new to her, that her dad just bought her for Chinese New Year.

Coworker #2 drives a … manual Honda Civic that she’s had for a while.

I drive my beloved 2003 Toyota Celica that I bought new, when Pa couldn’t play Twister-car-scheduling with me anymore due to his new job in the city. Since I couldn’t convince the Padres that a new car wasn’t necessary (just because I was a girl and couldn’t do all the typical car maintenance on my own) I did my poor best to find, negotiate for and purchase a new car. Ironically, I take better care of my car than BroDucky does his.

Yes, I shouldn’t have gotten a 2-door as a 21-year-old. Yes, I overpaid by a thousand or so. Yes, I made some rookie mistakes. But I didn’t get utterly screwed: I dealt with the Fleet department who found 4.9% financing for me, which wasn’t terrible for my 3-year-old credit history, and I paid that note off in two-and-a-half years. Insurance was expensive, but I was a good student so that helped offset the increase, and I put myself back on the family’s insurance to help with that cost as well.

But, apparently, something about me doesn’t project the image of someone who’d be driving something like my car, I guess I look like someone who’d drive TFJ’s car. I think. She blurted: I can’t believe you drive that car! It’s so … zippy! And sporty! It’s a little rice rocket! (*Car’s note: my car is not a rice rocket. She is in no way “riced out” and wants the readership to know this.*)

I’m not ever had someone pre-categorize me as a particular sort of car owner before. It’s a little weird.

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