HALLIE EPHRON: For decades, my husband and I drove matching Honda Civics. Reliable. Economical. Boring.
We’d drive each car into the ground and then replace it with a Civic that looked just like the old one, usually white or gray. It was traumatic when they no longer had any with manual shifts or old-fashioned door locks but we adjusted.
We never bargained but went back to the same showroom, decade after decade, and paid cash for whatever Civic they had on the lot at the end of the model year. We were not car proud.
Then my hip started to hurt and getting in and out of one of our low-slung car got to be a nuisance, so we upgraded to a small Honda SUV. Boring black because it was what they had (during covid new cars were scarce on the ground). I love the car but I do wish it were red, or turquoise, or some nice flashy color that distinguished it.
When I was writing the Dr. Peter Zak novels with my writing partner (Don Davidoff), our character was based on Don and he wanted his doppleganger to drive a red Miata.
Well, that red Miata was a car that my co-author aspired to own, but it was SO not the car that our protagonist (who had as much me as Don in him) would have driven.
I lost that battle.
The car you drive says a lot about who you are. True for characters. True for people.
Finding out that Jenn drives a truck was mind blowing and illuminating. The characters we write (Lucy’s Haley Snow gets around on a scooter) have modes of transport that define them.
So today’s topic: what does your car say about you (or your character), and how do you aspire to get around… some day.
RHYS BOWEN: My cars are always safe and practical, Hallie. For years now we change cars when the warranty expires so we never have to worry about things going wrong. For years we drove matching Camrys until I finally treated myself to a Mercedes. In early life I coveted a Porsche or a convertible. But I’ve reached an age where I want comfort and good vision.
So it’s an SUv, nice and high off the ground with lots of cargo space for the journey between California and Arizona and all the safety bells and whistles.
Of course this is what I should be driving and some of my characters drive cars like this (at eight miles to the gallon.)
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yes, so true! Charlie McNally drives a Jeep. Jane Ryland has an Audi TT. Alyssa Macallen drives a silver Volvo.
As for me–well, I had the buzziest black Passat for a while..I adored it. Then a boxy blue Volvo, the old kind, also fabulous. Now we have a Lexus, and it’s great, but OLD, SO OLD! Twelve years old! We had to have something fixed, and now our rental car is a…something SUV, and it has all the bells and whistles and guidance systems, and now I am afraid I cannot go back.
At dinner the other night, I said to Jonathan: when (!!) we get a new car, what color would you like it to be? I gave him a pencil and paper and said write it down, two choices, don’t tell me, and I will too.
He wrote: Silver. Gray.
I wrote: Black. Navy.
So, huh, there we go.
LUCY BURDETTE: I’m afraid my car says I’m a little dull. It’s a forest green Subaru Outback with plenty of room in the trunk to pack stuff and room for the crates of both our animals. It gets great gas mileage and it’s comfy, so that’s that!
My characters on the other hand are more interesting. As Hallie mentioned, Hayley Snow drives a scooter, wearing a helmet, as one should. Miss Gloria has a big old boat of a Buick, with various parts duct-taped on, exactly as my in-laws did!
Nathan, of course, drives a Key West Police department SUV.
Hank, I think you’re going to have to go with red or green for your new car!
HANK: HA! In fact, Jonathan just showed me a photo of a car. He said: It’s maroon. I said: it’s red. We definitely have to think about that!
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have given my characters clunkers; Duncan’s clapped-out red MG Midget (I had one, back in the UK days,) Gemma’s orchid Ford Escort (she did buy that one new, but it’s a little tired now,) the awful Vauxhall Astra Estate that died a tragic death in A Bitter Feast. But Gemma is now driving a snazzy almost-new copper Land Rover Discovery, so maybe I should step up my personal game as well. My silver-green Honda Accord is 2008 and just hit 90K. Every year I think I’ll trade it in, but it’s still a nice car…
I’ve said for years that I wanted another red car–I’ve had one, a Honda Prelude that was the bomb–but lately I have been gaga over all the all the colors of the Ford Bronco Sport, especially a soft teal blue called Area 51, and the baby blue Heritage model with the white top. I want a fun car!
My dream car was spotted at a car show in San Diego a few weeks ago. A pink Thunderbird with fins (of course), a white top, and the round windows in the back that I just adore. I like to think that’s the car that matches my extroverted personality but I fear the practicality of the truck is actually more me. *sigh*
As for my characters, I’ll have to think on that as several of my characters don’t have cars and prefer to bike/walk. Hmm…
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I used to say my protagonist, Clare Fergusson, drove sports cars because I was stuck for YEARS with minivans and seven-seater SUVs (they had to be big enough to fit an entire drum set in the back.)
I’ve gone smaller, but equally sensible: since 2016 I’ve had a black Honda Civic that I love, love love. I’m actually afraid to get a newer vehicle, because unlike Hank’s experience with her rental SUV, I find all those bells and whistles dreadfully distracting. I’m pretty sure I have undiagnosed ADD, so screens and computer displays are NOT my friends.
For characters, what they drive is another great way to show who they are, what they value, and even how they’re doing economically. Russ has a Ford F-150 pickup - practical, unflashy, gets ‘er done, which is very much like himself.
Single mom Hadley Knox drives some terrible little car the color of a grape popsicle, cheap and unreliable because when she arrived in Millers Kill she was broke. And young officer Kevin Flynn drives a Pontiac Aztek with the camping package, because he’s so naive he thought it was actually a cool vehicle. I just saw they stopped making them in 2005 - it may be time for him to get a more recent model!
HALLIE: So if we looked at your car, opened the door, sniffed, looked around inside and in the trunk, what would we learn about YOU?
I never learned how to drive (for many reasons), so that should tell you enough about me!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine. The world these days is so skewed toward car travel.
DeleteLuckily, you live in a city with excellent public transport, Grace. And a country with a terrific rail system. Our renters in Kentucky lost the only driver in their family of four, and they live seven rural miles out of town. They're in a pickle unless someone helps them out. No Uber there, and if there were they couldn't afford it.
DeleteKAREN: You may be surprised that I rarely use Ottawa's public transit LRT or buses. Maybe 1 or 2 days/month. It's too expensive and actually not very reliable.
