I'm in Love with my Car

So for a while now, my car has felt dangerously close to falling apart every time I have driven it. A few months back, my mom needed to borrow it. When she was done she said she would never get in it again until we had it repaired. I drive a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero. It's dark blue, and one of the coolest affordable cars in America. It looks fairly nice, aside from the inexplicable rust on the right front edge of the hood. And the right mirror is missing the right half of where the glass is. And the horn no longer works (that's a funny story). And the driver's seat no longer moves up and down as it is supposed to (or at all).

Anyway, the problem was that every time I would step on the break pedal the front of the car would violently shake, the pedal would thump and pulsate against my foot, the breaks would squeal, and it felt as if the car would never, ever stop. So naturally I drove it to Cedar Point last week with a few friends. I know that sounds irresponsible now but last week we knew it would be fine to make the hour and a half, all highway drive. While Subster and I were driving up there, though, three dashboard lights spontaneously lit up, in addition to the light that has been on for weeks (Service Engine Soon). The three that lit up were Service Vehicle Soon, Anti-Lock, and Trac Off. I had Subinator look through the manual to see what danger we were in, but it said we were in no danger at all - except we no longer had anti-lock breaks and slip-resistant drive. It was a dry day, so I decided we would be fine, and we made it there and back alive and without any accidents.

But since I will be commuting to school everyday this year, I figured I should take it in to make sure it is in good enough condition to drive, have it put in good enough condition to drive, or make the decision to trade it in, pray it qualifies for cash for clunkers, and get a better car. The mechanic eventually found that the dashboard was malfunctioning, I needed new Tye rods (sounds made up to me), and - o yea - the front two rotors were completely destroyed. Sounds simple enough. So he fixed it. Then it turns out the right front bearing (made up?) was malfunctioning and that is what caused the lights to come on. Then it turns out the same thing was happening to the left front bearing. This means that - here's the funny part - as long as the breaks have felt bad, the front tires have been in severe danger of freezing - spontaneously not turning anymore, to the mechanically un-savvy. Good thing I didn't take this car on a 3-hour road trip last week.

The important thing, though, is that now we really know that the Alero is in not just good condition, but great condition. That's coming from the mechanic: "once we fix all of this the rest of the car is in great condition." And it passed its E-check today, too, so it's environmentally acceptable! Woohoo!

The Alero lives on. Which is great, because I love my car. I really do. Even though before a cross country practice senior year, I went to my car and saw my rear view mirror dangling from the wire for the light, because it decided to come unstuck from the windshield. But I fixed it (twice). And even though the Walsh Jesuit sticker is peeling off of the back window. And I love that I have never washed it while it's been "mine" (since December 2, 2006). Through the WJ renovation construction, and cross country, and three northeast Ohio winters. And even though nobody but Subakkah understands the allusion made by its name, Mr. Fahrenheit. Or few understand the allusion made by its shortened name, Mr. F.

It's cool though, because it's my car. About 7,000 miles of the 104,700 are mine. It's been to Cedar Point twice under my watch and it rained on both days. It made countless 2-mile drives to and from Acme grocery store during junior and senior years. It was the car I learned to drive in, the car I first drove myself to school in, and the first car I drove after my surgeries. It sat in the driveway, neglected, for nine months while I was in Columbus, getting only a few trips around the block to keep the engine "fresh." But, hey, it still gets more attention than the Expedition (Anybody want to trade for an Expedition?). It's my car, and it's awesome.

Don't forget to donate to the Intestineless Wonder Super Awesome Jet Ski Relief Fund for America.

Drive Safely and Buckle Up -IW