Model: 1988 4 dr 626,

Owned: Dec of 1993-May 2000.

Mileage when first put in my possession: 67,000

Mileage upon death: 222,198

Time of Death: about 2 p.m. in Lansing, Kansas on 4th st in front of the 7-11.

Oh how I reflect with great fondness and memory of this car.  It was phenomenal.  Roomy, great gas mileage and practical. It was a hand me down from the parents when my mom was hankering for a new Nissan Altima.  It was formally known as the family car but it spoon transformed into the "Love Wagon".  Upon realization that it was not a wagon and that I was too awkward and gangly looking to look foreword to any type of "loving" the named was soon short lived. but oh how I loved this machine.  In high school he was aptly named "Titan" do to the fact that nothing could hurt him.  Two hit deer, countless "love taps" giving and receiving, multiple plowings into snow drifts and other things I won't mention due to the fact that my insurance agency doesn't know about them.  Nothing ever seemed to hurt the shiny metallic blue exterior.  He was dubbed "Titan".  And it was light blue and navy. And I got it in Tennessee, a few years after I got it.  The Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee, named themselves the "Titans" and then changed they're colors to Navy, light blue. Coincidence? Certainly not.  They indeed heard of the legend of the titan from Clarksville and what better to give it a little homage. But during my senior year in high school the car was experiencing some car trouble.  Head gasket, blown.  It was fixed but the car was never really the same.

Every time the car was idle in neutral for a certain amount of time, let's say two or three minutes.  The temperature gauge would shoot up from C to on the verge of overheating.  When driving it was fine, but every time I would come to an extremely busy 6 way stop light, I would get nervous.  the first 10 seconds of idleness was fine, after 20 it would slowly but surely climb higher and higher. After a minute it would be 3/4ths over. And then stay there for a little bit.  The light would turn green and then within the next 20 seconds of driving, it would drop down to the bottom.  My friend then dubbed it a shark.  Sharks have to keep moving for the most part in order to survive.  They swim while they sleep.  My car also has to keep moving in order to survive.  I couldn't visit a drive ever again.  This went on for the next two years with my car.  Then one day it decided to function normally, but the shark's namesake remained the same.

Stories upon stories galore can be written on the experiences that I had gone through with the car. From family car in Hawaii, to road trip demon in Kansas we went through a lot together. Two sets of tires, one blown head gasket and over 150,000 miles driven in 6 years one can hopefully can appreciate the bond I had with my car.  I always had a camera in it.  We had a driving party.  Me shown, showing off my then 39 inch vertical. Yes it was very much more impressive than the 20 inches I can do now, jumping in the air as my friend Jeremy, and Ian drove around 120 miles one night to hit the 100,000 mark. And like the natural dumbass I am.  10 Miles before we hit the 100,000 mark, we we're pulled over for a DUI check and I didn't have my license.  Jeremy had to drive my car till we were out of sight, and at 999,998 I went back into the drivers seat.
 

And then I took a picture of it at 100,000 miles, It's too small to see but trust me.  It's 100,000. Warning: Don't take pictures of panel while driving.  It's stupid. And so is having the picture this small on a website that it's illegible to all who see it. 

I didn't learn my lesson 100,000 miles later when it hit 200,000 miles. And yes my fuel light is on. I could normally go 68 miles with the empty light on. It hit on I-70 on my way to interning in summer of 1998. The gas gage ceased to work in the winter of my senior year.  It would be full for 20 miles and then sink all the way too empty. It was novelty.  Those who didn't know my car would flip out and I'd keep driving. I'd keep driving till the fuel light came on, and I'd actually have to check how I can go with each fill up.  Up until it passed it was still getting 34 miles to the gallon.

I kept the care in reasonably good care.  It was dirty as hell, washed it maybe 4 times a year, but the engine was always running fine. It was great.  I kept ROB in the back of the car.  Remember old school Nintendo? The robot that came with Gyromite.  Yup he was in the backseat, all buckled up holding a kids drink from Macdonald's sipping on the straw.  Girls loved him.  People used to kidnap him from my car, they'd go on road trips of their own with him, and then return him.  One day at the mall I came back from shopping, and he was gone. If anyone has one in possession, please get into contact with me.  I need some nostalgia.

