Cars in Dreams
Over the course of my life, I've owned only 7 cars. I know that might be kind of hard to believe, but I tend to hold onto my vehicles for a long time before I grow tired of them or they just get too expensive to maintain. I mean hell…I had my first MINI nearly fourteen years!
But never in all my years of automobile ownership has any of those vehicles appeared in my dreams with such frequency and regularity as my latest MINI, affectionately known as Rabbit.
Almost from the first night after I drove him home he's been popping up in my dreams, sometimes navigating through impossibly tight spaces and turns that would be impossible in the real world.
So far at least, he hasn't taken flight—something heretofore reserved only for my beloved '95 Eclipse, and the meaning of which was abundantly clear at the time—but I wouldn't be surprised if it did happen with Rabbit.
What about you? Do your cars appear in your dreams?
Still Too Gorgeous For It's Own Good
Especially since we are entering the period of a couple dozen days each year when in Phoenix you can actually drive with the top down.
Beautiful
One of my dream cars in High School.
The Future We Were Promised
Teenage Dreams Part Deux
I was in love with the Camero until I saw this.
What a Beauty!
I love that color combination.
If I Had the Down Payment Handy…
…I'd be all over this. It's exactly what I want. I'd even be willing to pay the $100 to have Carmax ship it from Henderson down to Phoenix.
2016, low mileage (should easily get another ten years out of it without the major problems starting), and very reasonable payments on a 5-year loan.
Looking at a Well-Earned Retirement
No, not me. That's not for several years yet.
I'm talking about my faithful Anderson, the MINI that's been at my side for the last thirteen years. He's reaching the age where the expensive repairs are starting to pop up, and while it can be argued that it's probably more cost effective to drop $1200 for a new power steering pump and $1800 for a new clutch (both of which I'm staring down the barrel of this year) rather than shelling out $400 a month for the next five years, the long-term sustainability of a car of Anderson's vintage really comes into question.
I've looked at new MINIs. As I've gotten older, I'm realizing I need something a little higher off the ground than my current vehicle. I do like the MINI Countryman (which does ride higher than the standard MINI), but it's at the high end of my budget for a basic build, and I discovered while looking last night that it's now apparently impossible to get a MINI with a manual transmission.*
I'm sorry, but having to shift is half the fun of driving these cars. I grew up driving sticks, and with only one exception (the New Beetle I owned prior to Anderson) they've all been manual.
I didn't hate the Beetle's automatic. It got me from point A to point B, but the moment I got behind the wheel of a manual MINI, I'd forgotten how much fun it was to drive.
So I'm looking at a Jeep Renegade. The Renegade caught my eyes years ago (especially in the neon colors I saw them), and I thought I'd check them out.
They too, are only available with automatic transmissions, but they fit nicely in my budget, and repairs down the line (something I definitely need to keep in mind as I face retirement) are bound to be less than the BMW-manufactured MINI.
I can get a Jeep Wrangler new with a 6-speed manual, but I really don't see myself as a Wrangler kind of guy. Maybe when I was a buff 25-year old, but those days are long gone…
Yeah, I could look at gently-used MINIs that have sticks, but then we're back to the down-the-road maintenance costs.
I'm not saying any of this is going to happen immediately, but I know it's going to happen sooner rather than later.
*My friend Marc just pointed me to this article. So now I'm thinking that if I get a new MINI with a stick and can get thirteen years out of it like I've done with Anderson before the major repairs start, I can live with that. Chances are I won't even be driving in another thirteen years, truth me told. (Getting old SUCKS.)
Some Things Never Go Out Of Style
Transmission From a Parallel Universe
Yes please!
One Seriously Sick Car
Cars I Have Owned
Unlike some friends who change cars the way I change socks, I haven't owned that many vehicles over the course of my life.
My first car was a used truck; a 1976 Chevy LUV to be precise. I don't think I ever named it. My mom had the interior reupholstered for my birthday the year after I got it. Twelve months later, after I'd moved out of my folks' house, it was parked outside my apartment with the windows rolled down one evening (you could actually do that at one time) and a cat jumped in and sprayed all over the seat. I never did get the smell out.
Dorothy, a 1984 Toyota Corolla SR5, was my first new car, and the one that still shows up most often in my dreams. By far it was one of the best running and most reliable vehicles I've owned. It moved to San Francisco with me and I reluctantly sold it in 1989—shortly before the Loma Prieta earthquake—stupidly thinking that I could get around San Francisco without a car.
Jezebel, the car from hell, was a 1990 Mitsubishi Cordia Turbo I bought from a friend. Lesson learned: never buy cars from friends. Corollary lesson: never buy turbos. 'Nuff said.
Baraka, a.k.a. "Red," was a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse; it was the second car I bought new. It wasn't the exact model I'd wanted (it was a RS; I really preferred the GS but couldn't afford it), so we never really bonded completely, but without a doubt, this car had the best damn gas mileage of any car I've owned evah. I could drive from San Francisco to San Diego (540 miles) on a single tank of gas. Yeah, I'd be arriving on fumes, but I'd still make it all the way. After about 80,000 miles I was able to ignore the small things falling apart, but when the poor thing started having major transmission issues, I knew it was time to say goodbye.
Skittles was a brand new 2001 Volkswagen Beetle. I'd been jonesing for a New Beetle even before Red started falling apart, but couldn't justify getting one. The Beetle was the first, and—as the Flying Spaghetti Monster is my witness—the last car I will ever own with an automatic transmission. I never had any issues with the transmission; it just wasn't as fun to drive. A few minor problems with the cooling system at about 70,000 miles, replacing the battery twice and having to slap on a new set of tires was about the extent of problems/repairs. All in all, a very well made car and fun to drive, but ultimately it was too gay. Even for me.
And of course, there's Anderson—the 2006 MINI Cooper I bought almost ten years ago. The honeymoon never ended, although he is definitely starting to show his age. Anderson is the first car I bought new and racked up 100K miles on. It's also the first car I've really bonded with. The repairs haven't been horrendous for a ten-year-old car: multiple replacement of leaking power steering lines, clutch at 60K (covered under extended warranty), three—maybe four—sets of tires (I forget), front and rear brake pad replacements x3, engine mount replacement, passenger side strut replacement, control arm bushing replacement, battery x2, passenger seat airbag sensor replacement (once under warranty, and most recently under recall) and lastly, a starter replacement (because I ignored a power steering line leak that had been dripping on it). We've had some incredible adventures together and even though the knowledge that he now needs $3500 worth of "non critical" repairs that are never going to happen (the poor thing is only worth $3000 according to KBB) takes away some of the sting of saying goodbye, it's still going to be hard for us to part ways when that inevitable day arrives.