DeleteAbout 40% of the households in our ByWard Market neighbourhood are car-less. Like me, they mostly walk or cycle. Or use Uber/Lyft rideshare.
GRACE: A family friend grew up in New York and never learned how to drive until she and her husband moved to California, then she had to learn how to drive.
DeleteYou are lucky to live where you live because you can walk everywhere. Every time I visit Europe, I walk everywhere, I was in London a few months after the terrorist attacks on the buses and trains. I refused to take the bus nor take the Underground train so I walked every where!
Sorry to hear that, Grace. Expensive, but at least it exists. We don't even have sidewalks where we live, and the nearest bus stop--for a bus that runs once or twice a day, is more than 1/2-mile away. It only goes downtown, and then we have to wait for another once or twice a day bus to the other side of town, or any direction from there.
DeleteMy rule for a car: it must be small; it must be a "quiet" color. For years, I was perfectly, happily content with Miss Phoebe, my Saturn [silver, grey, dark green] . . . when whatever model I had began to be troublesome, we just headed over to the Saturn dealer and traded Miss Phoebe in for a newer model Miss Phoebe. Then they stopped making Saturns, so when we could no longer get parts, it was time to move on. Now I have black Acura, which I like, but I miss my Saturn . . . .
ReplyDeleteSo sad about the Saturns. I'd feel that way if they discontinued Honda Civics even though I don't have one right now. Seems like one of the world's anchors.
DeleteOh Joan...I loved my Saturns, too! We owned several until they went out of business. Although the original ones with the black rubber bumpers were not so practical. I left my rubber bumper behind at Wilson Farms's parking lot in Lexington one day when it got caught on two large steel nails that were sticking out of a railroad tie. I unknowingly was too close to the railroad tie and when I put the car in reverse its bumper unfortunately did not follow; it ripped right off the front end of the Saturn. I was so embarrassed that one of the helpful Wilson staffers had to put the bumper in the back seat of my car. All while other shoppers were having a giggle or two over what I did.
DeleteSaturn was such a great car . . . I never really understood why they discontinued it . . . .
DeleteJoan, a friend's brother-in-law was a bigwig at Saturn. They were trying to make the cars in the US, in Tennessee, and I think they were not making as much profit as the company wanted, compared to the margins they could make by manufacturing overseas. Such a shame that greed closed it down. They were a great, domestic option from the Japanese cars like Honda and Toyota.
DeleteAgreed . . . it is a shame :(
DeleteWhat a great post. I drive a 2013 Prius C, the little ones they don't make anymore, but I am coveting a new Prius plug-in hybrid (I'm not sure the infrastructure is ready for an all-electric, even though we have solar panels, so the power is free, kind of). I'm also a drive-it-into-the-ground type, so it's hard to justify a new car when the current one is just fine.
ReplyDeleteAs for my characters, Robbie Jordan drives my car, but she's having a baby in the next book and is going to need something a little bigger. Mac Almeida splurged on a red Miata convertible as her one extravagance, and Cece Barton owns a baby blue 1966 convertible Mustang, because California.
I'd "like" an electric car, too, theoretically. Wondering if anyone out there is managing all electric?
DeleteBarb Ross and Bill have one, Hallie, and they drive to Key West in it!
DeleteThat's my exact car too, Edith! I have a tiny garage, so I love how small it is. Anything bigger and I wouldn't be able to get in and out! I wish they still made them, though I'd love a plug-in as well once I'm ready for something new.
DeleteDon't drive nor own a car. I can tell you that the mode of vehicle I take is connected with 8 to 10 other cars, we call it the NYC subway.
ReplyDeleteLOL Dru Ann, a true New Yorker!
DeleteIf only the Boston subway were as sturdy... even though I know there are problems right now it's so much better there than it is here
DeleteHaven’t driven or owned a car since November 2021 (and had mostly not driving since 2017). Don’t miss either one. Ubering offers wide variety…would never ever own (and hate riding in) a Tesla…and for my aging back SUVs have the most comfortable back seats. Occasionally wistful for my first Subaru Sport in forest green (2006ish). Happy trails. Elisabeth
DeleteI had a white Honda Civic, bought new in 1993, and kept it for 17 years. I absolutely loved it, and only finally traded it in when things started going one by one. It was my favorite car ever. After that I had a VW modest sedan, but we sold our two cars when we moved to Portugal, and we're so centrally located, and long distance public transport is so good, we've given up driving completely.
ReplyDeleteThat's very appealing, but what about shopping for groceries and so on?
DeleteWhat Lucy asked... I gave up driving for a while because of a health problem and we are so NOT well located for public transport.
DeleteThere is a blog by an actress, who played one of Sabrina's aunts on the tv series Sabrina, the Teen Witch. For a long time, she did not have a car so she walked everywhere in Los Angeles. She also used public transportation. I just learned that the actor Ed Begley also takes public transportation in Los Angeles. When my Mom was a teenager in Los Angeles, she walked everywhere.
DeleteAnon, Ed Begley has been photographed biking to Academy Award and other ceremonies.
DeleteGrocery shopping is no problem. We are a short walk to at least three small neighborhood markets and two larger supermarkets, and we use a roller cart for the few times we have more than two grocery bags to carry. Of course, there's only the two of us. For a larger family, I can see the need for a car.
DeleteMy cars have always been practical and have either been blue or red. I drive them mostly in the city and keep them for approximately ten years. I always pay cash for my cars. The second car I bought a Buick Skylark with a manual transmission. When I went to one dealership to purchase it, the salesperson wouldn’t sell me one. He said, ‘’women don’t drive cars with manual transmissions’’. This was in the early 1970s and I was involved in the women’s rights movement! So, I went to another dealership, bought a baby blue Buick Skylark with a manual transmission and drove back to the original dealership. I went inside and found the same salesman and said, ‘’My new Skylark with a manual transmission is outside. Too bad your commission went to someone else!’’
