Are You Staring At My Astra?

Posted by phoenix at 12:51:00 PM


My 2005 ION Redline was beginning to get on my nerves. While it was an "okay" car in general, it heavily fell short on looks, personality and sense of overall connection.

I officially emerged yesterday a proud owner of a 3-door "Twilight Blue" 2008 Saturn Astra XR, a replica of a European designed hatchback from GM's subsidiary company, Opel. At first glance I fell in love, but I did not know how much I really was in love with it until after driving around in it for more than a few miles today around town. Although the interior design comes with a little European quirkiness, the overall look, drive and feel of my new Astra has overwhelmed me with some strange connectedness that I have never felt with any other car I have ever owned. I find it somewhat odd yet highly satiating. I also admit that the sleek and sexy exterior has drawn a lot of attention, provoking passer-bys to turn their heads asking themselves: What kind of car is that? or That's a Saturn?, and it feels great. Until my car begins to blend into normal traffic as "just another car on the road," I am very much enjoying people staring at my Astra.

Labels:

4 Comments:

  1. Anonymous said...
    March 16, 2008 at 12:33 PM  
    Congratulations! I wish I felt something for my car. Even when I was test driving it I didn't get it. To me it's just a means of transportation (minus the annoying entertainment of subway riders). Maybe it's a boy thing :)
    Although if I imagine myself in a purple corvette with flames on the sides and feathered hair, I do get a little tingly...
    phoenix said...
    March 16, 2008 at 2:21 PM  
    Thanks! I love my new car! Maybe it is a boy thing, or maybe you haven't found the right car yet--or perhaps it hasn't found you. (LOL) "The driver doesn't pick the car, the car picks the driver." -Transformers (Just being silly and quoting from an awesome action movie.) Essentially it is just another means of transportation, but I suppose with all the options added, I will have to really take care of him. On top of that, driving in my new car just feels "right." Have you ever driven a car that just seemed foreign to you no matter how long you've had it or how "nice" it is? Maybe it's just the geek in me attaching myself to another thing in my plethora of inanimate objects. "Once it takes hold of us it never lets go."
    Anonymous said...
    March 16, 2008 at 2:57 PM  
    It may have something to do with every time I look into another PT Cruiser, there's an old lady with a shell of gray hair driving. I CANNOT tell you how many times an "old" person has stopped me to ask me questions about the car.
    I have a convertible, but refuse to put the top down when I am alone. I found that when I put the top down, people in other cars feel as though it's an invitation to talk to me, "What are you doing there, are you texting on your phone? Look at you, must be some little rich girl!" (no exaggeration) etc. It's embarrassing. Especially the nods and winks I get from old timers who are reminded of cars from their day because of the build of the PT.
    I may not feel anything for the car, but I always take good care of them. I would never skip an oil change or forget about checking the air in the tires. I appreciate that this monster is getting me around town...
    phoenix said...
    March 16, 2008 at 5:45 PM  
    Wow! I can see how that could get really annoying really fast. I think those people are just miserable in their own skin--own life even--that it helps them achieve some sort of superficial superiority over others by making comments such as those. As for old timers, they always have to connect something from the here and now back to their own past. I guess we'll understand one day. ~LOL~

    I suppose for my previously owned cars, they were purchased based on mere need and perhaps on impulse as opposed to something that caught my eye and wanted to buy. There was nothing wrong with my previous car, yet there was something "wrong" with it. It was almost three years old, in great condition (had only 13,000 miles after three years) and did what I needed it to do--take me from point A to point B, but still I hated it. I guess kind of like the clothes that we wear, it says something about us--reveals an aspect of our personality. I guess to me it was like wearing someone elses clothes.

Post a Comment



Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
 

Copyright 2008 moonlitpath.net | Web hosting by 1and1. Powered by Blogger and Geckoandfly.
No part of the content or the blog may be reproduced without prior written permission.