My Life in Cars

This month, the lease for the Dodge Ram comes to an end. It was definitely not my first choice when we got it three years ago but it certainly has served its purpose and of course I have now become a bit attached to it. I also love telling the guys at work that I drive a Ram 1500 with a Hemi engine. They are impressed. I will be a bit sad when we return it next week.

We are replacing the Dodge with two vehicles – a truck for the farm and a car for the city. Marty found the new farm truck in an online Richie Bros. auction in Texas which was an adventure in itself. The new car remains a bit of a mystery at this point but I am feeling the pressure to make the right choice. Every car we have marks a period of time in our lives. It reflects our needs at the time, the styles of the day, and is forever caught in pictures and memories.

My life in cars is not very long. It starts with the White Parisienne. I don’t remember it at all but I was around when it was!

Next up was a blue sedan with a white top, bought second hand from my grandparents. I do have a vague impression of the back seat of that one.



Next came the Buick Skylark. It had metallic brown/bronze paint and a light beige interior (which I am sure Nancy thought was impractical!). It looks a bit like a 70s muscle car so I wonder how much you could get for it now?

After the Skylark was the 1973 orange VW Westfalia camper van. We had the VW van for years and it defined my childhood. It was like a member of the family. Sticking with us when we moved house, going on vacation with us, travelling to Headacher, being there when we learned to drive. I sort of wish we still had it! What most people do not know is that there were two orange vans but I will let George tell that story.

We became a two car family in Kamloops when Nancy needed a car for her business. She ended up with a 1981 red 4 door Honda civic hatchback. This was another car that we had forever. It was what we really learned to drive in and it was the car of choice for Janeen and I as teenagers. When we were in university Nancy permanently loaned us the car and it served us well. It just kept going and going and going.

At some point, George got a gold Honda accord. This was our first manual car and learning to drive a stick is not as easy as it seems but it is a great life skill. The gold Honda eventually morphed into a maroon Honda accord which Nancy and George still drive today (I don’t know two people who drive their cars longer than Nancy and George!)

The first car I ever got for myself was a 2001 Black VW Jetta with black leather seats. To me it was pure luxury. I only put 20,000km on that car – most of it driving to the grocery store on the weekends! I met Marty when I had that car and we started driving up north on a regular basis. After a terrible car accident, we decided that we needed something bigger and safer. The next car was a 2004 red Volvo XC70. I loved that car. I really loved that car. In a million years, I never could have predicted what came next. When the lease on the XC70 came up I wanted to get another one but we needed a truck for the farm and a way for Marty to get supplies for the house. We knew that a truck was the only logical vehicle but I was heartbroken. Once again, a lease is coming to an end and although I am not heartbroken this time, I have come to like the truck and I will miss it a bit I think.

We are done with leasing so I am actually going to buy my first car! I won’t spoil the surprise as to what it will be but I am sure there will be some stories that will come with it…