ReplyDeleteI recently sold my ten year old red Ford Focus Titanium privately and bought a red 2024 Ford Escape plug in hybrid. I absolutely love it. It’s so quiet and comfortable. When I don’t want to be distracted by the screen I turn it to calm mode. New cars now come in white, black, or gray. If you want a colour you pay extra!
Love stick shifts... impossible to find these days in a new car. BLUE OR RED??? I covet... By the time I get to the lot all that's left are white black and gray.
DeleteI learned to drive on a stick shift at 16 in the 1970s and am glad I did; it was handy when I got an old tractor (now tractors too are automatic). The only thing unnerving about sticks was having to wait at a stop light on a steep hill on a cold day. The danger of sliding backward or worse, stalling, always made me anxious.
DeleteI also love a manual transmission, but Priuses don't come with that. The hybrid business is too complicated, apparently. I miss it!
DeleteIn the US you can get many colors, some you may not want. There are standard colors only by maker. If you want a color, special order it. It just takes longer, but they are available.
DeleteAnonymous, The colours are available in Canada too but when you order a new car colours other than white, black, and gray cost extra.
DeleteSince I started driving later than most others, I have less stories to share. I pretty much drive only when I have to. I'm not a fan of just taking a drive to "look around". First, waste of gas. Second, I'm not a fan of scenery on the side of the road. I want to have a place to go to and get there ASAP.
ReplyDeleteMy car? Red, has a CD player for my "driving music" (a MUST). Relatively clean. I don't store stuff in the car and I don't throw trash in the back until I feel like getting rid of it. Sure there's probably stuff you pick up just walking around (dirt, etc.) that gets into the car but nothing nasty or that would make the car stink or anything.
I've never gotten the fascination people have with cars. I just want a car that gets me from point A to point B. So my Corolla does the trick.
I'm sure if money was no object, I wouldn't mind tooling around in the Ferrarri from Magnum, P.I. but that's way out there in fantasy land.
SO MUCH TRAFFIC has taken the fun out of driving, in my opinion. Some people truly love to drive but I'm with you, Jay. For necessity only.
DeleteStarted driving late in my life too.
DeleteIt’s so annoying that new models don’t have CD players, Jay. I used to play my favorite CDs on the long drive to Phoenix and back.
DeleteWhy not use Apple Music? Any song, any time.
DeleteAnon, the beauty of a CD is that it’s the songs we want to hear at that moment. Streaming music is like listening to the radio (which I do in my car) - you hear what they play.
DeleteOops, that was me, Pat S
DeleteHallie, yep I definitely hate driving with no purpose.
DeleteAnonymous #1 - I was just lazy and had no need to be driving since I had no life so I didn't.
Rhys - When I was looking for a car, besides being the model I could afford with incredibly low mileage for a car that was 3 years old at the time, it was the CD player already being in the car that cinched the deal that I wanted to do a test drive for it.
Anonymous #2 - I do not stream music. I am old school. I love my physical media.
Pat S - Yes, I like my CDs because I choose what albums I want to hear and take enough music to account for the time I'll actually be in my car.
Fun post! I live in the High Peaks of the north country where most of our main roads are twisty 55 mph highways and we have ice and snow half the year. Thus I drive an AWD Toyota Sienna minivan (I like to be higher off the road in an area where so many drive trucks). For almost 20 years I have also adored driving a Chevy Silverado 1500 pickup, but my last one is too rusty to be safe and used trucks are crazily expensive right now. I long to buy another -- so handy for 4x8 sheets of plywood, sacks of grain, furniture, sheep and calves, garden supplies, pulling the manure spreader, everything! However I do wonder if at 65 my truck days should be over. Sigh. (Selden)
ReplyDeleteI have to add, I have never wanted a snazzy car. I have something of a New England puritan baked in and have always been practical, practical, practical. We had small sedans in the brief periods when we lived around cities, always in some color not far off white. (On the subject of color, I quickly learned up here in road salt country that a black vehicle means it will look filthy seven months of the year.) Selden
Delete!!!"4x8 sheets of plywood, sacks of grain, furniture, sheep and calves, garden supplies, pulling the manure spreader"!!! My biggest challenge is schlepping boxes of books to sell at events. And btw 65 doesn't sound too old for anything to me these days.
DeleteI drive a RAV4 with a tire hanging on the back. CD player, no electronics, a very useful mulch and Christmas tree carrying machine. Alas, it's fifteen years old and I no longer trust it for road trips.
ReplyDeleteMight be time to put it out of its misery? Reliability counts on short trips, too.
Delete15 doesn’t seem very old as Toyotas go, but you know your car and your comfort level with its reliability. Our son has a RAV4 with tire on the back. I think it is a 2012 and the last model that had it there.
DeleteHallie, it only has 93,000 on the odometer and I get FREE dealer oil changes for life and the tire place gives me free tire rotations. It's a great around town car.
DeleteMy dream cars have never matched my wallet but no matter..A girl can dream can't she? When I was very young I loved Jaguars...it's distinctive look as well as the beautiful "Cat" hood ornament that leaped out at you. As time went on, however, the Jags stopped looking like Jags and the hood ornaments disappeared at the start of the 21st century. My interest waned and I found a new car to focus on ~ the Lamborghini. Also way out of my price range. Again these were only my dream cars. Besides now that I'm in my 70's I wouldn't be able to get in and out of a Lamborghini without looking like a total fool even if I could afford to buy one. Reality was always more boring although in our early 20's my husband drove a Gran Torino with a Hurst shift (Starsky & Hutch car) and I always drove a Beatle which I loved. Back then we also only drove cars with manual shifts which quite frankly were more fun to drive. Over the years my husband and I focused on the practical rather than the stylish eventually going from a sedan to a moderate size SUV and eliminating the manual shift to an automatic. At one time we were the owners of Saturn vehicles...his always the color silver and mine always the color gold. Eventually Saturn went under and most of their dealerships became KIA dealerships so we then became KIA car owners. The same color patterns continued....silver for the hubby and gold for the wifey. To this day we own a KIA...a silver (of course) SUV. Which is now 11 years old and most likely will be replaced this year or next. The only diversions in our boring mix was when in the mid 1980's I insisted on buying a Dodge 600 white convertible with red leather seats...I loved that car! I drove it into the ground. The second was when I owned a KIA Soul...remember those hamster commercials?!! I loved "tooling around" in that little car. It had heated leather seats and woofer speakers built into the driver and passenger doors that changed colors when the music was playing. Purchased new at only 10,000.00. (Those days are gone.) Maybe the next car we purchase we'll go a little "wild" and NOT get another SUV in silver... ;)
ReplyDeleteGo for it!!
