we buy a car
We bought a car!
I am 44 years old and this is the first car I've ever owned. I bet that sounds pretty bizarre; it certainly is unusual for an American. I learned to drive at the minimum age, but as a teenager I shared a car with my mom, then I went to college in Philadelphia, where having a car was a toy, not a necessity. Once I settled in New York, there was no reason to own a car. Keeping a car in New York City is either a great expense or a great headache, or both. We rented dozens of cars over the years, but daily life was lived on foot or on public transportation.
But now we're suburban folks, and I'm excited about having our own set of wheels.
We chose a Chevrolet Optra Wagon, a Canadian-only model, the GM equivalent of the Ford Focus. There was a 2005 available, we got a good price, and we went for it. We're hoping to get insured on Monday morning and "take delivery," as they say, on Monday afternoon.
Our friendly Car Dealer Guy and the Final Pricing Guy were both very interested in why we (Americans) are here (in Canada). They asked enough questions that we got into the actual reasons, not my shorthand "we like Canada better than the US" answer. Once again, I see how much more mainstream our views are here. I suppose I'll be seeing this over and over, and I don't think I'll ever tire of it - considering it's the bottom-line justification of why we moved.
Interestingly, both men asked us about Fahrenheit 9/11. In the US media, the words "Michael Moore" are a buzzword for a ranting extremist. At a Chevy dealership in Mississauga, he's a man who made an eye-opening movie.
* * * *
We're taking the day off today, a much-needed breather from shopping and setting up and figuring things out. I know we both want to catch up on our blog-reading in the morning, then there's the very important baseball game in the afternoon, and the music festival in Port Credit to check out at night.
I am 44 years old and this is the first car I've ever owned. I bet that sounds pretty bizarre; it certainly is unusual for an American. I learned to drive at the minimum age, but as a teenager I shared a car with my mom, then I went to college in Philadelphia, where having a car was a toy, not a necessity. Once I settled in New York, there was no reason to own a car. Keeping a car in New York City is either a great expense or a great headache, or both. We rented dozens of cars over the years, but daily life was lived on foot or on public transportation.
But now we're suburban folks, and I'm excited about having our own set of wheels.
We chose a Chevrolet Optra Wagon, a Canadian-only model, the GM equivalent of the Ford Focus. There was a 2005 available, we got a good price, and we went for it. We're hoping to get insured on Monday morning and "take delivery," as they say, on Monday afternoon.
Our friendly Car Dealer Guy and the Final Pricing Guy were both very interested in why we (Americans) are here (in Canada). They asked enough questions that we got into the actual reasons, not my shorthand "we like Canada better than the US" answer. Once again, I see how much more mainstream our views are here. I suppose I'll be seeing this over and over, and I don't think I'll ever tire of it - considering it's the bottom-line justification of why we moved.
Interestingly, both men asked us about Fahrenheit 9/11. In the US media, the words "Michael Moore" are a buzzword for a ranting extremist. At a Chevy dealership in Mississauga, he's a man who made an eye-opening movie.
* * * *
We're taking the day off today, a much-needed breather from shopping and setting up and figuring things out. I know we both want to catch up on our blog-reading in the morning, then there's the very important baseball game in the afternoon, and the music festival in Port Credit to check out at night.
Hope you enjoy your new set of wheels! :)
ReplyDeleteIn the US media, the words "Michael Moore" are a buzzword for a ranting extremist.
Y'know, to me an extremist is someone who, well, does extreme things. Like blow things up, or subvert a government... Making some movies doesn't really seem in the same category.
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMaking some movies doesn't really seem in the same category.
Indeed. Hey, to most US media, anyone calling for an end to the war is an extremist.
Enjoy the ballgame, and the show!
ReplyDeleteBTW, decent car. Glad you got a good price on it. Those aren't bad to insure, either. Might cost you a finger, but likely not any toes.
;-)
G
Ah, the bonuses to living in Canada keep building up - you, of course, still have baseball there. We get something like 9 sports channels on our satellite here in Greece and I haven't a baseball game in three years. I've seen curling, pool, and everything else, but no baseball. What do the Europeans have against baseball!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the car purchase! me yia as they say in Greece when you make a big purchase, which means "enjoy with health".
Interestingly, both men asked us about Fahrenheit 9/11. In the US media, the words "Michael Moore" are a buzzword for a ranting extremist. At a Chevy dealership in Mississauga, he's a man who made an eye-opening movie.
ReplyDeleteIt's surprising the dissonant distance to be heard in the chords just a few yards on either side of an imaginary line, isn't it? To be fair, the national identity of the average Canadian isn't really compromised by Moore's criticisms of certain trends in the US, and so we're probably more open to the arguments, generally. I don't know if we'd be as accommodating if he were a Canadian taking issue with Canada. I'd like to think we wouldn't greet such a person with the immediate and unreserved automatic hostility with which Moore if often greeting in the US, but I just don't know.
I do remember being shown Roger and Me not long after it was released. For as long as I live, I'll never forget sitting there, a naive middle class young adult, listening to Wouldn't It Be Nice by the Beach Boys as the camera rolled pasted boarded up home after boarded up home after empty street after boarded up business... For me, it was the first realization what it was to really lose your dreams, to be stripped naked and left standing in the cold wind. Trouble is, Moore is largely preaching to the choir. The demons watch ticker tape.
Thanks for the mazel tovs - and the Greek lesson!
ReplyDeleteAh, the bonuses to living in Canada keep building up - you, of course, still have baseball there.
Honestly, we'd have a hard time living somewhere where we didn't. It's one of the reasons we chose Toronto over other Canadian cities - the Blue Jays are in our division!
