Friday, September 28, 2007

How I Roll: Ride, Sally, Ride

Excerpt from a recent conversation:

"I never knew you had a Mustang. When was this?"
"Early nineties."
"Why haven't you done a blog entry about it?"
"Well, that was when my cars stopped being so crappy, so it's harder to make them entertaining... although the roof did leak."
"Was it a convertible?"
"No."


And thus we have the return of the How I Roll series.

I don't remember if we sold the gold Cavalier or not. Some cars are like old underwear. They just sort of eventually disappear. But I do remember the day my parents asked, "Would you want a Mustang?"

The only other time I remember anything close to this happening in my life was when I was nine years old. I had been outside playing in the neighborhood. When I came home, my parents were standing beside the carport talking. They asked me, "Would you want an Atari?"

Of course I wanted an Atari! There wasn't even a question. That was like asking would you want to quit school, or would you want to visit the set of the Neighborhood Of Make Believe.

Likewise, there was no question I would want a Mustang. Especially considering my previous three cars had been a 1980 Monte Carlo, a baby blue Escort with louvers, and a gold four-door Cavalier.

Mind you, my parents asking would I want a Mustang did not equate to them buying me a Mustang. I made the payments. They just found it.

And so it came to pass that my fourth vehicle was a maroonish 1989 Ford Mustang. It was not a convertible. And it was not a 5.0. I was reminded of this when I got into a race with a Toyota Corolla one Friday night and only outran it by half a car-length. ("Oh yeah! Eat some of that 2.3 liter dust!")

However, the Mustang was my first car equipped with power windows. At last, I didn't have to feign power windows by inconspicuously cranking down the window without ever moving my shoulder.

More importantly, it was my first car with both fast forward and rewind buttons for the cassette player. Did it get any better in 1992? Not for me, it didn't.

Then there was the day when Dana Scarborough turned to me in Fundamentals Of Public Speaking and said, "I thought you might like to see these." Her perfect lips, dark sensuous eyes, long spiral-permed brown hair. It took me a few seconds to see the Mustang-related magazines in her hand. It was the first time I had ever been noticed for my car, in a positive light anyway.

I drove it for about two and a half years. Rumor had it that at the three-year mark, you were required to get a mullet, and I didn't want any part of that. Besides, by that time, I had started craving a Jeep Wrangler.

I don't remember a whole lot else about the Mustang. I remember the AC went out at some point. The handle on the glove compartment broke. Oh, and I ran over something coming home from work one night which dented up the plastic underneath the bumper pretty good. And of course, the roof leaked.

But only on the passenger side.

And only when it rained.

"I got a fuel injected engine sittin' under my hood. Shut it off, shut it off, buddy, now I shut you down..."

24 comments:

  1. I got cracked up over you trying to roll the windows down without moving your shoulder. I think I've actually attempted to do that myself...don't know if I actually managed to pull off the power look, though ;)!

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  2. i love our mustang - mine is a convertible - 1987 - and my partner has a 66 coupe ... i do feel pretty special when i'm driving it with the roof down ... pretty darned COOL !!!

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  3. One of my boyfriends had a mustang. It was a convertible. And the top was torn. So in the winter, it was really cold when we, um, parked.

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  4. I have been waiting for the return of the How I Roll series with not bated breath--but you do good car blog :)

    I always wanted my parents to ask me if I wanted to quit school. They never did

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  5. Renee: I think you mean "sweet ride." :)

    Jennifer: It's a talent developed over years of having manual windows. Much like feigning intermittent wipers, but that's another tale for another day.

    Kathryn: I doubt I'd ever drive a newer Mustang again. But I'd love to have one of those classic mid-60's models!

    Interstellar Lass: Hmm, did this car also frequently run out of gas in remote places?

    Pia: Thanks. I think there's a reason they don't ask.

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  6. That reminds me of a kind of funny thing that actually happend:
    My grandmother thought she was helping by giving away my dads in-mint-condition Mustang convertible (that had been sitting in a garage for a while) after he told her he was going to "just give it away". He was kinda shocked but he knew there was nothing to be done about it, so he said "oh, uh, thanks mom".

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  7. You had way cooler cars than I did! That is until I bought my 1984 Honda Prelude. Prior to that, I was forced to drive my dad's yellow Fiat, my dad's maroon Gremlin or my mom's Comet. Yea, I'm sure the guys were just lining up when we cruised the circuit in any one of those three cars. I was irrisistable!

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  8. I had a V-8 Mustang Convertible in the 90's and the roof DIDN'T leak, so I guess you took the karma hit for me. Thanks Bone.