DeleteDodge Caravan – white but with a red racing stripe. We always buy new to us, and that year all vans were white, so we added a racing stripe. You can pick it out of all the others in the parking lot. It has good suspension (for gravel roads), bucket seats (for sore backs), no heated seats – yeh bummer!, and holds a sheet of plywood or a pig, or dirt, or kids, or pets… not a queen-size mattress! Tires are studded in the winter for traction, and cars around here (salty air) corrode and rust out so never last 10 years. Trying to convince the kids that this vehicle is much more sensible for 2 adults, 2 kids and 2 dogs, but apparently it is also “embarrassing”.
ReplyDeleteAs for other people’s vehicles – my cousins were just here blabbering on that they had a Miata – “did we tell you we have a Miata? No, we did not bring any gorgonzola and olives for treats as groceries do not fit in a Miata” (2 fat old foggies – Yeh, cool-dude!).
Then there is Vera – did you ever wonder what was in the back of her Rover? Other than rubber gloves and Wellies?
Margo, I have also carried pigs in a Dodge Caravan! I learned the hard way to be sure pigs were in solid-sided airline crates. :) Sheep, however, I carried just in wire dog crates on top of a spread tarp. When I learned that Toyota made an AWD minivan I switched to Toyota, because snow and ice are such a factor here. All our vehicles are also "new to us." For years I coveted a Subura Outback, like Lucy above, but we'd have to drive 2 hours for service, and I feel that is too far. Toyota service is only 1 hour away. (Selden)
DeleteFor 30 years my husband drove a Dodge Caravan, with a homemade platform on top for getting up high while photographing. Ugly as sin, but super useful vehicle.
DeleteExcellent question about Vera! Probably a lot of bacon butty wrappers and used coffee cups.
Who knew there was so little space in a Miata? Dying laughing here.
The Miata doesn't even come with a spare tire!
DeleteWe have owned Miata’s, great commute car in California. They have a very roomy trunk, no reason a lot of food would not fit in the trunk.
DeleteService is always a factor for us, too, and I was so sad when the 30-minutes-away Honda service and car sales went out of business. Do people still take their cars to the dealer for tuneups?
DeleteMy first car was an old T-bird convertible that someone had painted orange! It worked for one month before it died and could not be resuscitated. Probably just as well. My favorite car was a 2001 minivan, red with a gold stripe. What a wonderful car - seating for at least 6, more if everyone was very good friends. I hated to give it up but in 2009 when it couldn't go up my steep new driveway in the winter I had to have something else. Over the phone I bought a small new suv from a dealer. They even brought it to me so I didn't have to go car shopping, which was very nice indeed.
ReplyDeleteI always had it in my mind I should get a Subaru Forester, which I eventually did. That was an excellent car but it was charcoal gray and not snazzy at all. After a few years I pulled the trigger on a new RED Forester, with almost all the bells and whistles. I really like the heated seats and the compass but I don't even know what a lot of the other things even are. It has a sun roof or maybe it's a moon roof but since I don't drive at night I have no idea what it is. I've barely used it.
But here's the thing about a red car - it only looks good when It is absolutely clean. Maybe if I lived in town it would stay more or less clean but living on back roads, there is all sorts of dirt and dust. So my car almost never looks good. Because of its unfortunate design a car wash never gets the top of the back window clean. I've complained but it looks like the new models are the same. And maybe that's why the entire back gets so dirty just driving it down the road. But it is a good reliable car and the plan is to drive it until the wheels fall off. Hoping that doesn't happen very soon.
My car is black and it also looks dirty most of the time.
DeleteI guess my character is run-down, shabby, cheap, and in constant need of repair.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha ha!
DeleteWonderful post. Like Joan I was a happy Saturn driver for a long time, didn't give up my last Ion until 250,000 miles. When I had a knee replacement the Standard had to go and my 2014 "Devil Red" Kia "Soul" is fantastic. Always unique colors to find in parking lots. My partner is that subway person and never got a license. "But we live in Maine now" I keep saying.
ReplyDeleteMy husband grew up in Brooklyn and didn't learn to drive until I intervened. Still he always drove like a beached whale.
DeleteMy current car is a 2012 Nissan Leaf, which I bought used in 2014. EVs don't involve much maintenance and no trips to the gas station, which I celebrate. I just park in my driveway, plug into household current and am ready to go in the morning. However, I am looking to upgrade to a newer EV with bigger range. (The range has diminished over time from about 70 miles to about 50) I'd be happy with another Leaf--the newer ones go way farther--and am hoping to start looking soon. My sad old Leaf has a number of dings, but is still getting me around town,.
ReplyDeleteI admire your spirit! I'll go EV when the technology has matured a bit more.
DeleteBefore Irwin and I met, we each had little British sports cars. Although we talked about them a lot, we never went that route during our marriage. The year we met, he sold his Charger and bought a very sporty baby blue Datsun. Each of us can drive a stick shift and boy that was a fun little car. At the time, I owned a white Oldsmobile 88 convertible that had a perpetual steering problem. Thinking of these cars, the stories of buying and selling them are almost as interesting as the cars were.
ReplyDeleteWe then had a series of station wagons. When a part fell off the undercarriage of our first Ford station wagon on a ski trip to New Hampshire, (another hilarious story about our our UHaul rental) I made lasting friends back at our Connecticut dealership when our tow truck guy (the town's AAA repair guy, and UHaul dealer) couldn't get cooperation from local dealers to get the parts. We returned to that dealer for 3 more cars before one of the salesmen pulled a switcheroo on me and I left and bought a Camry.
I had mostly wanted to buy American brand cars, but these Camrys are so reliable, unproblematical, gas efficient and nice looking, they have been the ticket ever since. My 2016 is red, Irwin's 2010 is gray. Mine has a vanity plate that's been on all of my cars since 1971.
