The End of an Era

How many 16-year-olds get to drive around a car older than they are? Not many, I bet. Everywhere I've gone for the last six years, everyone has known me by my car--only the coolest piece of automotive machinery ever to ride the roads.


Though some folks thought it was little better than a sometimes-rolling scrap heap, the truth is that this car had character. Well, ok, it did leave me stranded in DC. Twice. And there was that incident with the battery mysteriously going dead...three or four times. And there was the time I got stuck in some godforsaken West Virginia fleabag motel when the gas tank sprung a leak--or was it because of the decrepit spark plug wires? We may never know. At least she always started. Most of the time. Except in cold weather.















But the fact that the Aspen didn't have air conditioning, or cruise control, or power anything--or any of the conveniences of modern cars--was just part of the charm. The charm that made gearheads turn their heads when I drove down the street. The charm that made older men gather around and ask me about where I got it and what I had done in the way of performance upgrades. The charm that made the folks at the oil-change shop treat me with respect. The charm that earned a spot on at least one list of the Worst Cars of the Millenium. Seriously, folks, that takes talent.


Well, the end of an era has come. I've moved on to a car that, while it doesn't have half as much character as the Apen did in its front left lug nuts, is more reliable and more economical. While I'm grateful for the newer one, it is a bit sad. After all, many of my best memories from high school and college involve this car. (Some of the worse ones too, but we won't talk about that.) The Aspen has many good years left (only 69,000 original miles), and she's gone to a good home. So whenever you see a 1980 Dodge Aspen rolling down the road--or being towed down it, as the case may be--think of me. And take pity on the owner. He's probably spent a lot of time under the hood, even though he probably wouldn't part with it for anything.