Cars

Another copycat post from Erica's Friday Five, cars that you have owned or driven.

The first car I learned to drive on was Dad's '66 Olds F-85. I loved the color. Nocturne Mist which was a midnight blue. Then he got another land yacht, a '74 Olds Cutlass Supreme. The car was so big I couldn't see over the hood, and I could barely reach the pedals. I had to sit on the Yellow Pages directory. Got in the habit of using the seatbelt just so I wouldn't slide off the book taking the corners.

The first car I bought myself was a '79 Ford Mustang. Ford scrapped the Mustang II and released the newly styled Mustang. Hubbell, named after Robert Redford's character in The Way We Were, was Metallic Jade Green (as close to British racing green as I could get) with a tan interior. Since this was the first release of the new model, it was a lemon from the get go, but I loved Hubbell. Christmas Eve Day '84, Hubbell and I were on our way to work for an impromptu office Christmas party. Himself was to present me with an engagement ring in the evening. As we got to the top of the ramp on the highway, Hubbell hit a patch of black ice and we spun donuts across 3 lanes of traffic to the median and back, finally slamming into the rock mound the road was cut through. With the help from my guardian angel and the seat belt, we were badly shaken and not stirred. We were lucky it was holiday and there was no traffic or the outcome would have been very different.

Hubbell limped along for another year or so and then I bought a light blue Mercury Topaz (same body as Ford Taurus) I was a married woman now so Halsey (Redford's character in Big Foss, Little Halsey) was a sedate, four door sedan.

By this time, I had left my computer career behind to start a new career as Mama. Since I just needed a car to toodle around town and get to Grandma's, I drove Himself's old car while he got a new one. I drove a series of Ford Escort wagons. None of them had a name. The Brother works for Ford so we were loyal to the brand.

Himself ditched the Escorts for a bigger, nicer Ford Taurus sedan in Metallic Blue Denim. I inherited this car. Had a freak accident. The girls and I were on our way to the pediatrician for a check up when I stopped for gas. As I was pulling into the station, a car was coming at us in reverse, the driver's door was open and the driver waving his arms was running to catch up. The Eldest, around 6 yrs. old, thought we were on Funniest Home Videos. The car dinged the left corner of my bumper and continued to roll across Rte 20 where it finally came to rest after hitting a brand new boat at the marina. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The ding to my bumper was small and there was a black scrape (tire rubber), but the insurance company said the whole bumper was fiberglass and would need to be replaced. Himself scrubbed the black spot off and we decided we could live with the ding, so we took the insurance money and bought a black and white laser printer instead.

Our cars were wearing out about the same time, so I got a brand new car. I wanted a van which I test drove and liked (a Ford). For the first time, I could see over the hood and the whole road. Opted instead for a Taurus wagon in case I had to drive my folks around. The thought turned out to be prophetic. Whoever decided the color label of my wagon must have been color blind. The car is labelled green, but is a metallic greige, sort of grey, sort of beige and in certain light grey with a green tint. The girls call the color Swamp.

Since gas prices were expected to jump, and Himself has a long commute to school, he decided he wanted something much more fuel efficient. He bought an '05 Toyota Corolla in Desert Sand Mica.

I've never gotten a speeding ticket.

What cars did you drive? Did you name them?