Toyotas last FOREVER.
DeleteYes Toyotas do last a very long time!
DeleteFirst car I purchased myself was a used VW Beetle, pale yellow with a convertible top. Heater coughed up a little warmth under extreme duress, but summer months were cool with the top down--the dog loved her rides! Now I drive a new-to-me red Mazda--a little SUV that lets me sit up high enough to back out safely from most parking spots, see intersections better, etc. Lots of carrying space. My fantasy cars? Well, when The Avengers with Emma Peel were on--I adored the old cars--beautiful--but craved the sporty cars she drove!
ReplyDelete"Old" car sounds like a lot of trouble to me.
DeleteHmmm, not sure what it says about me but we are now driving an electric vehicle -- a Chevy Bolt EUV. And we love it. Clean, quiet, zippy. Before this, we had a Subaru Forester that we loved til it got too old to make sense, and before that a Volvo 850 which we equally loved until it got totalled in an accident. If anything, these cars say SENSIBLE. And I think that's accurate, so there we are: Sensible seniors LOL
ReplyDeleteThat was me, Hank, above!
DeleteYes, but the Bolt has major electrical and battery issues. Have you been able to get all the recall repairs? My in-laws had to send their Bolt to the car recycle program.
DeleteFun topic!!
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a brand new 1972 Chevy Nova……burnt orange with a white racing stripe. Felt like a very lucky 21 year old!! Since then have had several others of different makes and models in various colours……reds, forest greens , silver, gold. My cars were always practical to get me from A to B. For the past ten years have been driving Toyota Corollas and love them. Great size for around town and highway and good gas mileage.
Racing stripes! I'm surprised by how often they've been mentioned.
DeleteDianne Mahoney
ReplyDeleteIt is so fun for me to read everyone’s cat stories! And I take notice of which cars authors choose for their characters because I believe there is a reflection of our personalities and/or life circumstances behind our vehicle choices. My father had a little Triumph Spitfire when I was very young and I was obsessed with it. I drove it around our dooryard until it croaked one year (sadly before I earned my driver’s license!). But it certainly caught my attention and I have been a “car person” my entire life. I love driving and live in Maine where we have beautiful country road (and sometimes quite winters roads!), so I have somehow fandangled a way to have 2 cars. An older Mazda Miata (sky blue with chocolate top and seats) as my frivolous car, and a more practical Toyota 4-Runner for winter driving, hauling ski equipment, dogs, luggage for road trips, and weekly trips to the dump. I love both vehicles equally and hope to have them for the rest of my life! I am both a practical/introverted person and also enjoy long drives to the coast (I live in the mountains) in a fun and cute-to-me car on days when I’m feeling more outgoing. People love to ask questions about the car. And yes, it gets very good gas mileage!
ReplyDeleteA "frivolous" car ... sounds like an oxymoron to me.
Delete*CAR stories (though cat stories are okay too. I prefer dog stories!)
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the typo
DeleteLove this! We currently have a 2011 Chevy HHR - It has been a great car and somehow it manages to expand its cargo area to swallow anything we want to put in it. Case in point - a six foot cat tower, slid right in AND the hatch closed. It's getting a bit long in the tooth now, but we plan to nurse it along as long as we can. Dream car? Well, bear in mind, I live in the back of beyond - I would love, love, love a Grenadier. They're manufactured in GB and are meant to replace the original Land Rover Defenders without the tech bells and whistles. Yum. Be still my heart. Favorite car - and probably my next car, Subaru Forester Wilderness edition. We had the LLBean edition when we lived in Maine in the early years. The perfect car. And they have personality.
ReplyDeleteFun stories this morning! And a couple surprises.
ReplyDeleteI was a Honda evangelist for almost 40 years, until 4 years ago when my youngest was moving to Africa. They had to sell their cars (Kenya is a lefthand driving country), and she wanted me to buy her 2015 BMW fancy 335i. I resisted for awhile, happy with my 2016 Civic with all the bells and whistles (including a sideview camera for the right that I still miss), but she finally wore me down, reminding me that I always said someday I would buy a BMW two-seater, convertible roadster. This is way more practical, especially for me.
So I drive a car that is smarter than I am, a heckuva lot more finicky, princess-y in that she requires premium fuel, and makes everyone behind me think I will be the one to follow. Ha. I am still a Honda driver at heart, sucka. However, it is the most fun car I've ever driven, and as Steve tells everyone, I am now spoiled. The bonus is that despite its sleek lines it is actually one of the roomiest cars I've had, with an enormous and flexible trunk space. I've moved six dining room chairs at once in that car, with room to spare.
Like others, I drove a manual transmission for more than 30 years, until it got much harder to find. The Civic was automatic, but the entire time I owned it I kept reaching for the gearshift. The Bimmer is automatic, but it has laughable paddle shifters on the steering wheel that I can't bring myself to bother to learn to use. My brother drives a newer version of the same car, and he loves the shift system, but it's silly to me. It's like the video game version of shifting. Bah.
Debs, one of my boyfriends in high school had an MG Midget, baby blue. We had so much fun tooling around in that little car!
DeleteKaren, it was a terrible car!! You couldn't turn the heat off, the driver's side seat had no springs left, etc. Great to put in a book, not to own!
DeleteFor the last 37 years I have driven a company lease car. When time to turn it in we’ve bought it and my husband gets that one. Last October he got his very first brand new car -A Toyota Rav 4 hybrid.. Silver because that’s what was available. I retired in April was was able to buy my 2020 dark blue Toyota Camry. It hasn’t even got 27,000 miles yet so I’ll be driving it for awhile. If I had my druthers it would have been red.
ReplyDeleteHALLIE: great topic about cars! when I was a young child, I had special names for cars. There were still many cars with fins at that time. I recall, as a toddler, looking at cars and saying "meow car" when I saw cars with fins because the cars looked like they had cat's ears. I had a Cat clock.
ReplyDeleteCars were so fascinating to me. When I was a baby, my parents had the same model of the Volvo that was in a 1966 Swedish film.
