Farewell, 2008 VW Touareg 2 V6.
I'm not sure why I get so attached to cars. I know they're just material possessions, and depreciable assets at that. But I've loved cars since I was little and I get involved. The story of this troublesome vehicle goes back to around 2004 when I sat in one of the first VW Touareg's in the dealer showroom while waiting for an oil change on the Jetta wagon I had at the time. The Touareg was VW/Porsche/Audi's first SUV and it was nice. I sat in the lovely and comfortable interior thinking, "I'll never be able to afford one of these."
But when it came time to hand the Jetta down to my son, I made the mistake of looking at used Touaregs. The one I got seemed a good deal, but I didn't get my mechanic to check it out and that was a big mistake. It never stranded me and didn't act up all that often, but when it did it was expensive and time consuming to fix. As I posted on Facebook last week, it was like a dysfunctional relationship. I loved her and she never treated me right. I should be happy to see her go, but the emotions are, in fact, mixed.
Getting used to a new vehicle will take a little while. I am pretty good at figuring out the layout and features of different vehicles. Years of business travel, driving unknown rental vehicles away from airports in unknown territory, usually in the dead of night, built that skill. But I think the strangest thing about my new 2017 Mazda CX-5 will be getting used to all the things that actually work! The turn signal cancels itself. (The Touareg's did not.) The sun visor stays up where you put it. (The Touareg's did not.) The Mazda recognizes that the front passenger-side door is closed when it is. (The Touareg did not.)
So, Touareg, as much as I wanted to love you, you were a pain. Your untimely demise was also costly. (Much like health care, the end of life carries a large percentage of the cost.) But they hauled you away today. Good riddance.
Now to begin a new relationship with my CX-5. I'm thinking of naming her. (Perhaps the Touareg resented never being named, aside from the occasional references to the Beast.) My second car was sporty and red and earned the name Arial, from the redhead Little Mermaid. This car is blue and my kids pointed out that our favorite blue-haired character is Ramona Flowers, from the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. So, time for Ramona and I to begin getting to know one another. Here's to a beautiful friendship! (And let's hope she doesn't have any evil exes...)
I'm not sure why I get so attached to cars. I know they're just material possessions, and depreciable assets at that. But I've loved cars since I was little and I get involved. The story of this troublesome vehicle goes back to around 2004 when I sat in one of the first VW Touareg's in the dealer showroom while waiting for an oil change on the Jetta wagon I had at the time. The Touareg was VW/Porsche/Audi's first SUV and it was nice. I sat in the lovely and comfortable interior thinking, "I'll never be able to afford one of these."
But when it came time to hand the Jetta down to my son, I made the mistake of looking at used Touaregs. The one I got seemed a good deal, but I didn't get my mechanic to check it out and that was a big mistake. It never stranded me and didn't act up all that often, but when it did it was expensive and time consuming to fix. As I posted on Facebook last week, it was like a dysfunctional relationship. I loved her and she never treated me right. I should be happy to see her go, but the emotions are, in fact, mixed.
Getting used to a new vehicle will take a little while. I am pretty good at figuring out the layout and features of different vehicles. Years of business travel, driving unknown rental vehicles away from airports in unknown territory, usually in the dead of night, built that skill. But I think the strangest thing about my new 2017 Mazda CX-5 will be getting used to all the things that actually work! The turn signal cancels itself. (The Touareg's did not.) The sun visor stays up where you put it. (The Touareg's did not.) The Mazda recognizes that the front passenger-side door is closed when it is. (The Touareg did not.)
So, Touareg, as much as I wanted to love you, you were a pain. Your untimely demise was also costly. (Much like health care, the end of life carries a large percentage of the cost.) But they hauled you away today. Good riddance.
Now to begin a new relationship with my CX-5. I'm thinking of naming her. (Perhaps the Touareg resented never being named, aside from the occasional references to the Beast.) My second car was sporty and red and earned the name Arial, from the redhead Little Mermaid. This car is blue and my kids pointed out that our favorite blue-haired character is Ramona Flowers, from the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. So, time for Ramona and I to begin getting to know one another. Here's to a beautiful friendship! (And let's hope she doesn't have any evil exes...)
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