It’s true, I have vanity issues. We all know I am happy to obsessed about my weight and my shoe collection, but there are other things that I don’t care about. Take cars for instance.
I found this photo on the internet and IT'S MY OLD CAR! How crazy is that?
In college I drove the World’s Ugliest Car, a cat poop brown 1987 Celebrity Chevy. We called it the couch because it was so comfortable. Sure I would have liked a Jetta, but my car was free and got decent gas mileage. Also it had no miles (the old lady who bought it let it rot in her garage for ten years before it fell into my desperate little hands).
We drove that car the first four years of our marriage. Then when Rexy came along it was time to get something that had working blinkers and doors that locked (I didn’t say the car was perfect, just ugly).
And that’s when we bought our Taurus station wagon. Coolest. Car. Ever.
Honestly, in hind sight I realize we had reverse pride. We weren’t prideful about our beautiful trendy car, we were prideful about the fact that we didn’t own a beautiful trendy car. Humble, right?
But then. Then June and Utah winters came along, and what do you think we landed with? Our Sequoia. Silver, posh, addicted to gasoline…what a car. We’ve driven that baby for over three years and I’ve mostly loved it. I do not love having to get out and walk around China to buckle June into the backseat when she’s naughty. I do not love hoisting the baby carrier into the back. But for the most part, it drives like a dream.
Drove. Past tense. That’s right, it’s gone.
The last ride. We didn't let the kids inside because it cost a cool $100 to have it detailed.
And today I’m sitting by the phone, waiting with baited breath for news of our newest family member. That’s right, we’re getting a Mazda 5.
Yes, it really is this much smaller than the Sequoia.
It’s not a minivan, it’s a microvan. Seating for six with a super simple inside.
We went with the Mazda for a number of reasons. First, I’m pretty sure Sequoia’s are illegal in Europe since they can’t fit in most of the parking spaces. Second, this baby gets nearly 30 mpg which is amazing. I used to cost us a cool $80 to fill up the Sequoia so I could drive car pool twice a week.
Consumer reports gives it a hefty 95% which is about as high as you can get, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any better than that, they featured it on The Biggest Loser this week. That’s right, skinny people drive this car.
In the end I’m going to love this affordable little guy, but I’d be a lying turkey if I didn’t admit that I’ll miss my ritzy toyota. Man she was a beaut.
Annie-the kids are so dang cute!! Good Luck on your new adventure!
I feel like this makes you more eco friendly, and that makes me sad. Frowny face.
I’m with you– I just really don’t give a hoot what I drive as long as it’s reliable. ‘S all I care about.
Having said that though,
You have THE exact car a certain family member has. Color and all. And I’m not goin to lie to you– if I hear one more time, ONE more time about how cool her car is and how it’s so much better than our van, yada yada yada. . .
let’s just say I’m gonna bust some heads.
Is it sad if I covet your Mazda 5?
I don’t normally care about car stories, but this one is interesting. 🙂
You’ll fit right in in Europe. You would feel like a monster driving that Sequoia around over here, yes, and take 3 parking spots. The Mazda looks a lot like our Opel Zafira. As a matter of fact, I think that’s one of the cars we looked at, but I reeeeally wanted something that seats 7. I hope you love it!!
Not that it’s any of my business, but why would you bring a car to Europe? Why not buy one here? As far as ample parking space is concerned I wouldn’t be to worried in Germany (was that where you were going?). I’d say that the German car fleet consists of larger and newer vehicles (surprisingly often in the luxury segment) compared to what I’d expect to find in the states these days. You are more likely to have trouble parking in countries like Spain, Italy and France.
Because according to the rumors (which have not been validated) it’s way cheaper to get an automatic here in the states. We plan to buy our second car once we get there. It seems like there is some other reason but I can’t remember it. Also we’re getting this car super duper cheap with way low mileage. I think those are the reasons..
I have a Mazda 5. And we LOVE it. There is only one problem with it. Though it’s only a problem once a year for us. Its lacking in trunk space. I do think you will be happy with your supa cute eco friendly car. We named ours Mimi (cause its a MI-ni MI-nivan). Congrats!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Mazda 5! It brings me joy!! Congrats. I do have to agree with Pam about the trunk space, there isn’t anything. Congrats. You’ll love it…it’s fun!
If you drive the Mazda 5, that’s all I need to know! We are getting a car topper for trips.
A car topper is a FANTASTIC idea! Oh, and those flip flops… you can get everything at hobby lobby. The handkerchiefs were a dollar each and the best way to cut them is with pinking shears. 🙂
Hey, I remember riding around in that brown car! I thought we were naming her Ginger for her color- but that was too pretty of a name/color for her. So, I think we have that reverse pride too. I drive a 2000 Dodge caravan with 180k miles. I will drive her till she dies on the side of the road and all her parts simultaneously fall off! (So I’ll remember what kind to get next… thanks for the info!)