My first car was a 1988 Volvo and I loved it. Very easy to drive. Easy turns. It was a White color.
I’m embarrassed to admit we used to name our cars too. Hondas are female, in case you were wondering
DeleteI drive a Ford Focus 2017. I’m mostly practical. I need a car to go from A to B. Ford is the only car dealer within fifteen minutes from home and it has a very good service. Buying there since 1987, I’ve dealt with the father and now with the son who are both very professional and efficient with services.
ReplyDeleteI chose the colour red for the security reason. It is visible when you drive in bad weather or at the sunset that is coming earlier and earlier for many months. And if driving on a snowy or icy road, you lose control and end up in the ditch, people will see your car.
Danielle
Yes! I don’t think most people think about viability. A lot of battleship gray vehicles now and I think, “Did you realize that is intentionally a low-visibility color?”
DeleteLisa and Danielle, our newer Toyota Camry is red, and we had some hilarious conversations before I consented to purchasing a red car. The disadvantage of driving such a noticeable vehicle (especially one with vanity plates, meaning my name is on the license plate) is that Irwin always drives over the speed limit, and he is just asking to get a ticket in my flashy car!
DeleteIn 2005 hubby & I each bought Toyota Priuses (his red, mine blue), which we had for over 10 years switching them out in 2021 for Honda Clarity (silver) E car for him, and I have a Hybrid Toyota Camry 2019 (black). I don't love the Camry but it's practical and gets good mileage about 40-45/mpg. My next car will most likely be a small SUV type car. We live in Southern Cal which means we drive around a lot (unfortunately) so getting good gas mileage and having hybrid or E cars helps the environment.
ReplyDeleteMy main character, Dan Gallagher, drives a black 1961 Pontiac Ventura and a blue 1966 Pontiac LeMans and he has a 1957 Pontiac Chieftan he's restoring. He owns a shop that restores classic 50s to early 70s cars, so all three make sense. His significant other, Stephanie Mercer, drives an '03 Audi A5. Police Chief Andy Cummings is always in an unmarked 2000 Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor.
ReplyDeleteMy last personal car was a 1994 Toyota pickup I bought new and drove for 25 years. Our family wheels was a 2004 Honda Odyssey minivan we traded in 2020 for a Volkswagen Tiguan with 4WD the week before Covid shut down the state. As a result, it only has just under 18,000 miles on it. Earlier I had a Dodge Dart GT, Buick Gran Sport, and Toyota Corolla GTS. I'll let you decide what that says about me.
25 YEARS???? !!!!
DeleteOne day in 1990 I went out to buy a Honda civic and came home with a Nissan 300 ZX that had a removable roof! It was a used car, graphite, gray, and simply gorgeous with black leather upholstery and no room anywhere for groceries or dry cleaning or passengers behind the front seat. It was gorgeous to drive, and I felt liberated from my decades as a working wife and mother. Unfortunately, it only got 24 miles to the gallon and I did a lot of driving for my work in those days. In 2000, I took a job that called for a 120-mile daily commute. So after 10 fun years, I traded it in for a brand new Honda Civic hybrid. but that sports car remains the only car I've ever owned that I bought for love!
ReplyDeleteSusan, I had a Datsun 240Z, then a Nissan 260Z, both burnt orange! I'd never driven a stick shift when my dad took me to look at the used 240Z--that was a quick learning experience! But it was my later Honda Prelude in clearcoat cherry red that was my "liberated from suburban mom-hood and boring minivan/sedan life." (I'd driven a beige Mazda 626 for 8 years before that.) I don't yearn for another car like the Prelude, but, boy, was it fun while it lasted. And that was until the warranty ran out and I started having to pay for parts and repairs. Went back to boring sedans after that, sigh.
DeleteMy second car was a 67 Mustang, for commuting to college. I wish I had hung onto that car! I've had all sorts of used cars over the years, a few new ones too. I've been driving a 2003 Jeep Liberty, bought new, since forever. It's stick shift so practically theftproof. I don't want a newer vehicle because they are loaded with electronics. If the day comes to replace it I'll probably get something smallish with 4WD. I do lust after those gorgeous cars from the 1920s and 1930s.
ReplyDeleteI bought the car that felt good to drive and I could get in and out of without hurting my knee. It's a brown Mazda. Boring! But my protag Maureen Gould has a yellow BMW 5 that she zips around San Francisco in.
ReplyDeleteThat red car is actually my secret desire, a Porsche Panamera. Whenever we see one on the highway, Jonathan and I both start singing Guantanamera, but substituting Porsche Panamera. :-)
ReplyDeleteBuy it! Life is short! When my Mom died at a relatively young age, I decided I needed to live a little. I bought a red Porsche Boxster S with Grey leather seats and interior. I am still driving the Porsche. The car is a convertible and has brought me much joy and a reminder to live each day to the fullest!
DeletePeter and I drive a blue Tesla 3, bought before Elon Musk revealed himself to be a monster. My woman detective, Giuliana Linder, rides her bicycle as much as possible in the city of Bern and a Volvo when she has to drive; her younger, Italian-Swiss colleague Renzo drives a Fiat. I'm not enough into cars to have figured out what models they have!
ReplyDeleteHallie, my 2009 silver Volvo replaced an old and beloved green Volvo that transported me 250,000 miles. Whenever I think of replacing her, I think of how comfortable she is (orthopedically designed seats) and that she's never conked out on me. My characters are in Paris, so no car... except the official police vehicle used by the homicide inspector. Difficult to make that appealing!
ReplyDeleteThis conversation reminds me of a joke: Two gravediggers are told to dig an enormous grave, which they do. Curious, they hide and watch a tow truck deliver a Cadillac convertible, bright red, white leather upholstery, fins and all. It's lowered int the grave and the deceased is placed in the driver's seat. One gravedigger turns to the other and says, "Man, that's living!"
Sorry, I'm not sure how to join so that my name shows. It's Victoria Zackheim, thanks!
DeleteType your name where it says name.
DeleteI love it, Victoria!!
DeleteAnd I must mention my 40th birthday present to myself: a 1958 MG MGA, bright red. With the top down, it was the perfect drive to Big Sur. License plate: 40SRGR8.
