I was recently feeling a little embarrassed about how fancy my car is. Who am I, a teacher, to have a super expensive car? This (I realize ridiculous) line of thinking led me through a memory-lane stroll through all of the cars I've owned. I'm no Sammy P (Hi, SP), so the story is only five cars long, and I'm going to share the whole thing with you.
I grew up in Chicago, where owning a car is not a necessity because there's great public transportation. When I was in college in rural Massachusetts, I realized that having a car would be helpful. I bought my first car in the summer of 1989 with my lifeguarding earnings. The car, a longer sister of which is pictured above, was a 1989 two-door, red Honda Civic hatchback. When the salesman told me that the car cost $6750 without air conditioning or $7650 with, I said, "I'll be fine without air; I can open the windows." Every summer I owned that car caused me no end of regret. Other than the heat, I loved Scarlett, as she saw me through the end of college, several moves, and all the way to my marriage and subsequent move to Lakeville (three days after the wedding) in August of 1997.
In 1998, when I was pregnant with my first child (hi, A!), my husband and I decided that putting a car seat into and pulling it from the back seats of a two-door car was probably going to be a pain. Plus, my two-wheel-drive car wasn't the safest thing we could drive with our growing family. We decided to buy a four-door Subaru Outback.
This car (which I never named) got me through the worst winter storms. This car saw us through getting the car seat into and out of the back and later watching our older daughter climb by herself into a booster while we lifted the younger's (Hi, E!) carseat in and out, and at last to boosters for both. Eventually, however, when the girls started playing soccer and taking gymnastics, we were ready for a carpool.
With the tiny seats in the way-back of our Volvo XC70, we could transport three extra girls to games and practices. What funny conversations we overheard! That Volvo made it until it our girls were in middle and high school. We took a family trip to Montreal (shout-out to AR!) during the December vacation. After a lovely time exploring that cold and fun city, we were driving home on the highway through the Adirondacks when the entire electrical panel went dark. The car stayed operational long enough for us to get safely to the side of the road, where we had just enough cell reception to call AAA. After an added night in a nearby-ish hotel, we got the car repaired and headed on our merry way.
During Spring break of the same year, my older daughter and I planned an epic college-visiting tour to see twenty schools in eight days. (We stopped for tours and information sessions at only five of them.) On that trip, the plan was to split the driving so that she'd get the required practice hours for her driver's license. Unfortunately, on one of the first days of the trip, somewhere in Tennessee, the electrical panel went out again. She was, correctly, not enthusiastic about driving after that.
When we got home, we decided that it was time for a new car. After test driving several brands, we all agreed that an Audi Q5 offered comfort, a huge sun roof, and a lovely ride.
This car had every luxury we could imagine: heated seats in the front and the back, the gigantic sun roof mentioned above, a great sound system, etc. The vehicle saw us through getting the older daughter a license and into the practice for the younger daughter's required time behind the wheel.
As many of you know, sixteen hours into that process, a drunk driver swerved onto the wrong side of the road and crashed headfirst into our car with my husband and daughter in it. I don't have words for how much that afternoon has cost us, but I'm forever grateful that my family survived. The Torrington Police who were first on the scene and completed the investigation (which revealed that my daughter was 0% to blame for the accident) determined that my daughter's adherence to the speed limit and the safety features of the car are the reasons my family is still alive. They said point blank, "That car saved their lives."
We had to replace it, of course, but I no longer feel the need to upgrade. When I went to buy a new car, I got another Audi Q5. I didn't care about the color or fancy features (though it has them) but about the car's five-star safety rating.
While the payments were steep for a few years, I've been happy with this car. Yes, sometimes I still feel embarrassed that I drive such a fancy vehicle, but I'm okay with that because I know why I upgraded.
Do you have a car or other upgrade story to share in the comments?
My dad has been feeling this way about upgrading his car for some years now – I’ll have to send him this 🙂
Thanks for the shoutout CG!
Yes, please let him know that I approve of his getting a car that’s safe and pleasurable to drive!
I am so glad that you have opted for safe cars. One never knows what’s lurking around the next turn of the road, but I’m happy to know that you’ve prepared for the worst, while driving along and luxurious splendor and comfort.
Safety first!
Agreed. I’m grateful that we got the first Audi Q5 even though we weren’t thinking only of its safety at the time. We won’t get any car with lower than a 5-star safety rating ever again!
In some ways, our car has felt like a family member. I think of which car we had when we had this or that travel adventure. They mark periods in my life. I feel disloyal when I have to trade one in. A car is part of our identity, whether we want it to be or not. Our most recent car is our biggest up grade and probably our last. It gives me pleasure every time I drive it – reason enough for the upgrade.
Yes, I too remember car trips with the cars. I like your last line and have to remind myself that it’s okay to have nice things that I enjoy.
I remember your red Honda!! Enjoy your nice SAFE things, they are so worth it. Landon drove a Volvo and a young adult smashed into him and totaled it. He still has back and knee issues from the crash, but he is alive!!
I’m so sorry for Landon. The lasting effects, physical and emotional, of bad car accidents are real, and still I feel so grateful that all three of these ones we love are alive to recover over time.