Car crush
I am one of those strange people who get emotionally attached to vehicles.
It’s true. I hail from a family who NAMES their cars.
Honey and Noddy were old short-wheel based Landrovers. I learned to drive in Honey – she had no brakes. It was an AWESOME way to learn how to use gears properly.
Tess Toyota was my very first car – a Corolla. She was automatic, and I have NEVER had an automatic before. It was… interesting. But I fell in love with her.
Then there was Sampson the Subaru… I took a camping trip around Queensland in Sampson. My only boy-named car. I wonder why? He was fabulous but ‘died’ after collecting a dairy cow one night. I wasn’t pretty and I was in mourning for some time.
The list goes on.
As you all know by now, we have had a Prado for years – almost seven years actually. She was second-hand when we got her (she was only ever got called ‘The Prado’ but it was said with enormous affection) and aside from a dirty-fuel incident, she has been a loyal and very much-loved part of our family.
She has provided many, many great rear view moments…
And red dust photo-opps…
She even starred in a calendar …
(Well her shadow did anyway.)
And she saw us safely through amazing floods which filled our river for the first time in 30 years…
Of course, despite the fact that I adore Old Stuff, when it comes to vehicles in our kind environment, I understand that age is not necessarily a good thing. Especially when it comes to vehicles traversing rough roads and very long distances regularly. So we made the painful decision to trade in The Prado a few weeks ago.
I may or may not have had a little cry when I drove away from her, parked there bravely at the dealers.
I know. I am a sook. And I know it was a silly First World problem, driving away from a pretty good car in a new car. But despite me being all choked up, trade her in we did. For our very first NEW car. I know. I was almost paralysed by anticipation and fear at the notion (mostly at the repayment schedule) .
Neither Mr Incredible or myself have EVER had a new car.
I have to say, I didn’t fall IMMEDIATELY in love. Despite having wanted a spanking new Landcruiser for as long as I can remember (and having owned a second hand RV model before the Prado)… I was still in love with our ‘old’ darling girl…
And this car is so… SHINY.
And GADGETY.
AND NAGGY with the beeping and the LIGHTS.
Darned thing almost THINKS for you. I hate it when an inanimate thing thinks its smarter than me…
And what is WITH the whole keyless thing? UNlike. UNLIKE very much.
And did I mention…. SHINY?
Well, I took it for a drive two days after we got it home. After I warily climbed in and (much like an old granny) carefully drove it to the bus stop and back a couple of times. Then I got brave and I drove it ‘proper’…
Oh look…
I christened it.
Not with a name.
Yet.
But with dust.
And then…
Mud.
It’s not that I hate the shininess. Not REALLY.
(After all, I have washed it three times in a week – unheard of for me!)
But it does reassure me…
I admit I am starting to feel a little more ‘in tune’ with it when it survives a bathing in red mud. And I haven’t made it explode yet by pressing the wrong button. Or looking at it sideways.
Of course, it’s still not proven itself completely…
Not like this sweetheart.
I hope she finds a nice home with someone who will look after her.
*sigh*
Yours in silly vehicular mourning.
BB
24 Comments
Donna Gunn
Congratulations on your new car! I can relate to naming your car. My second car was a 1967 VW bug that I name Watson (in honor of James Watson of DNA fame).
Any thoughts of a name for your new Land Cruiser?
Donna Gunn´s last blog post ..Reckless
Mary Paddock
Mazel tov on the new car. It’s beautiful. But, yeah, I understand getting attached to vehicles. So much of our lives happen in them and the good ones provide such a sense of security.
Leenie
I understand. Giving up the comfort of the familiar and the friendly is difficult even for smooth and shiny…and too smart. I just turned my favorite calendar over to Sept. Love that shot of the kookaburra.
Leenie´s last blog post ..WAKEUP CALL
Mikey
What a nice new car!! I bet it’s awesome 🙂
Know how you feel though. Hard to trade in what becomes a trusted friend.
That is some crazy red mud y’all get down there. That’s RED mud. Wow.
diane
I love a new car except having to learn all the gadgets. So are you going to have a naming competition?
diane´s last blog post ..SPRING HAS SPRUNG
jeanie
Hmm – a Blue car? Immediately many song titles come to mind, but all the good “blues” have been used…
jeanie´s last blog post ..My me day (in list form)
Bush Babe
It’s called Graphite. Grey really. Excellent reflections though, and the blue skies get echoed in the paintwork. When it’s clean enough… which (knowing me) won’t be that often!
🙂
BB
debby
I don’t name cars. Not really, but when things go south with one of them, lots of names come to mind…
Congratulations. So I’m a little confused. What kind of car did you get?
debby´s last blog post ..Hospice
Bush Babe
Tis a Toyota Landcruiser. I think you have them there too! 🙂
debby
Just color me embarrassed. I was confusing Land Rover and Landcruiser. I knew that Toyota did not make the Land Rover…I understand now.