DeleteI drive a twenty-one year old black Honda Civic, which I love. I bought it seventeen years ago. In the past year. it has needed some expensive repairs. Up until now, it just needed routine maintenance. My mechanic told me recently that it’s time to start looking for another car. I felt like someone told me my best friend is dying!
ReplyDeleteDebRo
Awwwww
DeleteDeb, I bought a "new" Volkswagen Bug in the late 70's for love of the one I learned to drive on which went on forever. The new one was nothing but trouble and I saw car seat in my future, so away it went.
ReplyDeleteGood joke, Victoria!!
ReplyDeleteMy very first car was a square Fiat something or other. I traded it in for a manual transmission VW Rabbit. I didn’t know how to drive a stick, but learned by driving (and stalling!). Loved that car! Unfortunately I got in an accident and totaled it so then bought my first ever brand new car, a 1988 Honda Civic. It was a great car. I drove it for ten years and my husband drove it for another ten. I took over my m-i-l’s car after my ten years with the Civic. I had a new baby so we decided a sedan (Ford Tempo, if I recall correctly) would be safer and easier to get a baby in and out of. When our “baby” was in kindergarten, we got a brand new Honda Odyssey! I am still driving my wonderful 2004 minivan (only 135,000 miles on it). (All three of us drive now older cars: my husband has a 2008 Prius and my son drives a 2008 Ford Mustang. And all three of us would LOVE to have newer cars!) I would like to get a new small SUV (not sure what make) in red! (Guess we’ll have to save a little extra for the color!) — Pat S
I so badly wanted a MINI Cooper when they came out, but when I wrecked my Chevy Malibu, I needed something right away and the MINIs were a wait. So so got a silver Camry at a time when 20% of the cars in SoCal were silver Camrys. Super reliable for 10 years. But BORING!
ReplyDeleteThen I got my baby blue MINI with white racing stripes and LOVED it for 11 years. All dials and switches, it reminded my of the dashboard of my favorite car, a ‘67 Camaro.
I am now back to practical with a Subaru Outback. It rides so much better, which my aging body appreciates. I hate all of the electronics.
For years, YEARS, I my cars were white or silver. Well, my first car - a '91 Chevy Cavalier - was teal. But then there was the silver minivan, the white PT Cruiser (which I did love), and the white Prius. So when we decided to give the Prius to The Girl in 2018, I said I absolutely did NOT want a white car.
ReplyDeleteI wound up with a red Prius Prime (a plug-in hybrid) in what Toyota calls Hypersonic Red and I *adore* it. Two-tone leather interior. All the gadgets (except a blind-spot indicator). Gets 71mpg combined gas/electric. Has a hatch and the seats fold down so I can fit an 85lb greyhound or all the drawers in my dresser (as it contains right now).
I hope this says I am practical, economical, but I have a fun streak (that metallic red is amazing).
Sally Castle just bought a red Toyota electric SUV. She needs the 4-wheel drive and space for a large dog, but no gas-guzzler for her. Jim Duncan drives a blue Jeep - I'm thinking a Wrangler. Older, practical, again has space for a Golden Retriever, and good for hauling whatever outdoor gear he needs. Betty Ahern doesn't even have a license, so it's walking or the bus for her!
It's so much cheaper to "buy" cars for our characters!
DeleteI know it is late, but here is a pig/van story. (it is a hospital day all week!)
ReplyDeleteI was 99 months pregnant, and big as a house. No exaggeration there. Tired, couldn’t move, definitely couldn’t run.
We had 7 pigs that needed to have a date with the edifice down the road, from whence they came home in brown paper packages (tied up with string…)
We had a field. We had a river. Both were down a hill from the barn. Guess where the pigs rambled?
We had a van. Possibly only in name because the quality was no longer there, but it had a license and went from here to there.
Time was ticking and someone (no names mentioned in this essay to protect the not so innocent) is and was cheap. That means no calling Bruce who owns an animal removal truck.
The van goes in the yard. For some reason, I get the pigs – some come to piggy, piggy, and some don’t. Guess who walks down the field.
Get pigs in barn, close door. All good so far.
Culprit backs up van to door and we set up gates. Good!
Load first pig – it goes in, and settles. Doesn’t even try to skip out the way it came in – boy we are getting good at this after 15 years!
Load 2nd pig.
Load 3rd pig – geeze this is going well!
Load 4th pig – wow!
Load 5th pig – wait, there is a pig beside the truck - question mark/explanation marks. Oh, oh, more pigs. How many pigs do we have anyway? I thought it was 7.
I am hot. I am tired. Quite probably I am cranky. I walk around the van.
Who in the #@$^%$% left the driver door open???? All the pigs being smarter than the average (idiot) quickly figured out that they could just go out the driver side door!
I left. Called Bruce. Pigs had a reprieve until tomorrow. That same day I went to hospital and had a c-section to have a 10-lb baby.
The pork chops were tasty.
Great story, Margo!
DeleteMargo, you made me snort my tea!
DeleteI name all my vehicles! My wonderful 1988 F150 was Brownie; then my 2004 red Mercury Sable was Rosie (I loved that car - like a station wagon, very handy, but totaled it in a wreck), and now have my 2015 Honda Accord named Goldie. Just 62,000 miles so far. Very vanilla - I want a truck again!!
ReplyDeleteOur car will tell you exactly nothing about me. My husband is the person who really cares how it drives and how it looks, and I just tell him to get what he thinks we need. However. I have always said, if we move out of New York and become a 2 car family, mine will be a cheap old thing, maybe used, so I don't have to worry about little dings and scratches . Life is too short for that. Truth is, IMHO bet car we ever had was a Honda Accord. Comfortable, 100 % reliable, easy to drive. Everything a car (my car, anyway)should be!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, and I mean really young, like late teens and early twenties, I thought owning a Jaguar would be the epitome of a luxurious car experience. The jaguar hood ornament was so fabulous. I think I must have seen one in a movie, maybe a James Bond one. Of course, I certainly couldn't afford one and now, I've gotten tighter with my money, too. But, it was so serendipitous the other day that I'm thinking about a new car, and I see driving by me one of the old jaguars of my dreams.
