Cars 2...

A couple-three weeks ago I posted a blog entry about cars.  Nothing deep or thought-provoking; just some reflections on some of the cars I have owned...from my first Studebaker to my current Honda.

I confess that I have owned too many cars over my lifetime.  There were many years when I traded a two-year old car in on a new one just because I wanted (not needed) the new one.  It wasn't financially prudent, and only added to the wasteful use of a big manufactured product.  I did it.  I no longer do.

Here are some more of the cars I have owned:

My first SUV was this Mitsubishi Outlander.  Nice vehicle.  It was the first time I owned up to the fact that I could no longer easily get into and out of regular sedans.

I have no excuse for this.  It was a cheap (in oh so many ways) 2nd car.  I passed it on to oldest son who drove it til the thing literally rusted out from under him.

A Plymouth Satellite.  Nice enough.  My first Chrysler product.  Shoulda learned my lesson, but I bought a second one (Dodge) years later.

A Pontiac Sunbird.  It looked like it would be fun to drive.  Didn't own it long enough to decide if that was true.

Owned two Nissan Altimas.  Very nice cars.  Lotta technology and bells n whistles for not a whole lotta money.

Hyundai Accent.  I drove the thing for over 140K with no expense other than tires and oil changes.  It was fun to drive...served me well.  Saved a buncha bucks purchasing and owning it.

A Dodge Avenger.  Looked great that first model-year.  Like I said earlier, I shoulda learned my lesson with the first Chrysler product.  Oh well, live and learn...slowly.

This was my only ford product.  A four-door Cougar.  Yeah, that ain't right.  However, gotta say that it was a good car...and my three sons weren't happy when I traded it in on whatever came next.

Mitsubishi Galant.  Poor excuse for a Nissan Altima or a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry.  Nothing outstanding about it...but nothing overly terrible about it either.

Traded my worst car ever...the Chevy Malibu I purchased just before moving back to Indiana from California...in on this car.  A late 60s Olds Delta 88.  Big, solid, good ride, a big step up for a guy who had owned only Studebaker and American Motors products (except for that Chevy) prior to this ride.

The Marlin.  Shoulda kept it and not bought the Malibu.  Strange looking, kinda; a Dodge Charger wanna-be.  It was a nice car, really.  Big engine.  Got a lotta looks...even in SoCal.

Yup.  A Mazda GLC (Great Little Car) that became the current Mazda 3.  Nice enough for the money. One of the cars that convinced me to pursue more Japanese products.

Toyota RAV4.  Nice SUV.  The tire on the back was a pain in the...back.  Cover came off every time it went thru the car wash.  It was a good ride, but not as good as the two CRVs that have followed it.

Obviously not a car.  I have owned motorcycles off and on (mostly on) since I was 19.  This is my current ride: A Honda Shadow.  A very nice ride.

Nostalgia is fun sometimes, ain't it?

There Goes the Neighborhood...

We live in a nice subdivision...really two back-to-back subdivisions...on the east side of Bloomington. 
Its a nice neighborhood.  One and two-story homes set on standard residential-sized lots.  Winding streets and cul-de-sacs. The neighborhood association takes good care to keep the streets cleared of snow and the pot-holes patched. 

There are some green spaces.  Some basketball courts.  A shelter house.  A nice swimming pool.  Folks seem friendly enough.  It appears that most folks know at least some of their neighbors.  People wave as they pass each other in cars or on bikes.  Walkers and runners make regular use of the sidewalks and streets.

This is our house.

And then there is this.

Yup, this.
This is a disputed property line shared by two neighbors.  Well, "folks-that-live-next-to-each-other" might come closer than "neighbors."

This is a strip of land that neither family wants to care for.  In the summer months it looks like this, un-mowed.  At various times someone sprays weed and grass killer on it and it becomes a patch of dirt about a yard-wide that runs from the street to a fence row in one of the back yards.  In the winter time each sidewalk is shoveled up to the disputed property line but no farther, so that the snow remains on the yard-wide area.

There are certainly things that separate folks who are neighbors: political affiliations, religious views, economic variables, etc.  But neighbors recognize and respect those things; or they just ignore them altogether.

Not the folks-that-live-next-door-to-each-other evidently.  They live out their things-that-separate for all to see.

And wonder about.

I wonder. 

Cars...

My first car was a 1951 Studebaker Champion.  I got it when I was just over 16 years old...so it had seen its better days long before I did my learning-to-drive-damage to it.

My car was more maroon-ish in color.

The Champion was the least expensive Studebaker produced in 1951.  It was designed as basic transportation and "bells and whistles" were not included in the base model.  I did have an AM radio; but no other "options" were on the car my dad bought for me.

Rusted-out areas came standard.

It was my first car!  I thought it was great!

When I moved my family to Los Angeles (from Lydick, IN) in 1964, I owned a 1961 Rambler American.  It was the style and color shown below.

Pretty nice, huh?

That little car more than pulled its weight.  Three trips between Lydick and LA, as I recall; and four years of weaving thru crowded southern California traffic jams.

I have owned a goodly number of cars over my driving lifetime...53 years.

A 1969 VW Bug was the car I put the most miles on...right at 260,000.

That little car just ran forever.  It was inexpensive to own...and except in the bitter cold of winter, fun to drive.



The biggest car was an Olds Delta 88.

The cars I enjoyed driving the most were two of these Acura Integras.

I could no more get into and out of a low-slung vehicle like that now-a-days than I could jump off my roof and fly.

The worst car I ever owned...bought it brand new in L.A. in 1968, drove it back to Indiana and got rid of it as soon as I could...was a 1968 Chevy Malibu like this one.

It was yellow.  The color of lemons.  I shoulda known.

On an impulse...really, just walked into the dealership one day, saw one, and bought it...I owned two of these.

These days I am driving my second one of these. A Honda CRV.

These days my cars, like yours, are far superior to that Studebaker I started out with.  Air conditioning.  Power everything,  Cruise control.  Not only an AM radio, but FM, XM, CD and Ipod enabled.  The engines run smoother and last longer. 
My car now has seatbelts.  The Studebaker didn't.
Today, air bags.  Then, those safety devices were not even heard of.
The CRV has impact crumple zones.  The Champion had massive chrome bumpers.

What hasn't changed is the fact that the cars we purchase and drive are an extension of who we are...of who we would like folks to think we are...of how we see ourselves fitting into the society in which we live.

BTW...
Pretty Lady has her first one of these...a Hyundai Tucson.