October 1, 2007

Ode to an Auto

Every time I drive by the used car lot on Hollister I feel a pang of guilt. There sits my wonderful little Passat wagon waiting for someone to come along and give it a home, or at least a driveway. The Passat was almost our first purchase when we arrived in Santa Barbara. Nora and I had been checking them out in Maryland before we moved and I really wanted one. It was the first car I'd ever coveted.

We bought it one night in September 2000. I thought I wanted a silver sedan, but ended up with a wagon in Anthracite blue. It was a sporty change after the "Magmobile" we left in Maryland. The Passat made the pilgrimage up and down 101 to the Bay Area to visit Mom and later to visit Nora at Berkeley. We added a rooftop carrier when Nora went off to college so we'd have enough room to transport all her "essentials," but for the most part it was the perfect size wagon for our family of three. It did have one trip to the body shop after an unfortunate encounter with a very large cement pillar in the Nordstrom parking lot, but for the most part it was a trouble free car.

Why did we abandon it? Age probably, ours not the car's. Back pain made the low-riding Passat a little less comfortable for Paul and me. Plus I think I'd probably pushed my luck driving with the huge trucks zooming down the highway. Little dark cars aren't very visible to the big rig drivers.

I don't understand why no one's purchased it in the 2 months it's been on the sales lot. It's been relocated from one side of the front row facing the street to the other end. It once had a tasteful green sales sticker, and now the sticker shouts sale in neon orange. I imagine that the inevitable move to the back row will mean a further price reduction, and fewer washes to keep it looking desirable.

Paul has mentioned that my attachment to the car is unhealthy, weird, and misguided. I think he's worried about my anthropomorhpic tendencies. Can't help it. Loved that car. He'd really wonder about me if he knew that I had to restrain myself from driving by to take a picture of it. Found the picture below on the web. Hope a SOLD sign will adorn my very own PMX911 soon!

2 comments:

Nora said...

it was pxm911, remember? Paul times Maggie = emergency! Also, your license plate actually said swb772. The other one was Dad's. Just a casual observation :)

Nora said...

Know why it comes up with simonsays? because i signed up with that name - for you! and you rejected me! i hope i didn't blow my one blog name. If so, you're in big BIG trouble.