A New Used Car

saturn
Originally uploaded by dangunderman.

I just got back from picking up a new car. I mean, it's a used car, but it's new to me. Plus it's the first time I've ever owned a car. Although technically I don't own it. It was donated to Hall Farm, and they're letting me use it as a company car. So it's also free for me (except expenses), which pretty much rules.

It's got a manual transmission, which I've got mixed feelings about. One friend says a stick shift helps the car get better gas mileage, which can't possibly be true for how I drive the damn thing, what, with the engine revving between every gear until my clutch skills become a bit less rusty.

But one of the things I've always loved about living in New York is that it's unnecessary to have a car. In fact, most people think it's a pain in the ass. A few of my friends have actually given up cars that they've had for short periods of time because dealing with city parking rules isn't worth the hassle.

The missus and I, however, decided that a gifted car was too good to turn down, even in the context of the soaring gas prices. And in driving it from Brooklyn to Queens, appropriately enough on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, I gotta say, it's a nice little car. It's got some zip. Not that traffic on the BQE ever let me get out of third gear.

By now, you've probably figured out why I chose our ringed planet to grace this posting. But in case you haven't, the car is a Saturn.