I Love Cynics!

So, I bought a new car. And I did it almost a month ago. You’d think I’d have written about it by now. But, no, I figured I’d wait until I’d driven it for a bit first. With nearly 800 miles on it, I guess now is a good time.

My trusty Toyota Corolla had over 100,000 miles on it when it died. I suppose its death could have been more dramatic. I was passing an 18-wheeler just north of Nenana, probably doing about 65-70 mph, when the oil light came on. At nearly the same moment, it made a sound you never want to hear coming from your car, or anything else for that matter. Never made it passed the big rig. Slowly pull to the shoulder, oil pouring out of my car.

Car shopping should be fun. I knew I wanted something with 4-wheel or all-wheel drive. Narrowed my choices down to a Subaru Forester or the Honda Element. Test drove the Element and fell in love with it. I’d been looking at them for a while. After talking with a friend who owned one and hearing him talk of how much stuff he’d managed to cram into it, I decided I’d go that route.

Every car I’ve ever owned has been red. Red Corolla, Red Nissan, another Red Corolla. Time for a change. Enter the Silver Element.

I’m loving it so far. The two rear seats fold up and to the side, providing plenty of space for my camera gear from my camera bag, to my large format camera and tripod. Come the summer, I’ll be shoving camping gear in there. Gas mileage isn’t quite what it should be, but that’s probably my lead foot at work.

The all-wheel drive is on-demand, and you can feel it kick in when the tires slide. Something they seem to do often on our now ice covered roads. I’m thinking next season (or later this winter if it becomes annoying enough), I’ll invest in some good winter tires.