I'm feeling a bit verklempt about having sold my beloved honda civic, Betty. The guy who bought her (a young jewish guy named Oren from Long Island) seemed really nice and he was SO excited to find a 4DR standard transmission civic.
I bought Betty new, for a bit under 14,000$ in August of 1997 when I first moved to Hoboken. I didn't know how to drive standard transmission at the time, so the first few weeks were a bit rough. But she was patient with me, and within a few thousand miles we were getting along great. I really enjoyed my time alone with her --- driving to and from work was a time to prepare for the day, or recover from it. When she was feeling feisty we tried to set new speed records (23 minutes. I bet you can't beat that in a Porche!). On the weekends, she survived many a road trip, and she dutifully carried heaps of windsurfing equipment on her roof and in her trunk, and she never complained.
The most amazing thing about Betty was how reliable she was. Even after 175,000 miles, really nothing had gone ever wrong with her. Two flat tires, occassional new muffler, and two broken windshields from rocks being thrown up at me by trucks, but nothing worse than that. It is hard for me to even imagine that I will ever have another car as great as Betty.
I almost cried when I handed over the keys.
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I feel for you. I had my '89 Honda civic for 15 1/2 years. I just couldn't let go. Of course, I never abandoned mine to move across the pond to be closer to Madonna, but I did ultimately have to let it go and move on. The 4-door, standard transmission was a very peppy little civic (that was my setup as well). At least Hoboken is pretty flat. I learned to drive my standard in Bloomington, IN, which is extremely hilly. Lots of rolling backward at lights. I still miss that little car.
Thanks for the condolences!
I'm not sure I'm going to drive at all in the UK. I'm told that the UK practical driving exam is very difficult to pass (even if you do manage to stay on the correct side of the road). But if I do get a car.. I'm sure it won't have the personality of Betty.
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