Since it's summer, traditionally the season of road trips, I've been thinking about cars and driving and open roads. I recently purchased the third car I've ever owned and got rid of one, which is always a time of reflection about what cars have meant to me. While car worship is often associated with men, I think that there's a special relationship between a woman and her car - a car means freedom, responsibility, not having to wait forever for the bus, and so much more.
My very first car was a 1982 Chevy Citation that belonged to my grandmother. It came to me as I entered college, when my parents convinced my 80-something year old Grammy that I "needed" the car. In reality, I probably could have taken a bus and two trains to school every day, but they needed a way to get her to give up driving! Grammy sold me the car for $1, and it got me through four years at Loyola. It was "C'est la vie", as I named her, who taught me about how cars work, and how to find a good mechanic, and why its important to know how to jump a car, call a tow truck, and keep your oil changed. Today, I know more about how cars work than most men my age, which is an important skill for any woman who doesn't want to get ripped off by a mechanic. That car, which had carried me around town with my grandparents during my childhood, then carried me to the grocery store, to and from school, and eventually, back home after graduation with all my worldly belongings in the back seat and trunk. Unfortunately, C'est La Vie's time began to come to an end, and shortly after college ended I decided to donate her to the American Cancer Society car donation program in honor of Grammy, who had died of cancer the year before.
My next car was a 1999 Saturn SL2 who I named Erin, which is Gaelic for "Ireland". I chose that name because as I was test driving the car, I noticed there were Irish coins in the cup holder, which I took to be a sign from my Irish grandmother to get the car. (I am Irishwoman, we believe in signs.) Erin was my first major adult purchase, and the down payment came from money I had saved from one of my three part time jobs during college. It was my first loan, and the first thing that appears on my credit report. Erin taught me about how to shop for a car, how to handle credit and loans, and how good it feels to own a new, perfectly working, vehicle. Erin drove me to job interviews, and then my first job. Erin took me to weddings and funerals, moved me into several apartments, carried me camping, drove me to weekend getaways with friends, and most infamously, Erin carried Elizabeth, Emily and I all the way to Washington, D.C. for the March For Women's Lives. My relationship with Erin lasted longer than any of my romantic relationships! Eventually, Erin's engine began to fail, and after several attempts at life support, I had to face the fact that she was dying. I sold her to Carmax this spring.
My current car is a Chevy Cobalt, which I bought from a family member who's sister passed away. My Cobalt has given me back the freedom that was lacking when I didn't have a car, and allowed me more mobility in volunteering, visiting with friends and family, and traveling around the town. While I got around okay without one, and I know many people go carless, my own life is much easier, cheaper, and less stressful now that I have a car. Plus, it's fun! I have already taken the Cobalt to Indianapolis, and have a few other trips planned for this summer. The Cobalt also reminds me of the kind and humble nature of the late woman who originally owned it, something that I try to emulate.
But I'm not the only woman who has loved her car. Click on this video to watch a woman talk about her fourty plus year relationship with her car.
