Audrey G., Atlanta GA
The first car I actually bought, with my own hard-earned money, was a white Jeep Cherokee with grey interior. I was driven from Atlanta up to Jasper Jeep in Jasper, Georgia, to buy it. I bought it in Jasper because I'd heard this particular dealership had the best prices and they did not wheel and deal. It was almost an hour north of the city and, basically, I learned to drive a stick shift when I drove the car off the lot and headed south for home.
I thought I had it all under control because highway driving was easy, but on surface roads, it was another story altogether. That first week, I stalled out at half a dozen traffic lights, not knowing how to shift from neutral to first gear. Then, over the course of a few weeks, I somehow turned pro at shifting, and from then on, that car and I were inseparable. It was like an appendage, that white jeep.
However, after my first child came along, and then a second, I began to get anxious driving a stick. I started having panic attacks on the highway, and knew my jeep's days as mine were numbered. A Volvo sedan, automatic shift, took its place, and then a Honda mini-van.
To this day, when I see a white jeep zipping through Atlanta, I think of my old car and how, once I mastered the stick shift, we were one hot couple. But I don't think I'll ever use a stick shift again, because it's hard to juggle a mug of coffee and a cell phone and shift, at the same time. I have my priorities.
I thought I had it all under control because highway driving was easy, but on surface roads, it was another story altogether. That first week, I stalled out at half a dozen traffic lights, not knowing how to shift from neutral to first gear. Then, over the course of a few weeks, I somehow turned pro at shifting, and from then on, that car and I were inseparable. It was like an appendage, that white jeep.
However, after my first child came along, and then a second, I began to get anxious driving a stick. I started having panic attacks on the highway, and knew my jeep's days as mine were numbered. A Volvo sedan, automatic shift, took its place, and then a Honda mini-van.
To this day, when I see a white jeep zipping through Atlanta, I think of my old car and how, once I mastered the stick shift, we were one hot couple. But I don't think I'll ever use a stick shift again, because it's hard to juggle a mug of coffee and a cell phone and shift, at the same time. I have my priorities.