My Favourite Car - Part 1

My first car was a beautiful blue 210 hatchback. There is something special about a first car. We had some interesting times in that car after it carried us from Ontario to Edmonton. It was swallowed by a giant pothole when we stopped at a stop sign during a big storm. Later it was the last in a row of cars that was struck by a fire truck while we were in watching a movie with friends at the theatre. Both accidents occurred when we were not moving.

We bought an ancient Dodge Crew Cab from a co-worker of mine and sold Kevin's little Mazda truck. When we were unexpectedly posted to Goose Bay months later we sold it back to the original owner (he even paid for all the repairs we had put into it!) Then we traded in my car and bought a Nissan King cab - a beautiful bronze colour. Then we had twins. Guess what - you can't put 2 car seats in a vehicle with jump seats. So we bought an old Ford Granada which served us faithfully for the remaining 2 years in "the Goose".

Then we traded in the Nissan for a 1979 Chev Blazer. The Blazer is the only vehicle we took with us when we moved to Portage la Prairie in 1989. Then it came with us to Edmonton 4 years later. The Blazer took an intense dislike to me (handles and controls would break off in my hands and it wouldn't start). When I was pregnant with Connor we sold it because we needed another seat (again). 4 massive guys showed up to pick it up one Saturday. We had owned it for 9 years.

While in Portage we acquired an old, old van and started to rebuild it. It took us to the mountains and back with no problems. I can't remember why we sold it but we bought a silver 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera. That was a great car. It went with us from Portage to Edmonton then to Gagetown, NB. A little squishy once Connor was born but doable. By the time we were posted from Gagetown the Ciera had almost 300,000 km on it and we scrapped it.

The Blazer was replaced by a Chev Beauville van (12 passenger). We had nothing but trouble with it. The windshield leaked, it stalled constantly and took years to figure out why. We did manage to make it from Edmonton to New Brunswick successfully then it had a tree fall on it in a thunderstorm while parked in our driveway and was repaired only to collide with a telephone pole and be written off. It was replaced with a 1997 GMC Safari. We moved to Ontario with only one vehicle. We didn't buy another for more than 6 months when we got a little commuter Saturn for Kevin and I drove the van (instead of walking everywhere). The Saturn was rear ended a few years later when we were pulled over on the side of the road (4th accident when we were not moving) and we bought a 2003 Ford Escape. When I started gardening it was difficult to use the Safari. The van was always full of spiders and smelled of rotting garden materials. We had to put the seats in and out constantly and vacuum the vehicle every week. The mileage was pushing 300,000 and it was not very reliable, the carpet was soaked with fluid from the rear heater, most of the doors were not working and one of the tires needed air every few days. When Kevin wanted to buy another canoe, I told him I would buy a truck if he bought the canoe. He did and I did.

If you followed all of that I am most impressed. I couldn't find a better way to document our vehicles and they overlap a lot. I wish I had pictures but I am too lazy to find them and scan them.

So which is my favourite? Whichever one I have at the time (except the Blazer - it was never my favourite - even when it was the only one). My first car I loved because it was a sign of adulthood and independence. The Nissan King Cab was so new and shiny and represented a move we were really looking forward too. I just really liked the Ciera and can't explain why. All the vans I loved because they could haul our kids spread out enough to limit fighting, had room for the dog and could pull a trailer. I loved the Saturn for it's low operating costs (remember for years we had driven full size vans). Funny that we never really owned or wanted a mini-van. For many it is an unwritten law - have kids, get mini-van. I like the SUV because it is easy to get in and out of but still economical (but it has cost us a lot of money lately). And my truck - I love my truck - but you'll have to wait a day or two for Part 2.