My take on cars

Driving home tonight, it just dawned on me again ... I really love the Mazda. But is it the best car that I've ever owned? Is it even my favorite? Here's a quick look back at all the cars I've owned:

Biggest piece of crap
Definitely the MFX, a 2000 Ford Focus. I'm just so glad I don't have to drive it (or even look at it) anymore.

Smelled the most like crap
My first car, Kirk, a 1982 Pontiac J2000. I bought it from a hog farmer and the essence never went away.

Best reliability
Big Red, my 1991 Chevy Cavalier. That thing took me across SoDak and back I don't even know how many times and I worst thing that I remember happening was a tire blowing out. I got that car when it was 2 years old. I'd only had my driver's license for just over a year and that was my dream car. I came back from the band trip to Canada and my dad said I could get it if I could dig up $250 overnight. He was pretty surprised when I came up with the cash (pretty much all coins) from the piggy bank in my room. I gotta say, I really loved that car.

Gone before its prime
The 1996 Ford Contour. I didn't even have it long enough to give it a moniker. I think it could have been a good car. It was loaded, but very old ladyish — not very cool looking so nobody was going to steal it. Brad and I decided to leave it behind when we moved to Hawaii. My parents ended up paying it off and trading it in for my mom's Impala.

Been through it all
While technically Brad's car, I did drive the 1998 Ford Escort for a time while boycotting the MFX. That car's been from New York to Iowa, survived severe hail damage, been trucked to the West Coast and sailed to Hawaii. Its not very pretty anymore. It smells funny. And makes weird noises when you drive ... or when I drive it. But it has given us very few problems, which is good because we can't find the title, so we couldn't get rid of it even if we wanted to.

I've got a brand-new car
Our 2006 Mazda 3, aka the Sands. I've never had a brand-new car before. Its not the 5 door hatchback/wagon and doesn't really like the rain (the tires seem to slip a little on wet roads), but its really cute, gets great gas mileage and is super-fun to drive. However, it is not my all-time favorite — yet. I do love it, so check with me again in 8 years. That's how long I had Big Red, my favorite so far.