I Should Be Driving a Shelby Mustang

This is my car.  I have mixed feelings about it.

I am not the type to name my car or assign it a gender.  (I almost named it Rolfe, but when I realized I didn't want it to share a name with Liesl's Nazi boyfriend in The Sound of Music, I decided to leave it alone.)

It is a 2001 5-speed Jetta.  Don't think for a minute that I'm not thankful I have it, but it's got its pros and cons.  I'm just not sure if the pros outweigh all those cons.  That said, my assessment of the situation is not likely to have any influence on whether I drive this car.  

• PRO:  It's zippy.  When I drive my parents' Impala, it feels like I'm at the helm of some massive ocean liner.  But I can put the Jetta exactly where I want it to go.  That makes my daily drive to school entertaining.  The road that runs next to campus doesn't get a lot of traffic, and the turns are tight enough to have a little fun within the speed limit.  You start by turning right off the busy road, and then it's immediately ninety degrees back to the left.  I use every bit of pavement.  From there, it's a short, quick straight, and then another ninety-degree right turn.  There's a lot of extra pavement on the inside and I always hit my apex.  I've driven that road in several different cars, but in the Jetta, I'm giggling.

• CON:  It will not win a drag race.  My brother drove this car before I did, and I'm not sure what he was thinking when he attempted this.  I don't know the whole story, but he and his friends went to a drag strip in the next county over.  (It's probably not nearly as sketchy as I'm imagining, but there is something foreboding about "the next county over.")  He paid a few dollars to get a number and then lined up to race.  I don't know how badly he lost, but it's definitely not a story he likes to tell often. 

• PRO:  It's a manual.  I'm a snob about that.  I was scared to learn, because the only thing you ever hear (outside the racing circle) is that they're impossible to drive.  Turns out, it's not so bad.  Imagine that!  I didn't even stall the first time I tried it--I was just a little closer to the mailbox than I was comfortable with.  Pretty soon, it was second nature.  Now, it's all I want to drive.  It adds another layer to my daily commute.  Instead of going from point A to point B, I am driving the car.  I am operating the machine.  Plus, learning to drive a manual gave me my philosophy (at least for most parts of life).  Say you're at a stop sign, trying to turn left onto a busy road.  This is what I do every day.  If I stall as I'm pulling out, I could be hit.  So how do I keep from stalling?  I just don't stall.  I just don't.  I keep the car running because that's what has to happen.  Got a problem?  Solve it.  Need to accomplish something?  Do it.  I love how simple things can be.

• CON:  I can no longer drive an automatic.  Well, that's not exactly true.  I can switch back and forth easily now, but at first, I'd stomp around for the clutch until I remembered where I was.  But it is true that I don't want to drive an automatic.  I take a lot of pride in driving a manual.  Why would I want to take a step back down?  (I told you, I'm a total snob.)    

• PRO:  My brother and I both learned to drive a manual in it.  It's got sentimental value!  Kind of!

• CON:  My brother and I both learned to drive a manual in it.  I don't think it can handle a third student.  Frankly, I was probably one too many.

• PRO:  It's tiny.  I can park in compact spots.  I don't have to be particularly nervous in heavy traffic.  There is always space for me.  I also get a lot of feedback.  I can feel everything--tiny dips in the road, wind gusts on the highway.  My grandma's always wanted a Cadillac; she says it's the smoothest ride you can get. But I like the stream of information I get in the Jetta.  The more I know about my surroundings, the safer I feel.  

• CON:  The trunk cannot be opened.  On a really dumb day, I walked off without my keys.  I came back for them, but they were gone.  I suppose someone was charmed by my shiny F1 key chain.  I got new keys, but they don't open the trunk.  Bad news.  The CD player is in the trunk.  

• PRO:  It's fuel efficient.  It would be fairly efficient as an automatic, but it is even more so because it's a manual.  I can save fuel with my driving techniques.  I coast in neutral whenever possible.  It also helps that I don't speed--I respect the law and the safety of the people around me.  (Sorry, getting a little preachy.)  It still feels like I'm at the pump all the time, though.  That's just another in a long list of reasons to invest in green technology.  

• CON:  The left speakers are blown.  But I've adjusted as though I were deaf in one ear.  

My assessment?  It's a car, it has character, and I'm lucky to have it.  That doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to when I get to choose the car I drive.