First car nostalgia

"Luna, help me push the car."
Woody Allen as Miles Monroe in Sleeper

My very first car, purchased almost a decade ago, was a 1981 Volkwagen Rabbit convertible.

I was a high school sophomore, and I was tickled that finally I had my own vehicle. I think that when this specific Rabbit was first produced it was red, but when I bought it, for $ 1100, it had faded to a sickly orange-ish rust color.

But I loved it. I thought that car was so cool. Luckily, I knew very little about cars, so I had no clue just how wrong I was, despite how my classmates in auto tech berated the poor car. I called it the "red beast." They called it "little red riding hood."

I loved putting the top down and cruising about town in my sunglasses, silently praying that this small, sputtering, wheezing, odd-looking car with torn upholstery would not break down. I really didn't see much use to ever putting the top up--the thing was full of holes anyway, and the air conditioner only filled the car with the warm outside air. Besides, my radio was an ancient cassette player that was not really worth stealing, though at times I wished somebody would, so I'd have an excuse to purchase a CD player. In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't--who would buy a stereo for almost half of what their car cost? Well, a teenage Simon, that's who.

Despite its questionable looks, its rough vibrations, and the way it shook terribly that one time I ventured out onto the freeway, I was so proud of that car. Now I have a 1994 Blazer. I've had it for about a year, and it's only broken down on me once (this week, when the battery died). It's a sturdy vehicle, and I'm extremely happy with it, but sometimes I wonder how my old Rabbit is doing today. I ended up selling it to the daughter of some friends, and as far as I know the car has been sitting in the garage ever since.

As much as I loved that Rabbit, it was an ugly motherf*cker. I wonder what I'd do if I still had that car. Well, for one thing, I wouldn't be caught dead in it.