I loved this article. I'm a bit younger then the author. But I have a certain relation to it..
It would have been the end of the 80's- or close to it. 1988 I'm pretty sure. We were posted from Halifax to another Army base in Ontario. We were used to not having a car at all, and relied on halifax's bus system up to this point. My dad elected to buy himself his first new car. A 1989 Dodge Omni.
It was not what I wanted when we went to the dealer. I was 6 years old and my eye was set on the Racy Daytona that was parked next to it. But here was this rink-a-dink little 5 door hatchback that looked eerily similar to a VW rabbit. But more doors. I remember it's price tag, $9998.
I tried to con dad into a black one of the same style. It also had some "upgrades". It was a GLS model. But dad was convinced that this little hatchback he had picked was the right one. I remember the first ride in it. 5 speed manual. 82hp 2.2L four cylender engine with fuel injection (Big deal those days) and an AM/FM stereo with 2 speakers. It had a pleather and cloth interior, and was a sea of red. In and out.
From there the little omni carried us from Petawawa to shilo, then to calgary, then back to petawawa. The military life was full of adventures. By the time we had made it back 10 years had passed and the poor omni had seen a lot of kilometers. Over 323,000km. And I had turned 16. The poor omni had its fair share of bunny hops and became the taxi for me and my friends. It lasted almost another 2 years before the mechanic had given the result. The car was on her way out. There wasnt much left on the floors of the poor thing. Dad had given it to me as he had just bought a new hyundai accent. But the mechanics advisory stuck.
No more money to be put into the omni. I kept it going for a few years, wandering around scrapyards and collecting cheap parts to keep it running until one winter's day it finally drew its last breath. The battery had failed. The poor omni was done. I cried when it went on the flatbed, but the old man was wise. The car had no floor left. It was a deathtrap.
Ive had many cars in varying states of luxury since then. Lots. More then id like to admit. From a used mazda 626 to a monte carlo, to a windstar sport to a few dodge caravans. When the last vehicle was on the way out I thought about the way dad bought his cars. The omni was basic. In the grand scheme of things, it made sense. It was a base model. It was cheap to own, and cheap to repair because there was simply less to go wrong with it. The accent he bought after was the same way.
See he wasnt being cheap. He was thinking of the future. He might have had a base model car, but then he had money to spend on me and mom (Ok, 90% me).. So when I got to buy a new car. I followed his footsteps.
Yeah, Ive had some problems with my micra. I like to think of them as 'growing pains'. But I know with my rolly windows and lack of AC, its going to have less to go wrong in the future when the kids get older and more expensive.
So thank you dad. I kind of wish I clued into the life lesson a lot sooner. XD
I still miss that goddamn omni.
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View my fuel log 2015 Micra S automatic: 7.9 L/100 km ... 35.7 mpg (Imp) ... 12.6 km/L ... 29.7 mpg (US) ...