Car Talk..Girl Style

This was my first love, a 1977 silver blue Camaro with black interior. It took me everywhere I wanted to go, did everything I wanted it to do, and it was mine all mine!! Never cheated on me. I bought it brand spanking new in Chicago when I was just 19 year's old.  If this car could have talked it would have told many stories of the adventures we had while living in Illinois, Colorado and finally in Arizona. Maybe it's better it couldn't talk. By the time I sold it to a teenager in Coolidge, Arizona the floorboard on the driver's side was worn clear through. You could see the asphalt beneath your feet. I moved shortly after selling it, thank goodness, because it would have made me sad to see anyone else behind the driver's wheel. Besides, I had not taken the best care of my first love as I should have. Granted, I had it painted once... turquoise and pearl white by an auto body painter from Detroit who I lived with at the time.  I liked my Camaro better than him eventually. Still,  he made it shine. I replaced the transmission twice, mostly because I neglected to check the transmission fuel. Shameful! I beat this poor thing to the ground and when I look back I  regret that I didn't take better care of my first love. I think I sold it in 1991 for $500.  That's about all it was worth due to my, sigh, using it and abusing it. We all have a first car that we will always remember. I have liked all my cars except that 1986 Dodge Mini Van that I swear hated me. I just looked at it and something would break. I should have broken up with the mini van from hell right away but....I stayed way too long in that relationship.

Here is a long ago photo of my friend Debbie who've I've known since we were both pom pom girls in high school. She loved this van. She had better luck with her van than I did with mine. She bought it in Illinois, too, and took it to Denver. She eventually painted it herself, with some instruction from my auto painter boyfriend from Detroit,  and put in a kick ass stereo system, too. It was the ultimate party van back in the good old days. And, in a pinch, if you had a bit too much to drink you could always sleep in the back. She used up this van, too, and I'm not quite sure if she sold it or it was junked. She's had many loves since then, currently she's with a Chevy or maybe it's a Ford.

Been thinking of cars lately because I just sold this truck last month. I never fell in love with this truck though it was nice looking. Don't miss him a bit. We just didn't connect.  Took me eight months on Craig's List to sell this Nissan.  I gained respect for car salesman because everyone out there is looking for a deal and even if you put "firm" people want to bargain. That's okay. I'm a writer and it's important I meet a lot of odd balls such as the guy who took one look at the truck from a distance and said "it needs brakes". Or another guy, it was always guys cause they like trucks, picked a rose off one of my bushes to give a lady at the trailer park where he lived. Sure he had the money to buy my truck. Not.

Anyway, now I'm one of those freaky people looking for a vehicle on Craig's list. I try to not pick people's roses though.

Right now I'm driving my 1996 Nissan. The good thing about having an old used car is that you don't have to worry about ruining it with bumper stickers. I bought my 1996 Nissan brand new and I have taken very good care of her, unlike my poor Camaro, I make sure to check the fluids and I have a great mechanic who I trust and who has taken care of my Nissan since day one. I appreciate my car, she's been like a reliable dear old friend, but  I'm ready for a change. I want flash and fun!

This is the car I want now. He's gorgeous! In Chicago, I grew up seeing women cruising around my suburb in big boats like these all the time. My mother had a Gran Torino, lime with a dark green roof, and she would put a scarf over her bouffant, spritz on the perfume and go have lunch with her girlfriends and drink pink drinks and giggle. Now I am at the same, shall we say, mature age and I want comfort and style and plushness. I want passion. Sigh. But not yet. Maybe someday I'll get my impractical, snazzy Cadillac. In the meantime, looks like I'll be buying something sensible and used on Craig's List. I guess we all dream of that perfect car, but we have to kiss a lot of frogs before we find our prince.