What Kind of Car are You?
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
I wish this was one of those clever quizzes, but it’s simply my rumination on all things automotive. You see, I spent a good deal of time at the dealership this month, trying to iron out some problems with the detailing I had done to my car. I’ve also just started a new book and invariably, I had to decide what kind of car my hero drove.
Cars, like music and clothes, reflect a person’s personality. A hero who drives a PT Cruiser is not the same as one who drives a Porche. My hero in my upcoming Blaze drives an old, beat-up Ford Mustang fastback because my heroine talked him into buying it. (Which you will see later on is no big surprise, judging by my own dream car.) When I’m creating a character, I think hard and do research into cars and trucks before I pick the vehicle said character will drive. I remember that Angela Harris, the heroine of my first book, drove a practical SUV. Made sense since she was a mom. My heroine of my book, What’s Your Pleasure?, Devon Michaels, drove a Cadillac Escalade. She was also a mom, but a rich one, hence the luxury vehicle. Her best friend, lusty Sydney Coburn, drove a convertible Corvette. Again, no surprise to anyone who reads that character. Hers was red and convertible and if I remember correctly, a collector’s item. Again, of course it was! She was the ultimate little red Corvette.
Whenever I purchase a new car, I think about how the vehicle will reflect me. Is this vain? I’m not sure, but it’s the way it is. I remember so clearly shopping for my first car the summer before my senior year of high school. This is the car I wanted. A Ford Mustang.
This is the car I got:
(Okay, this isn’t actually the car…it’s a model of the car type. As you all know, all my pics from high school were destroyed. But this is as close to the car I had as I could get. Mine was red, had custom-pin stripes that were orange and yellow. It is no wonder I had many speeding tickets from this era…cops could spot me from a mile away.)
I should confess that my grandfather bought me my first car. He bought cars for all his grandkids when they turned 16…except me, I waited until I was 17, but that was by choice. I have to say that buying me the 4-cylinder Corolla rather than the 8-cylinder Mustang probably saved my life. My nickname in college was Andretti. It was on the back of my sorority jersey and it was not an exaggeration. I won every road rally we ever had. I was fast. Why I’m still alive at the speeds I drove just goes to prove that there is a God.
My second car was the coolest. A Toyota Celica, black, with a spoiler around the bottom…very much like this one, but black. It was the first car I bought myself right after I graduated from college. This car was not only fast, it was a five-speed. I think I bought black leather racing gloves…or maybe someone gave them to me as a gift. Oh, the stories I can tell you about that car. Again, it’s a wonder I’m still alive.
I have to say that I did start slowing down right around the time that I got married and in a bid to save money, we sold my Celica and I started driving my husband’s truck. You just can’t go that fast in a Chevy Blazer. The car was SO not me. I hated driving it. But it got me where I was going, that’s for sure.
After we moved to Atlanta, my husband decided to buy me my first-ever brand new car. (All the others had been used cars.) He spoiled me and got me a Pathfinder. I can’t remember the year. 1995, I think. I drove it until my husband fell in love with the Jeep Liberty. He travelled all over town until he could find a dealership that would sell us one in the color we wanted–they were so new, most dealers were holding on to the one or two they had in order to take orders.
I loved my Liberty. It was an SUV, but not. It was fun. Cute. And for a little while, unique. It reflected me. But it wasn’t safe. The car we had (first generation) had problems with the wheel base that made it very easy to loose traction. I had a baby in the car. It had to go.
I decided to go back to the Pathfinder. It’s a solid SUV and for a short person like me, I love the height and weight of a great big sport utility vehicle, but I don’t want a Hummer or something I can’t park! I like the car. Does it reflect me? Well, since being a mom is now my main focus, yeah, it does.
I wish this car (my dream car from my youth) reflected me, but you know…all I see when I look at this car now is a death trap. Time changes everything, I guess.
But one thing doesn’t change…my dream car from college. The one I couldn’t afford. The one I certainly still can’t afford, but a girl can dream, can’t she?
This one. Man, isn’t this sweet? 1965 Mustang. (Janelle, don’t remind me that you once owned one of these or I may have to hate you.) This car in this picture, black and sleek…I swoon when I see it. Convertible is nice, but fastback is better. Florida is hot and you only have a limited amount of months to keep the top down without getting a sunburn on your head. I like this. Someday…
In the meantime, my characters drive the cars I love. That’s one definite perk of this life as a writer…being able to live vicariously through people you’ve created and control. I have to research these things because though this blog might make you think otherwise, I don’t know or care a lot about cars. It’s like my attitude toward wine and art…I don’t know much, but I know what I like. And I love this car. It reflects my attitude toward life…and now, I’m actually old enough and wise enough to drive it without killing myself.
So, what’s your dream car? Why? Do you have anyone in your life, including you, who drives a car that reflects their personality?
Don’t forget! Tomorrow is our guest blog with Harlequin editor Brenda Chin! You don’t have to be a writer to ply her with questions about books, so be prepared!
