My Favorite Car. EVER!

Here it is: my 1983, four-door Mazda GLC.

Why is it my favorite car ever?

Maybe it’s my favorite because it was the first car I ever bought on my own. Although I did have to borrow the $300 from my gracious sister—whom I paid back way before the deadline we had set. Or maybe it was the fact that I could fit all I owned in it: I could actually live in the car. Or maybe it was the manual moon roof: flip down the crank handle and turn it (like a non-electric window, only on top of the car’s ceiling). Or maybe it was the fact that it easily topped 100mph…or that it was small enough to switch drivers over the hood while driving…that’s right: out the window, across the hood, and into the other window while speeding down the freeway. Ask Jared. He was there. Or maybe it was all the road tripping I did in it from 1993 to 1994. Or maybe it was the $250 Alpine stereo I installed myself…so loud the car almost bounced. Good thing I had sexy aluminum rims!

When I think hard, it was my favorite car because of the freedom it represented. A 20-something with a part-time job, full-time school, a full tank of petrol, and a cooler full of root beer, chips, Pop-Tarts, and Twizzlers.

It died in the fall of 1994. I killed it…See, I was driving down to Enterprise, Utah for a visit with Cameron (another brother). When I filled-up with gas in Tremonton, I added a quart of oil (it used a little…). But, after I added the oil, I closed the hood—forgetting to put back on the oil cap. Around Draper, by what was then the South Towne Mall, I started hearing a chick-chick-chick sound over my loud, blaring Van Halen music. Right before the Utah State Prison exit, I heard a “boom”, followed by smoke coming out from under the hood. I pulled over, opened the hood, and almost cried. It had thrown a rod (or two). I had killed my favorite car.

I would probably still have it today, with a new engine, but something even more terrible happened. It was parked on the side of I-15 while I went on to Enterprise for the weekend (but that’s another story…) I expected it to be towed, where I could then pick it up and assess the engine damage’s true extent. But when I got to the impound yard, I found that someone had side-swiped the car while it was sitting off the road—totaling it. They hit it so hard, that two of my aluminum rims were broken! I knew it was a yellow-colored vehicle, because of the paint alongside the doors that had been crumpled. The impound guy said it was probably a drunk driver. Well, if that was the case, at least they smashed an empty car...

So, I took my stereo, speakers, and personalized plates (2LOONEY), and left. I still miss it, and find myself, once in a while, reminiscing about those carefree days…and then I realize something: I’m still carefree, just with different responsibilities!

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