With all the news reports of runaway Prius' on the road, I now give my trusted Penelope Prius a loving pat on the dashboard before I fire her up. I love my 2008 Prius. She's perfect for me.
I started thinking what my attraction was to recalled cars. In the late seventies, after graduating from college, my grandmother gave me $500 to get myself a car. I got a used pea green Pinto. It was perfect for me. The small compact car got me where I wanted to go, to my first job in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then they started catching on fire. I kept driving. Once I was stopped on the road by a local news crew. Cameras rolling, I gave them an interview and then told all my friends to watch me on the six o'clock news. My car made me a star!!
My cars changed over time but the ones I remember the most all start with 'P'. After meeting Richard we bought a Pontiac 6000. Once we had a fight over who was going to drive it. I threw my engagement ring at him so I could have the Pontiac. Obviously we made up. At about 90,000 miles we traded that for the next P car.
A car I really loved was my Volkswagen Passat. I felt I'd arrived in that car. My dream car, hunter green with tan leather interior made me feel important. Tight German engineering made it a pleasure to drive. And the sound system. To die for!
In my Prius I have all those things in my car that I earned one by one over the years. Leather seats, sound system, back up camera, keyless entry. So now when I get into my Prius and put the pedal to the metal, a pang inside me says, "Is it me? Or is it the letter 'P'?" I think for a minute and then say to myself, "In 'P' I trust."
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