I love my car. Currently I'm driving a 2007 Mazda 3 sedan. She's a girl. You know how cars look like girls or boys? No? That's just me? Anyway, I love my little girl. She is the fifth car I've owned, and thinking about that prompted me to post about my cars over the years.

Let's start at the beginning...

When I was 19 I had my first car: a 1989 Ford Taurus.



This car was a gift from my parents, mostly because they were happy that I had started going to class, obtained a quality summer job, and broken up with an idiot ex-boyfriend whom they despised. It was really a reward for good behaviour. It also ended up saving them money. If I'd been driving their vehicles, my insurance would have cost them more than the price of the car. When they bought me this car, it came with the old "Now you can learn RESPONSIBILITY! and pay your own insurance! What a fun life lesson!"

The Taurus felt like a very luxurious car. The seats were soft and cushy, the cruise control worked like a top and as grandmotherly as it appeared, it had lots of power. The air conditioning didn't work but no matter--windows were always down so everyone else could listen to Dr. Dre along with me. PS...that would be Dr. Dre ON TAPE because the car didn't have a CD player. Big pimpin' indeed.

Fun fact: I sold the car and it COMPLETELY ate shit later that same weekend. Perfectly timed move on my part.

Driving Infractions: 0
Accidents: 0
Incidents of running other parked cars and doing damage: 2

Moving on...next up was my 1995 Pontiac Sunfire.



I felt like a total negotiating badass when I bought this car because the owners wanted $5,500 and I talked the man down to $4,700. His wife was suuuuuuper pissed and kept huffing and saying things like "I think you can get more out of it" and then giving him the stink eye and flouncing into the garage, only to reappear five minutes later. This car gave me pretty much zero trouble. It had a CD player, so the Dr. Dre tapes were relegated to a box in the basement. I had many temper tantrums in this car and took lots of angry drives in it. Even looking at the photo of a similar car makes me feel a little nauseated.

Driving Infractions: 0
Accidents: 0
Incidents of running other parked cars and doing damage: 3

When I got my first "good job" I upgraded to the 2001 Saturn SC1.



This car was fully loaded with all the fixin's. Sunroof, power everything, you name it. It was cute and fun and had a little doggie door on the drivers' side. I loved how sporty it was, and good on gas. I loved that it was made of plastic and wouldn't rust. This car cost me lots of dollars and license points in speeding tickets.

My relationship with the Saturn ended abruptly when I was leaving work one night, innocently enough, driving along and BOOM! Got the big T-bone right up the side of 'er. To add insult to injury my car was totalled by a YELLOW FORD RANGER. Pfffft.

Driving Infractions: 5
Accidents: 2. One was more of a 'bump'.
Incidents of running other parked cars and doing damage: 1, but it was a DOOZY. Red paint shows up on eggplant Intrepids like whoa.

I replaced my Saturn with a 2005 Mazda 3...



Driving Infractions: 0
Accidents: 0
Incidents of running other parked cars and doing damage: 0

...which I upgraded to a 2007 Mazda 3 after a year when I had the opportunity to make the swap basically for free. Same colour, same style overall, but with a little spoiler. Because that makes it go faster.



Driving Infractions: 0
Accidents: 0
Incidents of running other parked cars and doing damage: 0. I have cleaned up my act!

I love my little 3. She is great on gas, cute, peppy, and feels safe and secure. She is fun to drive and easy to park. If I were shopping for a new car today, I'd head for Mazda first, for sure. And that's my vehicular history, summed up for your viewing pleasure.