My Life 8 My Car

Before entering the university, my parents promised they would buy me a car when I got my driver's license.  

  I attended driving school and got my driver's license in September.  

  One Sunday afternoon, my parents and I went out to visit car dealers in our area.  My parents had advised me to buy an economical compact family sedan, such as a Nissan Sunny, Toyota Corolla, or Mazda Familia, because it was within their budget.  They had told me that they couldn't afford to pay more than 1,500,000 yen.

  I didn't like or rather hated the image of a family sedan.  The image of a family sedan is a father behind the wheel, a mother in the passenger seat and two kids in the back seat.

  It reflects the typical, conventional image of a male- dominated Japanese family; the father leading the family, the mother following and the kids totally dependent.  The times have been changing, and the family situation also has been changing.  Still, in most of the cars on the roads, men dominate the driver's seat and women are just passengers.

  So, I definitely refused to buy a family car.

  My favorite car is the Eunos Roadster.  My uncle owns one, and he often gives me a ride.  

  While I was a high school student, I couldn't wear my hair long, because of the absurd school dress code.

  He often told me that it was a pity that I had short hair.

 As he explained, the Roadster is so designed that, when it speeds and the top is down, the long hair of a lady in the passenger seat streams back in the air.

 

  By the way, did you know that the word 'roadster' is not a proper noun, but a common noun, which specifically means 'an open sports car with two seats' ?

  My parents were strongly opposed to my idea of buying a Eunos Roadster.  I had to argue with them for many days.

  I called my uncle and asked him to persuade my parents.

  It was a dangerous gamble for me, because my parents thought and still think that my uncle is a reckless and dangerous driver, racing around in a sports car on a public road in spite of his age which is in the fifties.

 

  On the contrary, as far as I know, he is a very safe driver and seldom exceeds the speed limit.  He is also a very skillful driver familiar with the mechanism of the car and also car driving.  He teaches me many things about safe driving, when I have a ride in his car.

  He patiently explained to my parents that a sports car is not a dangerous kind of vehicle, and that any kind of instrument, be it a car, a gun, a knife, or even a small pin, can be dangerous or useful depending on the person who uses it.

  Contrary to my parents' conviction, he has had a very good driving record.  He hasn't had any accidents and hasn't gotten any tickets for traffic violations.

  So, when he renewed his license on his last birthday, he got his license valid for five years, a privilege given to drivers with a record of no accidents and no traffic violations for the past three years.  

  Finally my parents agreed to my request, though reluctantly, on the condition that I would have to abandon my Roadster once I caused a traffic accident for which I was responsible, or I got a speeding ticket.

  A new Eunos Roadster costs more than 2 million yen, which was beyond our budget.  Expecting I might change my mind, my parents first took me to new car dealers featuring family sedans.  I didn't give a glance at them and insisted we should go to used car dealers where we could find used Eunos Roadsters.

  At the first used car dealer, there was a red Eunos Roadster priced at 1,200,000 yen, with a compulsory insurance expiration date of a few months later.

  My mother, who always liked red cars, strongly recommended we buy the red Eunos.  I had known many girls who liked red cars, but I hated the ordinary image of a girl in a red car.

  I urged my parents, who were still hesitant to leave the spot, to try another dealer.

  At another dealer, I found a silver metallic Eunos Roadster with an automatic transmission, the same color as my uncle's.  My uncle's car had a five-speed manual transmission.  He had always told me that for a girl an automatic shift car was better than a stickshift car.

  It was priced at 1,300,000 yen.  It was three years old and the odometer showed thirty thousand kilometers.  The price tag on the windshield explained that the compulsory insurance had expired.  

  The former driver had apparently traded the car in to buy a new car just before the first car inspection, which a car owner must have three years after he or she buys a new car.

 It was a bit more expensive than the red one, but it had a CD-player installed.  I liked it, and asked my parents to talk to the salesperson.

  A young lady, who was seemingly a salesperson, had approached us.  She talked to my parents and asked if we were interested in that Eunos.  Before my parents answered, I said urgently, "Yes, I'd like to buy this one."

  Then the salesperson asked me, "Who will pay, you or your father?" I said ruefully, "My father."  "Then I'll talk with your father," the woman said cheerfully.  My parents and the woman went into the office.

  Meanwhile I checked out the various parts of the car more carefully.  There seemed to be no scratches and no trace of any bad damage.  The finish hadn't weathered yet.  Every part looked quite all right.  The former owner seemed to have taken good care of the car.

