Eleanor

I bought a car today. That one up there.

Until today, I drove a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero that my parents bought for me when I was 16, perhaps as a "Hey, thanks for being one of the 4 males in your highschool who hasn't been arrested for drug possession" reward, or perhaps it was a tax shelter. All I know for sure is that it had 80,000 miles on it before I'd touched it and when I relinquished it today it had 116,000.. which is too dang many. I had a few a few problems with it in the past, due mostly to the number of miles on it. Since I got back from California, I've been expecting it to just flat out die on me every time I sit in it, which is no way to feel about something.

So I got in the car market, thanks mostly to the wonderful people who bought items from my store. I was going to do the logical thing and buy a used car. Since I'm still a young person, it was practically written in stone that I get a Pontiac. I was aiming for a G6, but only realized that they were stupid and looked exactly like every other Pontiac when it became apparent that nobody was selling any. Some reviews said that Mustangs were comparable to the G6 in price and performance, which rocked my socks as I always thought Mustangs were like.. status cars, and thereby stupidly expensive, but they're actually quite reasonable. So I got a 2006 Mustang "Premium". Why new? Warranty.

Since the 70s, Ford Mustangs have always been a pretty big embarrassment on the traditional hotrod muscle car that was the 1967 Mustang. Most Mustangs from 2004 and before look like tricked out Pontiac Sunfires, which is not what you want anything to look like (my sister's first car was a Sunfire. She ran it into a curb. Twice.) But in 2005 Ford took a hint and went back to the traditional roots, so Mustangs now are what Mustangs were... Mustangs.

Unfortunately, the stigma of the last 20 years of stupidness still lingers. I told a few people online about my plans to get a Mustang and they said it was a Dental Hygenist's car. No you are! People also ask why don't I get a Civic or a Toyota... they must not understand that I live around Detroit, and such things don't happen here.

But it's mine. I signed my name to about 55 documents, I own it. Somehow, at 20 I qualified for 6% financing on a sports car. How that happens, I'll never fully understand, but it's mine. As soon as I pay for it...

Those who understand the title of this entry win bonus points, and will be pleased to know that I am highly considering black racing stripes. I couldn't afford an actual Shelby Cobra, and this isn't 1967, so it doesn't really count anyway. Those who don't understand the title didn't understand this paragraph.