Should you hear a distant low rumble followed by the smell of gasoline permeating through the crisp fall air, do not fear. It’s not the collapse of a nearby power plant, but rather me starting the engine of my 2003 Honda Civic. My car has been turning heads since it rolled onto campus at the start of the semester thanks to its distinctive age and striking resemblance to the 34th President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower. Yet unlike General Eisenhower, my car is still going strong. Both my car and I celebrated our 21st birthdays this past month. But it may have partied a little too hard because when I went to pick up my friend from the airport on Sunday, my car wouldn’t start.
When a car has been kicking as long as my Honda Civic, it becomes hard to accept that the end has arrived. You always think it has one more mile to drive, one more curb to hit and one more red light to run. Luckily, my car can and will do all those things again because after jumping the battery, it was back to its usual self. But it gave me a good scare. Although I spent most of high school hating having an old car, I’ve become rather fond of it.
There are several distinctive factors that I would dearly miss should I have to upgrade one day. Much of the interior is held together by superglue, giving it that homey DIY feel that HGTV watchers chase, while the lack of legroom in the back row brings my passengers closer together. It smells like it’s burning gas as though it’s trying to melt the ice caps. But despite this, its gas mileage is second only to my brother’s Toyota Prius (those Japanese car manufacturers know how it’s done). My favorite feature is the beautiful display of maintenance lights constantly flashing, creating a colorful mosaic on my dashboard. The spirit of my Honda Civic reminds me that it’s not the destination, nor the journey. It’s the joy of making it to the destination without my car breaking down.
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of my Honda Civic is the Maroon 5 CD that plays on repeat. Manufactured in 2003, it does not allow for an aux. Whenever I say this people always tell me there are ways to get around the lack of an aux, and believe me, I have tried them all. But in my moment of defeat (buying a cassette tape aux adapter without realizing my car does not have a cassette player), something wonderful happened. Out of options, I wandered into Goodwill, searched the CD rack and picked up the only album I recognized: Songs About Jane. I placed the CD in my car and listened as the nasally voice of Adam Levine filled my car speakers. In the three years since I bought that CD, it has played hundreds of times without interruption. On the car ride up to campus I set the record for most continuous listens in one drive, singing along to a full six run-throughs of the CD. Yet each time the CD starts over and I hear the first guitar notes of Harder to Breathe, I can’t wait to give it another listen.
After jumping my car on Sunday and successfully reviving it, my belief has been reaffirmed that I will never have to buy a new car because my Honda Civic is invincible. I cannot envision a life without it. If one of us goes down, we are going down together. This will probably be when the battery dies while I’m on the highway. But that date is far in the future. Cars these days don’t compare to my trusty 2003 Honda Civic. Amidst the fancy models parked in Wilson Lot, my 2003 Honda Civic, with its sexy taupe finish, rusted rim and minor dent from when my grandma backed into it, stands as a testament to the true durability of cars manufactured during Y2K.
Hearing all this, you may be tempted to steal my car. It doesn’t help that I already told you what it looks like and where it is parked. If you do attempt a grand theft auto, make sure to turn off the air conditioning before merging onto the highway. It has trouble reaching high speeds while running the AC. Alternatively, instead of stealing my car, you could let me know if I ever leave my lights on (which happens frequently).
Considering the touch-and-go condition of my car, it is uncertain if it will survive the trip back home for fall break. Should my car break down on the way back, I would be perfectly content to assimilate into the closest town to where my car breaks down or live out my final days on the shoulder of the highway. So if this is the last article I write, just know I am happily stranded somewhere along Route 31, jamming out to Maroon 5 in my beloved Honda Civic.
Allison Abplanalp is a junior finance and accounting major. If she could change one thing about the English language, she would make "a lot" one word. Her least favorite month is March because every year she is devastated when she fails to pick the perfect March Madness bracket. You can contact Allison at aabplana@nd.edu.
