Cars

Today I found myself driving behind a red Volkswagen Jetta, and it really took me back. When I was in high school, I thought they were the coolest cars and thought I would have one someday. Of course, that didn't happen, as I was instead sharing an '87 Maxima with my sister, Heather. But I dreamed of owning one one day.


While I was at BYU, I didn't have a car. Between my scholarship and Pell grant, I didn't have to work to pay for school (unless you consider getting good grades "working"), but I didn't have enough money to buy a car. And I didn't really need one. I lived close enough to walk to school, my favorite club (Club Tan), and the BYU creamery. My sophomore year I still lived close enough to walk to school, and got to sit shotgun in Jenny's teal Cavalier anytime my roommates and I needed to run to Sam's Club or Macey's. By then, I was dating Jeff, too, and he could give me a ride in his blue and white Bronco. So I didn't see the need to buy a car of my own. I did dream of one, though, and was certain I would look awesome in a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Yes indeed.
When Jeff and I got married, he bought a Honda Accord and we decided to become a one car family for as long as we could. After two years at BYU and three years of dental school at Ohio State, we realized it was finally time to get a second car. Allie was a baby, and we knew we needed something big enough for a family of four. I had my heart set on a Toyota Sequoia. I didn't want to be another Mormon mom in a minivan.


But Jeff talked me out of it. I had to do a lot of driving in Columbus, and he has always hated buying gas, as it just seems like a waste of money. Plus, Sequoias are pretty big and I didn't have the best history keeping our cars dent free and out of accidents. So, reluctantly, I agreed to a minivan. We found a really good deal on a 2001 Toyota Sienna and I got my own car for the first time in my life.
Three years later, I can say that I think we made the right decision. Minivans were made for families. It is so much easier to get kids (and carseats) in and out, without having to heave them up and over seats. They get much better gas mileage than SUV's and we have had very few complaints about ours. I do someday hope to have a newer model (the newer Sienna's have a lot more storage space, like the Odyssey's) with a dvd player built in, but I am hopeful that the van we have now will last us several more years.

But I can still dream, right? Someday I won't be hauling a million kids around, and I will be able to get something with a few less seats. And while I'm not exactly looking forward to that day, I do occasionally think about it. I don't think I'll go back to the Jetta, although the new ones are cute little cars. Right now I think I would go with the Toyota Rav 4. I just love the cute, sporty look without being too huge. It's like the Sequoia without the third row of seats. And I'm hoping that by the time I am ready for one, a hybrid (or even all electric) model will be ready.



What would you drive if you didn't have a family to think about?