  I liked it all the more.  I sat in the driver's seat and fastened the seat belt.  The key was in the ignition switch.  I started the engine.

 

  Then the saleswoman and my parents came out of the office and came to the car.  I asked the saleswoman what kind of a person the former owner of the car was.  She remembered well who had traded the car in.  She told me that the former owner was a junior high school female teacher of English.  She used her car mostly to commute from her home to school.  So that was the reason the mileage on the odometer was only thirty thousand kilometers or so.  

  The saleswoman added that the teacher took very good care of the car, and that was why the car was in such good condition.  The saleswoman smiled to me and said, "It's a good buy, don't you think so?  I hope you will take good care of it, too."

  But, you know, however good the outer appearance may be, we can't tell how good condition the car is in until we drive it.  So I asked her if it was OK to test drive the car.

  She answered with a smile, "Why not, but I think it's better your father accompany you in the passenger seat."

  My mother looked a bit worried, but my father responded with a big nod and offered to take the passenger seat.

  So my father and I went for a test drive.  It was my first time to drive a car after graduating from driving school.

  I felt a bit nervous, but at the same time I felt secure because my father was in the passenger seat.

  We went out on the road.  The traffic was light.  I drove very comfortably.  At first my father looked nervous, and gave me many instructions to do this and that just like my driving school instructor.  I didn't like that.  I felt like yelling at him, "shut up,"  but I restrained myself.  Anyway it was my father who would pay for the car.  I had to endure his making noises.  

  To my great relief, after fifteen or so minutes he became very quiet.  He said nothing and looked quite comfortable in the passenger seat.  He even mentioned that I could drive much better than my mother, but he wanted me never to mention to my mother what he had told me.  He seemed to be impressed with my driving.  We drove about twenty minutes and came back to the dealer site.

  When she saw us safely cruise back into the parking lot of the dealer, my mother looked very relieved.

  This way I got the car I had long wanted.

  It took about a week for the dealership to register the car, which they did in my father's name.  I didn't care about that, because it was my father who paid for the car and also for the registration, the compulsory insurance and the tax.  He also bought me optional insurance which covered vehicle damage, personal damage, property damage, and also driver and passenger injury.

  When he paid for the car and for the tax imposed on the purchase of the car and for all the premiums for both compulsory and optional insurance, the amount of money he had to pay reached nearly 1,500,000 yen, just short of my parents' initial budget.

  It was decided that the car would be delivered on the next Saturday, which happened to be a taian day.  I don't much care about those superstitions regarding the fortunes of the day based on the old Chinese calendar.

  However, taian is regarded as most desirable for the delivery of cars by most dealers, and butsumetsu is strongly avoided.  It is thought the car delivered on butsumetsu may cause accidents or meet other misfortunes.

  On the morning my Eunos Roadster was delivered, I got up at six and could hardly wait for the time of the delivery, which had been promised at 9:00 a.m.

  

  Two months have passed since I started to drive my Roadster.  So far I haven't had any accidents and haven't got any tickets.  I've never forgotten to fasten my seat belt.

  And when I'm on the road, I adjust the rear-view mirror so that I can see the traffic behind.

  My uncle had told me very often that I should pay only half of my attention to the traffic ahead and pay the remaining half to the traffic behind.  The purpose is not only to avoid tailgating cars or possible rear end collisions, but it is also to pinpoint the most dangerous thing on the road, i.e., the traffic police officers on their white motorbikes or the patrol cars.

  Now I know why my uncle hasn't gotten any speeding tickets for many years, though he speeds very much.

  There is another dangerous thing on the road.  That is a recklessly speeding car mostly with a young boy behind the wheel.  When that kind of car tailgates me, I always pull my car over to the side and let the speeding car pass by.  Sometimes these cars cut in ahead of me.  It is very frightening.

  I take very good care of my Roadster.  I wash it every Saturday, or Sunday, if it rains on Saturday.  I also clean the inside of the car with a handheld vacuum cleaner.  I polish it once a month using the wax recommended by my uncle.

  He advised me to renew polish whenever water no longer forms into small, distinct beads on the flat surfaces of the car.  

  I love driving my Roadster.  In the spring and autumn, I drive with the top down.  In summertime, when the sunshine is very strong, I put the top up.  I don't want to get suntanned. In wintertime, it is too cold to drive with an open top.

  If you find me in my Roadster, please say hello to me by honking your horn lightly, but never too loudly.  I don't want to be frightened."