PS Am I the only one who read the title of this post as Car Crash, and did a little shriek?
debby´s last blog post ..Well, Bill…
A Novel Woman
Ooh, you’re going to love it. My sister has a new car with a keyless ignition. Don’t do what we did recently in a Walmart parking lot. We put something in the trunk (do you say boot?) and locked it, but I said it didn’t look locked. She tried it and sure enough, the “locked” trunk opened. So she pressed “lock” on her keychain, tried it again, but it always opened for her. We did this exercise for 10 minutes, locking, testing, not understanding why it didn’t lock as the air turned blue and she got more frustrated. Finally, she pulled out the manual and it said if you have the keys with you, it won’t lock (so you won’t lock your keys in the car.) I had to drive her keys across the parking lot in MY car so she could test it and be satisfied that her trunk was, in fact, secure. We felt like a couple of dingbats…
A Novel Woman´s last blog post ..Steve Jobs
Bush Babe
LOL – I asked if I could get more keys cut (I am notorious for losing them). The dealer said: You get two sets. JUST DON’T LOSE THEM. Right. Great. This morning? Can only find one set. It has begun.
:-0
BB
Bush Babe´s last blog post ..Car crush
A Novel Woman
I lost my second key within days of getting the car! Still haven’t found it. Heaven help me if I get locked out. (Spit, pat head and spin three times.)
A Novel Woman´s last blog post ..I want to go to Italy
montgomery
Congratulations on the new car. 🙂 I was looking at your pictures, the one marked weather_7973 has pink flowers? fruit? above in the tree? What are they? They look lovely.
Kelly
Congratulations!! Give it time and I bet you’ll love ALL those “bells & whistles” it came with. 🙂
My daughter has had her car around 8 years and I think she will go into a major depression when the day comes she has to replace it. I’ve never gotten that attached to my vehicles.
Any idea why I might have “Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree…” running through my head this morning?? 😀
Kelly´s last blog post ..R.I.P. VI Challenge!
nightsmusic
Well…that “no, it won’t lock if your keys are with you” stipulation doesn’t always work. I was test driving a new model (whose name I won’t mention) that was supposed to have that feature except if you left the fob in the cup holder. Evidently, it was a safety measure that if the key was there and someone tried the door, the car would remain locked thinking someone was trying to open your door and take your car with you in it. Except that if you’re standing on the outside of the car and your fob is in the cup holder at the center of the car and you’ve locked your doors by mistake…
I can’t tell you how many times I had to drive over 100 miles to get to another driver with the spare fob for just that reason.
Lovely car though and I admit, I’ve had the occasional tear when I’ve traded in a very faithful, special ride. Enjoy the new one!
Bush Babe
Oh dear God… now I am TERRIFIED!!! We are three hours from a dealer. *covers ears and rocks back and forth*
debby
Covering your ears and rocking back and forth does not make car doors unlock. I know this. Trust me. (Please do not ask me how…)
debby´s last blog post ..Hospice
nightsmusic
Don’t listen to the dealer. Buy another key, no matter the cost, and keep it somewhere at home where someone else can get to it. They’re expensive, but the first time you have to go through that, it will have been worth it.
Gretchen in KS
I feel your pain–I hate to ever let go of my trusted vehicles… had to haul one off to the crusher (hauled several, actually, but only one was “mine”) and literally cried a bit. Still have half of my first-ever truck, and the Jeep I was t-boned in about 4 years ago, and… {shaking head} I’m just a really big packrat, I guess.
And going on to the new one, I merely have keyless entry, and even those keys/fobs are expensive. ($168 to replace the set that hubby dropped, and the dogs chewed) but the crowning glory of THAT little fiasco was that less than two weeks after I bought the replacement (had to get it from the dealer–they had to program the fob, if not the key) he lost the new set! Lucky for us, the chewed key works, even though the chewed fob doesn’t. Oops, but now it doesn’t–blew that one’s motor a couple of months ago, so now I’ve got a new payment for a newer Jeep of my own. But the keys and fobs look Just the same, except no toothmarks. 😉
dorothy
I bought a new car last year. A first for me. My husband would get a vehicle (new or used) and bring it home for me. I BOUGHT a new car and asked for every gadget available. Does it have a button for that? Yeah, I want it. I still don’t know what they all do but it is entertaining for the grands. They are smarter than me and can set things up in a minute. Great times. I BOUGHT a car!!!!
Mummaducka
Hahahahaha, totally know the feeling. I have a 14 yr old volvo and just looove it. I have now decided to keep it until my eldest child learns to drive. Then I will think about the new cruiser/prado option. Reliability is becoming a concern for me even though it’s not given me any reason! I too need something for out of town (only just) though I can hop into the farm ute at any time! and when travelling we take hubby’s cruiser, except sometimes I think I might like to visit family and friends w/out waiting for him!!!
Mummaducka´s last blog post ..Looks like hard work
Jacey
I totally know what you’re going through. Although I don’t name my vehicles, I’m always completely attached to them. When I was a kid, my dad traded in our Courier truck. That night I prayed that the new owner would have so many problems with it that they would beg us to take it back. I’m still the same way. I traded my previous SUV in for my current vehicle 15 months ago and am still mourning and missing my SUV. I saw it drive by just the other day. It was all I could do to stay in my car and drive the other way. Thanks for letting me know I’m not the only one out there with a serious vehicle crush. Enjoy your new Landcruiser!
Katy Potaty
Well, you know that I only got my license last July, and that I bought my first car last July, at the ripe old age of 29.
My darling little Toyota Echo is named Bebe (pronounced with a VERY French accent) and I can’t imagine trading her in. It’s all about the names and the car love!