LP, excellent memory of Roger & Me. We had the good luck to see that movie at its release at the New York Film Festival. Moore - totally unknown at the time, and about 80 lbs thinner - was there answering questions after the screening. It left a deep imprint on me.
ReplyDeleteTrouble is, Moore is largely preaching to the choir.
Not anymore. F9/11 broke box office records for a documentary and for an indie film. Many people's eyes were opened.
We chose a Chevrolet Optra Wagon, a Canadian-only model, the GM equivalent of the Ford Focus.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I'd have pegged you folks for buying an import.
It's one of the reasons we chose Toronto over other Canadian cities - the Blue Jays are in our division!
And they are the only Canadian team left. -sniff-
I'd have pegged you folks for buying an import.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why? I actually wanted to buy a car physically made in Canada, and was disappointed to learn this car was made in Korea. I am the daughter of a labor unionist. I was raised to buy American - union-made if possible - and it's one lesson of my upbringing that always stuck. I only abandoned the practice when it became virtually impossible to do.
And they are the only Canadian team left. -sniff-
To Montreal's shame.
Well, terms like "import" and "domestic" don't mean very much these days when talking cars. My Toyota was built in Cambridge, Ontario.
ReplyDeleteTo Montreal's shame.
Yes. I'm afraid I cannot continue to follow the Nationals. As go the Expos, so goes my fading interest in baseball.
Wow, I thought owning my first car at age 23 was pretty unusual. But it is though in Southern California.
ReplyDeleteI wish I didn't have to own a car..
I like Michael Moore simply because he reminds me of a teddy bear. Oh, and I have car envy right now, even though the price of gas is stupid.
ReplyDeleteWell, terms like "import" and "domestic" don't mean very much these days when talking cars.
ReplyDeleteRight. I specifically asked where the car was made b/c of that.
So why did you think we'd buy an import?
Wow, I thought owning my first car at age 23 was pretty unusual. But it is though in Southern California.
It's very much a New York thing. Or at least a big Eastern city thing.
I have car envy right now,
ReplyDeleteI've never been the object of car envy before. You ride your bike to work, I think? That always seems so great to me.
So why did you think we'd buy an import?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I suppose I think of General Motors as the quintessential American corporation. Driving a Chevy is like wrapping yourself in the Stars and Stripes.
Congrats on the wheels, L!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Crabbi!
ReplyDeleteDriving a Chevy is like wrapping yourself in the Stars and Stripes.
Ack! Say it ain't so! ;-)
Hey, at least the company wasn't founded by a Nazi.
Trouble is, Moore is largely preaching to the choir.
ReplyDeleteNot anymore. F9/11 broke box office records for a documentary and for an indie film. Many people's eyes were opened.
Well, I was hoping. Still, enough people remain convinced otherwise that they happily re-elected George Bush. I'm not even American and I found that rather a bitter pill. You like to think the neighbours can smell a skunk under the porch, especially when it's theirs. :(
And they are the only Canadian team left. -sniff-
To Montreal's shame.
There's even talk of the Canadiens folding up. The CFL has been in and out of Montreal more often than [insert crass innuendo about notorious adulterous couple here]. And the Expos are gone. Does Montreal care about anything besides bagels, smoked meat, and tawdry affairs anymore?
Driving a Chevy is like wrapping yourself in the Stars and Stripes.
Ack! Say it ain't so! ;-)
Yeah, ask Michael Moore or anyone in Flint how patriotic GM is.
Seeeeee thhheee USA
In your Chevrolet!
America is asking you to call!
Drive the USA
In your Chevrolet!
But don't expect an income come the fall!
See, we're laying you off in November,
Just before the Christmas season really hits
See the USA,
While you can, today:
Come Turkey Time,
You hit the bricks!
Traveling east, traveling west:
Wherever you go, we'll be laying off next!
Southward or north, near place or far:
Jobs are minimum wage and you pee in a jar!
Great lyrics. :)
ReplyDeleteStill, enough people remain convinced otherwise that they happily re-elected George Bush.
Well, not really. Too many people voted for him - there's no doubt about that - but there are serious doubts as to whether or not he was actually re-elected.
Yeah, ask Michael Moore or anyone in Flint how patriotic GM is.
Find cheap labor elsewhere, put thousands out of work, destroy whole towns and regions, but keep your shareholders happy, and blame the unions for the decline. It's The American Way.
Find cheap labor elsewhere, put thousands out of work, destroy whole towns and regions, but keep your shareholders happy, and blame the unions for the decline. It's The American Way.
ReplyDeleteIn the long run, there's something unsupportable in the philosophy and conduct of the Anglo-American economic system. How much money can you eat? I'm more encouraged by ideas coming out of Continental Europe and even Venezuela just lately: a more sustainable, human-based version of capitalism with a real mixed economy.
Mazel tov! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI'll add to the domestic/import issue. The "parts content" information for my 2004 VW Jetta states that the engine was fabricated in Poland and the transmission in Argentina; 30% of the parts were from Mexico and 40% from Germany. It was assembled in Mexico. So, it is clearly not American, nor is it entirely German.
ReplyDeleteI don't think domestic/import really means anything in cars anymore.
ReplyDeleteI mean, if a Swedish Saab 9-2 is built in Japan based on a Subaru Impreza platform by its American parent General Motors, do you call it a Domestic or an Import?
It's definately a different world - here in Colorado, it's the norm to have a car - I can't even remember a time when I didn't have wheels! Love to hear about the MM reaction!
ReplyDeleteHi Mason! :)
ReplyDelete