This will be my little pictorial for you…..my evolution of a woman driver.
I hope you find this as enjoyable as I did when I tripped down memory lane….
I also totally understand now why women are recipients of grief surrounding their driving abilities. I also hope that MEN see why we evolve into such terrible drivers. We go from one extreme to the next with our vehicles. So evolving with our vehicles is a bit of a challenge.
Let us take a gander at the exhibits:
Let us take a gander at the exhibits:
My first REAL car that DH and I bought. (I was 20 in this pic)
Little flashy? Sure. Fast? You bet! 1996 Chevy Camaro RS
Then I started working in the car business circa 1997 ish…..and guess what we got in on trade in 1999
Yup, a 1997 BMW 318ti. Cheap payment too…LOVED that car!!
But then we got engaged. We were planning a wedding….and our future…maybe some kids.
So we did the dumbest thing ever
We traded in the perfectly good BMW for an Oldsmobile.
Can you say STUPID!! Yea….
Supposedly we needed a sedan right away since we thought we might be having kids like
right away….like right after the wedding, like I would get pregnant immediately.
STUPID.
So we got tired of that hunk of metal and I was BURIED like a casket in that car. Luckily I worked in the car business so used cars were a dime a dozen and the easiest way to get out of some negative equity
and the only thing to absorb negative equity…..is another cash cow American vehicle
And so I bought a Mustang. I really love Mustang’s….just not that year….I was thinking a 1969 fastback. You know the one right….Steve McQueen….Bullet! Yea, thats more my style. But then I got the hankering after driving this car…..to get back into an import as I loved the fast imports.
And heck…it’s only 2002 by now so I need a new car.
VOILA!!
The Lexus IS300. My pimp daddy ride of all time. This car was fast. It was sleek. Stylish. It had all carbon fiber on the inside and a racing shifter. Leather seats. It screamed HOT mama for me. But as you can see from the pic I am clearly NOT a mama there…hot….but not a mama….and what was even more pathetic….
I thought I was FAT!
Yeah.
I was a whopping 128 ish maybe! Yeah and I thought I was fat….where? On my toes? Okay. Back to the cars and the evolution of a woman driver. Well that was 2002 ish or so and then WHAM!
PREGO
So I had the sedan (see above) but the car seat was so not copascetic for the back seat of the Lexus…At.All.
Why not get another Lexus!!??
Oh, my SUV, yuppy, mama, pretentious bitch car. I loved that car. The soft italian tan leather.
The six disc in dash CD player.
All the creature comforts any yuppy snob would want.
Except the payment sucked ass!
And when you start staying at home with your kid…..not making any cash……the car has gotta go.
So we sold that poor girl too. I actually went without a car for about 6 months saving some cash.
Until I couldn’t take it anymore. Again, we did the most responsible thing possible.
Bought this
Real Smart!
Hey, at the time it was perfect. Diesel was only like $1.99 a gallon while unleaded was $2.50 or something totally crazy like that. It hauled the three of us comfortably, with all the dogs and our gear when we would travel. Big G loved it. I loved it. People got the HELL OUT of MY WAY! (loved that!)
Until.
We got pregnant…..AGAIN.
With TWINS.
DH was driving an Acura TL.
I brought him over to the snobby ass, drive an import luxury car dark side.
I had the big truck.
Have you seen a LARGE pregnant woman maneuver her bulbous ass in and out of a lifted four wheel drive?
Not pretty. Not easy either.
His car wasn’t cutting it either.
So we did what all responsible drivers and car owners do……
Trade ’em in
And here is where the evolution went from one extreme to the other. Based on all previous vehicles speed was highly optional considering the performance factor of these vehicles. Or at least the fabulous aesthetics and damn nice creature features. I could rocket all over the place in each of those vehicles. I have the shoddy driving record with SEVERAL recorded and unrecorded tickets.
I actually got 4 red light camera tickets….but my plates were out of state so they went to my old address….
and damned that I didn’t live there anymore to get them in the mail with my face on it.
As I said we were responsible. Now with children numbered two and three on the way. We began shopping. We needed that vehicle to haul all three kids, especially two in infant carriers and car seats.
Lucky for Daimler Chrysler, they overhauled the look and features of their flagship vehicle in their fleet.
I am a damn sucker.
I swore. I promised.
I cursed ever driving a gall dang
MINIVAN!
But I sucked it up.
I am that mom. I am that woman driver.
I am damn proud to drive a minivan to haul all three of my kids, my fat ass dog, stroller, luggage, groceries, the husband, the trash, plywood, bikes, I can haul anything in that thing. I even have a bumper sticker….
“walk on the wild side….have twins”
They wonder why we drive like shit.
We go from driving a vehicle like Al Unser’s to driving Miss Freaking Daisy in a minivan.
I love the Lexus! I think that would have been my favorite. I drive a Saab and I love it. I don't have third row seating, but I can see how that would be drama for you.
wow you did use some cars….my experience with cars was a Citroen (dont tell me which dont remember!) that i than traded for a toyota starlet (for the simple reason i got fed up shifting gears and got an automatic)…BTW i still got the startlet 10 yrs later and the idea is for me to sell it come Dec and I stop working and erm use the public transport? ha! but then I hate driving!!!
I want your bumper sticker!
What a fun transition. I've definitely had my share of cars, too…which has ended with a minivan!
PS…I tried to enter your postcard giveaway…I guess I was too late!!
i want your bumper sticker, too! and…i must say, that…even with five kids…i STILL don't drive a minivan! i drive a bigass suv and flip seats and move a booster car seat everytime i get in and out of it, but i still don't drive a minivan. it is my one, last holdout to being cool. pathetic, i know. however, if i could drive any car in the world. it would be the volvo xc90 (with the kids). however, we are a union family, so no foreign cars for me. boo hoo.
LOL We have nearly the same car history…except I hung on to my flashy 2 door car until after the birth of my first baby. Not fun lifting your little on in and out of the car sideways in their oversized bucket seats. Oh. I still have avoided the mini-van. Holding strong with the SUV's.
Great post!
NO NO NO NO NOOOOO! I will not succumb! I've got to fight it to the death! *sigh* My car is too small to fit even the one car seat we have. And since the hubs and I are planning on having at least one more baby, I could potentially be headed toward minivan row sooner than I hope. Ugh.
Okay I got the bumper sticker when I bought my breast feeding pillow @ Double Blessings. I am in DIRE need of a new one so maybe we can pitch for a few of the twin moms (*wink wink). The sun has faded and killed it. I also have to say that I have embraced my inner minivan driver. I love the dual DVD's (kids with TV for car rides…silence the whole way!) and the remote doors and remote start. Everyone is loaded so I am not fumbling to open doors, especially with the twins.
That's so funny! I have something kinda similar in my drafts. Minus the minivan. 🙂
I gotta think that the change from a truck to a minivan had to sting a little bit.
That is just way too funny! I had similar transitions along the way…then when I wanted to get rid of my Pontiac Grand Am and get a economical SUV, hubby 'surprised' me with a mini van. I've learned to embrace it. 😉
Oh the minivan!! Dun dun dun!! LOL I too long for a '69 mustang. My uncle had one for the longest time, cherry red. Such a beaut. It's never too late 🙂
Wow – you have had quite a few cars! I love a good sports car, and Camaros just plain rock. My hubby had one when we met, and now we have gone through several, as you have. I finally have a semi sporty car again and I love it. I do miss a stick shift though!
I love my minivan! I'm not ashamed! I couldn't WAIT to get one. I was so pissed when we bought the 2003 model and they redesigned it the next year (Toyota). Oh well.