Our Hyundai Sonata (exactly as pictured at right) is beginning not to be so much fun. As nice as it is on gas, which certainly is important these days, something minor but important is always going wrong with it. The driver's side seat belt buckle seems to have some congenital flaw that makes the side curtain air bags malfunction. We've had that fixed twice since December. Now this week we will have to get another headlight fixed, also the second time since December. It's getting very inconvenient.
And, for some strange reason, people seem drawn to this car like moths to a flame. They aren't coming 'round to admire it but to collide with it. I often feel like I'm invisible in parking lots and on the road, or at least no one takes my car very seriously as a genuine solid object. People veer into my lane constantly with this car but not with our van, and I've gotten almost paranoid about side streets and drive-ways because of the number of times someone has pulled out in front of me.
In February a woman (definitely not a lady as it turned out) turned around, looked me in the eyes and backed her pick-up truck 25 feet straight into my front bumper. Even after hitting me she continued pushing me backwards so that she could get into a parking spot she had passed up. Then she had the stunning chutzpah to tell the policeman I called that I had rear-ended her! (Fortunately, normal people witnessed the incident.)
But, we might as well not have bothered getting the front end fixed because the crummy plastic bumper has been cracked two more times in parking lots, anonymously of course. I think we'll use superglue before plunking down the $500 deductible for getting it repaired yet again.
I can't decide if it's the color or just the devil trying to kill me.
And, for some strange reason, people seem drawn to this car like moths to a flame. They aren't coming 'round to admire it but to collide with it. I often feel like I'm invisible in parking lots and on the road, or at least no one takes my car very seriously as a genuine solid object. People veer into my lane constantly with this car but not with our van, and I've gotten almost paranoid about side streets and drive-ways because of the number of times someone has pulled out in front of me.
In February a woman (definitely not a lady as it turned out) turned around, looked me in the eyes and backed her pick-up truck 25 feet straight into my front bumper. Even after hitting me she continued pushing me backwards so that she could get into a parking spot she had passed up. Then she had the stunning chutzpah to tell the policeman I called that I had rear-ended her! (Fortunately, normal people witnessed the incident.)
But, we might as well not have bothered getting the front end fixed because the crummy plastic bumper has been cracked two more times in parking lots, anonymously of course. I think we'll use superglue before plunking down the $500 deductible for getting it repaired yet again.
I can't decide if it's the color or just the devil trying to kill me.
