I took a drive in our old 1990 Honda Accord yesterday (first time since we bought our new Civic) and was surprised by how good it felt. Yeah, it still has a problem with the distributor that I am working on but it just felt good. It wasn't that the seats were still very comfortable, or that the steering and suspension were still tight, or that there was relatively little interior noise for a 17 year old car. No, it wasn't any of that. It felt good because the car was me.
Angela and I are extremely grateful for our new car but despite our gratitude, I have found myself thinking, and have at times said so to Angela, that this new car doesn't feel like our old one did. We really love it but it just doesn't feel the same. And since the drive in the Accord yesterday, I think I know why. I think our pewter (or tan, or light brown car - I never really decided) 1990 Honda Accord EXR became for us a significant part of our identity (or mine at least, speaking for myself). I am not saying that the Accord defined me but it was very much a part of who I was. We had that car for over five years so people got to know that if I were driving somewhere, I'd be driving the Accord. They knew that if they saw the Accord parked at a local establishment, there would be a good chance that Chris or Angela Hiebert was inside. Those that knew me recognized me easily when I was driving that car.
Yesterday, sitting where I have sat for most of my sitting time in the last 5 years, I felt I belonged. I have stared many hours through that windshield. I knew where every button, dial, or lever was in the dark - even the ones that were no longer illuminated like they once were. That car, that Honda Accord was me. It was a part of me. I knew it inside and out. I knew what it smelled like, felt like, sounded like - as if it were an extension of my living body. It was me.
I am still getting used to our new car - it's curves, smell, look, feel, sounds. Our new car is a place of peace for us. Seriously. Our boys love driving and I think it is because they sense that their parents are no longer tense when they drive. They sense that their parents aren't wondering if they are going to make it or not. They sense that their parents are really enjoying themselves. Our new car is great - from the 16" alloy rims to the auxiliary stereo input. I love to drive it. I want to drive it right now. But it just isn't me (yet).
Monday, November 05, 2007
90 Accord vs. 07 Civic
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2 comments:
It's kinda like an old pair of shoes isn't it. You shop and shop for the new ones and choose a pair that soooo comfortable you race to the till to get them. Then a week later a friend asks you for some help in their yard and you decide to wear that old pair of shoes again to keep your new ones nice. As you put them on a wonderful sense of relief floods over your body. You wonder what possessed you to buy those new shoes when the old ones are so comfortable.
Dude, don't let yourself be emotionally attached to (involved with?) your vehicles... It makes hard decisions harder and that just makes for bad choices.
Exactly like thee old shoes . . .
As far as getting emotionally attached, I agree that it makes hard decisions harder but our track record is that we still end up makeing good choices. Or at least we feel we have up until this point.
And maybe it's more that the car will get attached to us, rather than us to it.
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