    I made the mistake, though, of getting the cool galloping horse on the grill (instead of the standard grill), which cuts the airflow down. Bad idea if you live in a part of the country where the daytime temp is rarely below 70 degrees. Can you say overheats like a son-of-a-bitch?

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  9. And of course, the roof leaked.

    But only on the passenger side.

    And only when it rained.


    8-) That's such a Bone-statement.

    (I say this, of course, to cover my extreme jealous reaction... did it work??)

    P.S. Don't mind all the hits on your stat counter from me today... I'm using your blog to check on the UW/MSU score periodically (read: constantly)... O:)

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  10. "At last, I didn't have to feign power windows by inconspicuously cranking down the window without ever moving my shoulder."

    Yeah, I've never had a car with power windows. Or power locks for that matter. *sigh* Someday.

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  11. smooth ride..

    p.s. I have a real life video posted today.. come see! :)

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  12. Thank God you didn't get the mullet...lol!

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  13. My first car- The 1972 Mercury Montego. It was the Car of the Year. The year I was born. Perfect Chrome, and it definitely had some udn, udn to it.

    Perfect interior, nice roomy seats, perfect for, uh, driving to church. yeah.

    Now I cruise in my minivan to "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" (sigh)

    I fear I have lost my cool. If you have some extra, could you spare a square?

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  14. GirlFPS: Oh nooooo! Who in the world did she give it to?

    Carnealian: Fiat! Ooo, an Italian car :) And I'm not sure I had way cooler cars than anybody.

    Gay: I think I'd been driving at least two years before I realized not all cars started overheating if they sat in one place idling for more than thirty seconds.

    TC: I'm sure you're not the only one who was jealous of my 2.3 Liter Mustang with the leaky roof :)

    Jen: I think my current car is only my second vehicle with power windows, as the Jeep had zipper windows :)

    Shelby: OK, I'll check it out.

    Fledgling: Yeah, it was a really hard decision. But alas, no Camaro crash helmet for me :)

    Sylvia: It was the Car of the Year. The year I was born.

    LOL Good to see you back in the blogosphere.

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  15. Hi Bone,

    Thanks for the flashbacks. :)

    Rose

    xo

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  16. Memories of the first car. Or nightmares I should say. The driver window - which was powered by my elbow - had to be held so as to not fall into the door frame forcing me to be forever with the window down. The glove compartment latch held the cover on. I don't mean held the glove compart CLOSED, I mean, held the glove compartment ONTO the dashboard. The ceiling material - or whatever the ceiling cloth is called - was coming down and was held up by 100 pins organized in little star shapes.

    And the car was olive green. It doesn't get much better than that!

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  17. My wife loves the Mustang. Her favorite model is the 1969 Coupe. We're gonna buy one and fix it up. That will be too cool

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  18. I guess I missed out on the whole want a Mustang phase of life. This will sound crazy, but I never liked sports cars or convertibles or anything of the like. My dream vehicles were always huge, lumbering SUVs that I could tote all my friends in and then run over idiots that cut me off. :)

    I did, however, long for an Atari or a visit to the set of Neighborhood of Make Believe.

    But not that ceasation of school thing. I loved school. And, oh yeah, I'm an undercover dork.

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  19. Bone, is it just me or did you completely miss the Seinfeld reference?

    I guess I was away too long.

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  20. A gold Cavalier, huh?
    You're a STUD!

    The Mustang's were cool, though. I remember wanting one once upon a time. But considering I was born a few years before you got your hands on that Mustang (obviously of driving age), I can hardly remember crank windows.

    But, you're still a stud.

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  21. I (and my dad) haven't a clue.

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  22. Rose: Anytime. I think flashbacks are probably what I do best, for better or worse.

    Charlotta: Oh yes, my first car had the low-hanging ceiling liner as well. I prefer to call it the original low rider.

    Joe: I would love to do that. Maybe a '65 or '66.

    Avery Laine: I suppose the Monte Carlo was my SUV. It would comfortably ride five. And seven could squeeze in fairly easily.

    But not that ceasation of school thing. I loved school. And, oh yeah, I'm an undercover dork.

    This is the place for confessions. Let it all out.

    Sylvia: Actually, I think I got so caught up reading about the Montego that I didn't even see that last part. I'll get back in the swing of things soon.

    Blondie: A gold Cavalier, huh?
    You're a STUD!


    Yes, those lines often follow one another. It's a natural progression :)

    GirlFPS: Well someone lucked into an amazing deal, I guess.

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  23. Im not even sure where to start commenting...this was a great post! glad I decided to hop back and check it out! :)

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