Wants, Needs and Automobiles

[Tess B]

I'm a loyal dedicated Subaru owner. I'm on my 4th Subaru, each a different model and loved in it's own way. Here is my story...

Got the Subaru Legacy Wagon back in my soccer mom days. LOVED that car...never felt like i was driving a station wagon, it had plenty of pep, comfy as all get out and kickin' tunes. i spent a lot of time in that car to'ing and fro'ing and toting and fetching.

My husband at the time (2nd ex) had a daughter who got married and had 2 little boys and was really in need of a sturdy dependable car (hers kept breaking down leaving her stranded or late to work), so WE decided to give her MY car and then i'd go get a new one. she paid us some modest amount each month just to keep everybody honest.

so off i go to the Subaru dealer again. THIS time i come away with my "midlife crisis" car - the 2001 Impreza 2.5 RS! LOVED that car. it was definitely NOT a station wagon, superb handling, peppy and quick, cute, cranking stereo. looked like a baby Beemer. always got compliments on it. very happy.

by now my own daughter was getting ready to graduate college and her dad (1st ex) said he'd like to get her a nice used car for her graduation present, but he wasn't sure his credit would hold up. oddest thing ever, the next words out of my mouth were: well we could always give her MINE. (WHAT? who said that???).

sho 'nuf, he called back a couple days later and asked, so you ready to go car shopping? cuz my financing fell thru.

here we go again. back to the subaru dealer. THIS time i come away with a gently used/excellent condition shiny silver 2003 Baja! and yes, i LOVED that car! it was safe, dependable, fun, cute in a tough sort of way (it's the grown up version of the old subaru brat, half car, half truck), power seats, jammin' tunes, whole nine yards. very happy.

until.....my other half had been driving a little toyota, we called it the red rocket and it was ok, just a lot of miles and on the verge of having something expensive go wrong. a guy he worked with suggested he list on craigslist as it was the body style,year and type that kids into "drifting" were on the hunt for. i composed an ad, uploaded it to craigslist and i swear on my mother's grave the phone rang within 4 minutes!!!!! kid was there that night, plunked down cash.

ok, great idea, but now he'll need a car. so once again, we give him MY car and......

back to the subaru dealer i go. this time i drove off in a sedate, unfancy, no frills Impreza hatchback. dark grey, no shiny stuff, virtually nothing remarkable about the car. it's a fine car, but i'm not in LOVE. i have no complaints save one....THE STEREO sounds like a tin can. so i listen to lots of AM, traffic and weather on the 4's....yay. i figure nobody's gonna WANT this one!!! ha.

not two days ago my beloved says to me, ya know hon, i think we should upgrade you to a nicer car. i'm like what's wrong with THIS one? well i think you deserve something nicer, with a better stereo. and i said, how come everybody wants to keep taking my darn Subarus from me???? NO, you don't get THIS one. MINE. end of discussion. you can bury me in this one!!!

yesterday, as i'm leaving for work, i stop and grab our mail....wouldn't ya know? it's the quarterly Subaru magazine....and what is on the front??? The 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI!!!!

OMG, as a former president once said i have LUST in my heart!!! gorgeous machine. all kinds of gee gaws, revamped design, screaming hot car. i had to turn the magazine over so as not to be distracted on my drive to work....it was as if the Universe was saying, so you don't want a new car huh???? are you SUUURRRRRRREEE about that missy???

ack. i read thru the reviews on the thing...oh and it's all that AND a bag of chips...305 hp turbo charged boxer engine with all these new electronic engine control settings that the author referred to as "wild" "hairy" and "insane" and he flat said this is NOT your commuter car, this is not your mother's grocery getter!!!!! i did take the mag home and said look honey, CAR porn! and his eyes glazed over for a bit too. except that starting price of $30,000 - bit more if you want seats and steering wheel......

funny thing is, it's really nothing more than a seriously hopped up and beefed up version of the one in my driveway! just way cooler and way faster.........ahem.

so for today i'll stick with my sturdy dependable unremarkable lil Subaru. today i don't NEED to be in LOVE with my car to be happy....i don't need to have the cutest car, most unique, all tho there is nothing wrong with that. today i don't need a car that has settings that will hold it to the side of a mountain going 80. today nobody gets my subaru!!!

[Natalie's Nesters]

You go Girl! Hide the keys and the title!

[Pianolady]

I share your admiration for the Sti. I had an '04 WRX wagon, and boy do I miss that car. If it's any consolation, those turbo cars require you to use 91 octane gas....so expensive. Now I drive a Chevy Cobalt...it's just not the same.

[Contrary Housewife]

Nothing empowers a girl like her own hotrod! 2.5L H4;224 hp... would you get the automatic or the 5-speed?

I'm holding out for a Crossfire: 2008 Chrysler Crossfire Coupe Pictures 3.2 liter V-6 and 215 hp, oh baby!

[Tess B]

thanks ladies! once upon a time....i inherited my mom's CORVETTE.....'74 stingray, t-top, metal flake gold, with a 350 L82 under the hood. ho-ly...talk about the most impractical yet awesome monster....sigh. man when those secondaries opened up....you could watch the gas gauge plummet and the speedometer peg.

but i digress.....you can take the girl out of the hot rod but you can't take the hot rod out of the girl! even a 50-something "girl"!!!

[Sassyclass]

Way to stick to that platonic relationship you have with your car. I'm a die hard GM/Chevy girl and no one on this earth can change my mind. My dream car is a 1966 Chevy Chevelle SS 396, black or marina blue, but hey I'd take a ragged out in need of a major overhaul any day over not having one at all. If we had a garage I would already have one.

Cat

[shoiji]

Have you thought about purchasing a different stereo for the car? Might be a thought.

[Pianolady]

Since we're on the subject of dream cars.... the new STI isn't the looker it used to be. A Mitsubishi Evolution actually costs less than an STI and is so sweet.

[shadowfax]

My taste in cars tends to run to big engines and pretty looks. I love a car that can handle the curvy back roads we have here in PA.

So my last two cars were
A bright red 1987 Ford T-Bird wiht a v-8 engine, full positraction rear end, sunroof and all the goodies. Super fun car. Drove it until it had almost 300k miles. Bought used for $1,200 in 1997 Then decided it was time to get a newer car that maybe would cost me less in repair bills to keep it running.

So I went out and got a 2001 Dodge Intrepid. Beautiful car. Well appointed, fun to drive although much less powerful. Car payments suck. Would up putting a new engine and entire AC sustem in it before I even finished paying for it. A beautiful lemon. Repair bills on top of car payments suck more.

That one finally died again on me this fall. No way on earth was I going in for yet another car payment. Ive been debt free for almost two years and I aim to keep it that way. Found my new little car on Craigs list.

Its not very exciting. little Hyundai accent. No special features. Plain and boring little green hatchback. Handles like a truck. Not real powerful. Interior is just godawful. I mean it's in great condition for an 11 year old car but its so boring compared to my other cars.


I do like the 5 speed manual transmission though.
But...

It gets me where I need to go. Its saving me a lot of money on gas, tires, and car insurance. The model has a great owner satisfaction record and a pretty good resale value on the blue book.

And... no car payment.