My Own Vehicle History
It started at the age of 17, a newly licensed driver and a 2003 GMC Sierra. What a terribly amazing combination. It was lifted, with huge off road tires and a loud, thundering V8 under the hood; man, that truck got me into loads of trouble. From high speed desert runs to the muddiest pits my good friend and I could find in Southern California, its a surprise that truck survived what I put it through. I am a huge proponent of every teenager’s first vehicle being something small, slow and preferably manual. But this truck was the complete opposite. It was large (and in charge), dangerous, fast and lastly, not a manual. 7 years of a loud exhaust and expensive tires later, it was time to say goodbye. I sold it for a quarter of what I (my parents) bought it for to a nice, young couple from the middle of nowhere.
Next came true off road prowess. A 2002 Toyota 4Runner complete with high/low range 4 wheel drive, a cassette player, and about half the power of my first truck. But that didn’t matter, this thing was cool. 2 weeks into ownership I already had it on the toughest trails I could find, sometimes a little too tough. Toyota, the definition of reliability, was in my hands and I was never letting go. This vehicle got me from point A to point B and everything in between. It struggled to keep up with traffic on a steady highway incline but could outdo anything on a technical, challenging trail in the state forest. My goal; freedom. To drive the most reliable, off road ready vehicle my money could buy. I went from my first truck, to public transportation (hello bus pass), to the 4Runner (AKA king of off road and the number one name in reliability). But, as you know, all good things have to come to an end. Goodbye 4Runner.
Have you ever done a complete 180? A honeymoon trip to Italy will change you. After seeing firsthand what the European market has to offer in regards to car ownership, I got a little jealous. Although I never wanted to live outside of the US, I longed for the variety that the Euro market held. The rental car that my new bride and I had was a 2019 Fiat Tipo diesel with a 6 speed manual transmission; not quite a forbidden fruit but nonetheless exciting for us Americans (or at least me). The last manual transmission, American wagon I can think of is the Cadillac CTS-V and come on, talk about rare. A manual transmission wagon that just so happened to look good? Sign me up! Honestly, as sacrilegious as a diesel station wagon sounds, I had an amazing time driving around the Amalfi Coast, up to Rome and everything in between in this fantastic vehicle; and it got me thinking. That’s where I come to my current whip (as the cool kids say); my 2016 Fiat 500. I got the itch, if you will, in Europe. Small, Italian and manual transmission…I was hooked.
TheKickedTire 