ReplyDeleteMy husband has always driven a truck, and it is indeed good to have a truck for hauling things. The first car we ever bought together for me to drive was a Mercury Capri. When my husband asked me what color I wanted, I replied anything but red or yellow. So, we got a red Capri with a thin yellow stripe. Yep.
Now, I drive a white Ford Escape mid-size (?) SUV. If you were to look in my car today (please don't), you would see the two front seats clear for riding in, the second row of seating with a dog cover that runs the length of the seats and attaches to the headrests, and in the back you would see my lawn chair and stool and tool basket I take to the cemetery. It's a 2016, but Philip had talked me out of getting the leather seats and a moon roof when we got it, so I'm trying to decide what car I want now. I have been diagnosed, about four years ago, with macular degeneration, although it's not affected me yet, and my ophthalmologist says he's never seen a better case of not doing so. However, I turned 70 this year, and I'm not betting on the condition to never come to fruition, so I want a new SUV, one with leather heated seats and a moon roof. I'm also looking for thicker seats and a smooth drive. My contenders so far are a Mazda C-50 (I think that's the right number, maybe C-5), a Subaru Forester, and another Ford (but upgrade to an Edge). My husband likes the Nissan Rogue, and I do like the newer ones much better than I did a few years ago. Anyway, this just might be the last car I buy, so I am going to get what I want this time. And, if the salesman looks at my husband to explain something, I will be damn sure to tell him/her that they need to be looking at and explaining to me.
Oh, and the tires are important to me, too.
DeleteI drive a 30-year-old Colt Vista wagon with the rear seat removed, full of junk and dogfood and usually empty fast food containers, with the sides rusted out-- but it has been paid for for at least 25 years. It is silver-blue, but I didn't choose the color. I wanted this car with a/c and an automatic shift (my first-- I drove a stick for decades) but with roll-down windows in case of flash floods, and I waited a year so it would have ABS brakes and an airbag (which will probably kill me someday-- I can't figure out if it's one of the ones with shrapnel or not!) It fits in sub compact spaces yet I have hauled an 8 foot bookcase in it. It doesn't start after a heavy rain, but it does in below zero temps. It is the first car I've loved since my candy-apple red VW bug with big daisies all over one fender died in 1978. And I hope it lasts because I'm 80 and change doesn't come easy to us old folks. I think what it says is "utilitarian."
ReplyDeleteEllen Kozak
During my sophomore year of college, my cousin Spike was dating Connie who was a junior. Her big story was that when she turned, 21 her parents were going to buy her a Porsche. Soon, she was driving a silver Porsche 911 on campus. That was when it became the center of my dream board. My two cars after college were both Oldsmobiles just like my Dad's! Then, I ordered my Porsche from the factory in 1987: a black 924S with a 5-speed stick and a black interior! Back then, it was my sunny, Sunday car also driven on the Spring Porsche club ramble mainly in ME, NH, and VT. Today, it is still garaged at my home and has a little over 41,000 original miles. I wanted this car for the engine, the steel, the performance and the prestige! I'd never driven a stick prior to my saleman taking me for a spin in the former location of Loehmann's department store on route 9 in Natick. With that brief lesson, I began my love affair with my dream. Shortly thereafter, my Olds died and I replaced it with a Subaru Justy 3 cylinder, 5 speed stick, 4-wheel drive, hatchback with rollup windows in red! It lasted over 12 years until I hit a deer on the way to the Mansfield train station in the early morning mist. Next came the Jeep Wrangler 5 speed stick, 4-wheel drive, black-on-black with hard and soft tops until the frame rotted. Now, I have returned to my Porsche as my main driver unless it rains or snows and I borrow my husband's Jeep Grand Cherokee! Yet, I still have another dream of a Porsche 718 Spyder 6 speed manual in Gentian Blue Metallic!
ReplyDeleteNo electric car owners? They are absolutely so nice to drive. Quiet, no worries about buying expensive gasoline. Ours is electric (Honda Clarity) and has gas back up if you're out in the boonies and run out of electric charge. We just plug it in at night and voila! ready to go the next morning.
ReplyDeleteThis is fascinating and hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI am on my third Honda Accord--blue, green, and now brown!
ReplyDeleteI am a retired teacher who drives a 2017 Prius Prime. It has an electric battery /gas hybrid. I plug it in to charge every night while electricity rates are lowest and I also have solar with battery storage. It is very economical. I live in a hilly area of California so my mileage is around 80-100 mpg. I flat areas I have gotten over 100 mpg. With the seat down in the Bach, I can haul what I can lift. I love the reliability of Toyotas.
ReplyDeleteWe have always been boring Toyota owners. On a wild hair, I bought hubs one of those t-bird convertibles that came out in the 2000s. But quickly realized we are not convertible people. One thing about writing in terms of cars is the importance of describing them so the reader doesn’t need to look it up. Brand shorthand falls flat if the reader doesn’t get the reference. It was years before I knew what red-soled shoes meant. Not every reader is au currant with brands. Honestly all the white SUVs down here look the same to me no matter how expensive. Hubs knows cars, I just know they get me from A to B and are hard to find in the parking lot. 😂
ReplyDeleteI adore sports cars and after the minivan years drove BMWs for a while. So fun to drive! My dad liked old sports cars, and we always had one or two in the (very large) garage. His 1972 12-cylinder Jaguar was positively orgasmic to drive. But now we need something big to haul stuff between houses that need renovating, so I have a Lincoln SUV. My husband drive a hybrid, though, and the gas mileage is amazing. Trouble is, the battery dies if we don’t drive it for a month or so. Get this: the character I write most about can’t drive a car. Hmmmm……
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating how the cars we drive reflect our personalities and even our aspirations. From practical SUVs to sporty Miatas, each vehicle tells a unique story. It reminds me of how essential car relocation can be when we move or acquire a new vehicle that represents who we are. Whether you're upgrading to something more luxurious or holding on to a reliable favorite, ensuring your car gets to its new home safely is key. Thanks for this insightful look into what our rides say about us!
ReplyDelete