Stickerless Bumpers We Now Own
Enslaved again at last.
Well, sort of.... This black beauty runs on a tank full of magic and dreams. (I’ll spare you the details, it gets a little technical.)
After five years in Berkeley, the assimilation is almost complete.
And we just brought her home yesterday evening, so for now, she’s too new and too fun to let a little thing like this muffle our joy. Nice try, though.
17 Ripples from “Stickerless Bumpers We Now Own”
Jim says:
November 2, 2005 at 10:12 am
Forgive my ignorance. I recognize the object in the picture as an automobile but I’m not sure what kind.
zalm says:
November 2, 2005 at 12:11 pm
S’ok. I guess I forgot that, while these are pretty common in the Bay Area, they may not be as recognizable elsewhere. My bad.
It’s a Prius.
I’ve updated the post with a few more links.
Jim says:
November 2, 2005 at 1:11 pm
I don’t think I’ve seen one in the flesh… er, steel. My sister has a Honda Whatevryacallit, you know, their hybrid offering. She likes it a lot.
She actually needs to put gas in hers, though. Honda doesn’t make a magic and dreams version.
Kevin says:
November 2, 2005 at 2:11 pm
It’s so pretty. I must pet it.
ninjanun says:
November 2, 2005 at 7:11 pm
Wow, that Prius looks really sweet! Congrats on getting a hybrid; I wish I could replace my 12-year-old gas-guzzlin’ POS and get a hybrid!
All the Priuses I’ve seen up here in Seattle look like a squatty space ship. Something maybe Alien clowns would drive.
But yours looks pretty slick. Did they redesign them for 2005-6?
zalm says:
November 2, 2005 at 7:11 pm
My back and I wouldn’t recommend totaling your car (ours was 11 years old), but it’s certainly one way to make a clean break. And the “fair market value” we got from the insurance company was surprisingly good. (Of course, the insurance rates we no doubt now have will be unsurprisingly less good.)
But ours is still the “squatty space ship” design. Maybe this picture just looks less so from that precise angle. (Note: if it wasn’t blatantly obvious, this is not actually a photo of our car.)
Oh, and I’m just going to pretend like I never read the words “Alien clown.”
Jim says:
November 3, 2005 at 9:11 am
Wait, that’s not a cell phone image of your actual car? Why you deceptive so and so!
Man, are you still hurting from the crash? Ouch.
zalm says:
November 3, 2005 at 11:11 am
Nope. By the time we left with the car, it was dark. Trust me, this image is a tiny bit more compelling than a cell phone photo of our black car at night. If that makes me a lying bastard, I guess I’ll just have to live with that.
My back is much, much better than it was. But yes, I’ve still got some back issues. Once we get all the paperwork finally squared away with financing and insurance and all that goodness, I’ll see about whether or not I might need to visit a physical therapist.
And once I’m done with all this paperwork, I might actually have time to write again.
Well, when I’m not driving.
Muser says:
November 3, 2005 at 1:11 pm
I’m so jealous (of the car, not the back pain). My parents have one too (the car, not the back pain).
zalm says:
November 3, 2005 at 4:11 pm
Welcome, CS.
I haven’t seen Feist with a full band yet, but we saw her open for the Kings of Convenience last spring. She was just on her own, if you can count seven or eight layers of guitar and vocal loops “on her own.” You’re right, she was great.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it, but it looks like she’s here on Wednesday opening for Broken Social Scene. Hmmm… Can’t say I’ve ever gotten to crazy into BSS. How were they live?
The Crooked Saint says:
November 3, 2005 at 4:11 pm
This isn’t related to the post...but I see that you’ve been enjoying the Feist album. My friend is her drummer and I just saw her in Chicago. She ruled the crowd...it was awesome. If you’ve not seen her and ever get a chance to, don’t pass it up!!
Peace.
The Crooked Saint says:
November 3, 2005 at 5:12 pm
Seriously, one of the best shows I’ve seen. I just recently saw Sufjan and considered that in the top five. Honestly, BSS bumped him out. AND I’M HUGE INTO SUFJAN!!!!
You have to go to the show. If you can, tell Feist’s drummer and trumpter that Steve E. Dee loves them. They’ll probably buy you a beer for that.
zalm says:
November 3, 2005 at 7:11 pm
Better than Sufjan? Wow.
Better than Sufjan and free beer? That’s awfully hard to turn down.
$6.25 TicketBastard surcharge? Hmmm…
bestman says:
November 4, 2005 at 10:11 am
Speaking of bumper stickers, sort of, here’s the latest new one I’ve seen...I think it’s trying too hard, personally, but it’s worth noting, somehow:
MY PRESIDENT CAN DRINK YOUR HONOR STUDENT UNDER THE TABLE
It’s got a picture of W.’s face with a goofy drunk look on it...maybe these people haven’t heard that he hasn’t had a drink since before he got started in politics…
Kralik says:
November 4, 2005 at 5:11 pm
I’m sorry to hear that the bestickered black honda has finally met its demise, but I guess that’s as good a reason as any to become more fully assimilated into the crunchy culture you currently inhabit.
In a sense, your old car is a part of the reason that you guys are a part of our lives and vice versa. If your lovely wife had not been able to drive to tutoring our freshman year of college, I may not have gotten to know her. So I observe a moment of silence at its passing.
Now on to the swanky new car?…
One thing you should be careful of, especially if you venture out to places where Priuses do not roam as freely as in Berkeley: those suckers can sure sneak up on you. I pride myself in being as lazy as possible in the morning as I walk/jaywalk to the train, and I have narrowly avoided far closer inspection of a Prius than I would like to have on a couple of occasions. They’re so quiet that I don’t always hear them coming as I cross the street and then… poof! one appears, as if magically. So be on the lookout for inattentive pedestrians like me, especially in this age of ipods, cellphones, and other pedestrian distractions.
Jim says:
November 4, 2005 at 10:11 pm
Pedestrians? Pedestrians? We don’t need no stinkin’ pedestrians.
Sorry, couldn’t resist quoting another line from Gattaca. I’m going to bed now.
zalm says:
November 4, 2005 at 11:11 pm
Thanks for the moment of silence, my friend. Indeed, you knew that car even before I did.
It was actually a fairly emotional moment once the tow truck driver brought reality home to us that we weren’t going to see that car again. It’s strange how we get attached to things.
Good point about the poof!ing. It is eerily quiet at times, particularly when backing up. In fact, the factory default setting is for the car to beep internally when it’s in reverse, because otherwise there’s really no audio cue that you’re about to shoot backwards. Once we get used to the car, I’ll be turning that off, but for now, it’s actually annoyingly helpful.
Then again, for a car that runs on magic and dreams, a little unexpected poof!ing here and there isn’t exactly out of the question.
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