The car has been to the Olympics. and 23 states.  It survived many eggings, nails, baseballs, and a bagel of bottles rockets and roman candles that were accidentally set off.  Battle scars.

It was the star of "The Greatest Story Ever" Of which isn't necessarily the best story ever, but it's the best bar story ever, that I have.  It might be put up on the website later.  But sometimes I feel that the story is best told only through word of mouth.  And that it might not be such a great story once put into the written word.  I've also taken down many notes at a bar or when slightly buzzed only to wake up to the word.  "dolphin and aluminum" but I could have sworn it was genius at the time.  I've rarely told this story sober. Maybe soon...

It become a soccer mom's car during it's last leg.  Carrying soccer balls, cones, blankets, and thermos' galore. Uniforms and the such. I lived in that car.  I could have survived a nuclear holocaust. This picture to the right just shows some of the stuff I kept in my car.  Lacrosse sticks, yeah I didn't play, and hardly anyone west of the Mississippi.  But for some reason.  I always believed that one day I would drive by a group of people in a park playing a little game, that I would be prepared to frolic.  Soccer cleats.  3-types, indoor, outdoor and mud replaceables. Just in case. Baseball gloves, also three types, pitching, outfield and first base. The list goes on and on but the most useless thing I had in there was my pair of shot put shoes.  Don't ask.

I don't believe that the shark would ever go into that mode, getting used to being a soccer mom car it was used to being sexy and sleek, or as much as a 4-door sedan can get.  But on the other hand.  Maybe, just maybe there was a little bit of joy that the car had in doing so. Like Geena Davis.  I'm sure she wishes she can play the sultry roles of yore with such classics as the fly and Earth girl are easy, but I think she's found somewhat of peace portraying Michael J. Fox's mouse mom or  like the giving tree.  It had over 200,000 miles left in it.  It wanted rest and relaxation.  Being a soccer car might have been just the thing for it couldn't really do much anymore but loved to help out when it could... But tragedy soon struck it.

I went off to drive to a soccer tournament an hour and a half away.  My dad and I talked about how I need to start looking for a new car if I'm going to be driving so much.  I agreed.  It was April of 2000. We placed second at the tournament I think.  And when I stepped into the car, I decided that this was going to be the last summer I was going to have with him.  Maybe sell him to a high schooler who'd also try to call it the Love Wagon.  But I wanted the shark to feel loved.  I was going to treat him like a king for the rest of the summer.  it was the summer, he'd work like a charm, didn't care for the cold weather too much.  It was going to be a fond farewell.  I was going to treat it like a parent and divorce.  I was going to spoil it rotton for a little bit make it love me more and then tell him that i'm going to be leaving for a while but that i still care for him very much.

I needed gas, before i returned home.  I pulled into the gas station. And pushed 93 octane! Superunleaded! I was going to spoil this bad boy. I didn't care how much it costs. $21 dollars for the fill up! Usually it's 13 max.  I didn't care.  He was getting what he deserved.

After going straight to the car wash.  Yes, the car wash.  First one in 6 months. I headed back home, 128 miles away.

Ever here about the guy who ate nothing but bacon, eggs and hot dogs all his life for 80 years?  Then the doctors told him to eat healthier or he'll die? He then ate a bran muffin and died a little bit later?  No.  Well it was kinda like that. 

I have to drop off the soccer stuff at my parents house and then get on back to my apartment.  As i'm getting to Leavenworth i'm at a red stop light. I look at the heat thing and all of a sudden it goes from cold to hot in 8 seconds.  the engine starts getting louder and louder.

BOOM!!!!

The engine exploded. by the 7-11.  The shark couldn't handle the healthy stuff.  It was too good for him.  He OD'd on the good stuff.  I shouldn't have pushed it.  He knew I was leaving him soon.  I pushed him into the parking lot at the motel.

I called my father to come pick me up. I waited at the 7-11, I had a big gulp. Dr. Pepper and I didn't get Coke crotch.

travel@steveuncentered.com