Katrina, my daughter, is fine; however, our devoted Saturn Ion of 13 years, whom my daughters named "Stanley," is not. Last night, Janelle and I received the late night call that parents dread: their child has been in an accident. Thankfully, the car took the brunt of the damage and no one else was involved (aside from some brush, small trees, and a couple of mailboxes). Unfortunately, Stanley took a totalling blow on the passenger side where the front and rear doors meet, bending his frame. He will be donating his "organs" to other needy vehicles.
Stanley was our first truly new car. In the beginning, he was Janelle's primary means of transportation to and from Western Michigan University as she completed her degree there. Once we moved to Jackson, he fell primarily under my care as I drove him to and from Lincoln High School until a year and a half ago when Katrina started to go to Jackson College (they've removed the community from their school).
He was a sporty little thing. Although other friends and family members have had trouble with Ions, Stanley was particularly good to us. I had one bit of a throttle issue that nearly drove me off a bridge, but after that was taken care of (and the problem with not being able to remove the key from the ignition), we really didn't have issues. He had a moonroof that came at no additional cost to us and which we rarely used, but liked the idea of having. The placement of the shifter often made me feel like I was driving a manual transmission (which, no, I can't actually drive and have damaged a clutch proving so). My favorite tidbit was that his instrument panel was off to the right of his small steering wheel, making the display easy to see (it's one of the things I love about Mera, my Prius, as well). All together, I felt like I was driving a car from the future when driving him.
He lived a full life for a car. He saw both of our younger boys grow up (and has some of the stains to prove it). Perhaps our moving without him was just too much of a blow to his self esteem, or perhaps I overly anthropomophize my automobiles. One way or another, he will be missed. Farefell, Stanley.
Stanley was our first truly new car. In the beginning, he was Janelle's primary means of transportation to and from Western Michigan University as she completed her degree there. Once we moved to Jackson, he fell primarily under my care as I drove him to and from Lincoln High School until a year and a half ago when Katrina started to go to Jackson College (they've removed the community from their school).
He was a sporty little thing. Although other friends and family members have had trouble with Ions, Stanley was particularly good to us. I had one bit of a throttle issue that nearly drove me off a bridge, but after that was taken care of (and the problem with not being able to remove the key from the ignition), we really didn't have issues. He had a moonroof that came at no additional cost to us and which we rarely used, but liked the idea of having. The placement of the shifter often made me feel like I was driving a manual transmission (which, no, I can't actually drive and have damaged a clutch proving so). My favorite tidbit was that his instrument panel was off to the right of his small steering wheel, making the display easy to see (it's one of the things I love about Mera, my Prius, as well). All together, I felt like I was driving a car from the future when driving him.
He lived a full life for a car. He saw both of our younger boys grow up (and has some of the stains to prove it). Perhaps our moving without him was just too much of a blow to his self esteem, or perhaps I overly anthropomophize my automobiles. One way or another, he will be missed. Farefell, Stanley.
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