Today is the day


I've been spending the last few days cleaning up our 2006 Honda Odyssey Touring and 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI to get ready for the trade-in. It was interesting seeing them transform from being our own customized and personalized family vehicles into generic modes of transportation.

It was kind of sad in a way because having those personal touches gave them....
...a little extra character that made them a part of our family. Like a trusty pack horse, the Odyssey performed its duty well and had enough nooks and storage areas to keep all of Dora's backpack items and Barbie's shoes and purses hidden for months and months until they were long forgotten by my kids who put them there. One of things I took out from the Odyssey yesterday was a toy elephant that had fallen under Aston's seat. That elephant, originally from the National Zoo in Washington, DC, had been living under there for a long time!

I realized that each time I removed something from the Ody like the kids' toys, and the Sirius satellite radio, and the hardwired Valentine1 radar detector, and the Subaru/Colin McRae window stickers, I not only took its physical presence away, but also the memories that had been associated with it. The Sirius Radio and V1 radar detector were not simply blocks of plastic and electronics, but symbols of our grand adventure in the Odyssey to the east coast last summer--memories that will last with me forever.

By the time that everything was taken out, the Odyssey had faded back into anonymity until it sat on our driveway like one of the thousands of droids awaiting Will Smith's inspection in I, Robot.

Despite this sadness, there is comfort in knowing that our Honda Oddity (as I like to joke) performed well and hopefully will be able to help another family create cherished memories. Maybe I'm being too sentimental--it's just a minivan. But I said it before: I hate saying good-bye, even to a car. Maybe that makes me the Oddity!

Comments

  1. I'm really sad...sniff... I'd buy them if I could.

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  2. I stumbled upon your blog from a random search. And I read you are selling your WRX STi and Honda for a GM SUV??!! No offense, but have you lost your mind?

    A Subaru driver myself, I'll be keeping my ride a while. Won't you miss the legendary winter drifting?

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  3. Oh yes, for sure I'm going to miss the STI. Actually, driving home with The Beast that afternoon, I was wondering if I had made a big mistake. The Denali was so big and lumbering compared to the nimbleness of the Subie that I wasn't sure if I could live with it long term. The drive home wasn't that pleasant because I wasn't used to the size--especially in rush hour traffic.

    But the next day was a lot better. I got familiar with the way The Beast handled and it corners surprisingly flat for something that big. I was also able to try the 380HP at full throttle a few times--a benefit of getting a vehicle that's already been broken-in :0) With AWD and good-ground clearance it's already proven that it can climb over curbs with ease and take-off with authority in the rain.

    In the end, it's a better hauler for our family of 6-going-on-7. It's something that the STI could no longer do for us. The more I take The Beast out to do family duty, the more I'm convinced we made the right decision.

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