Pardon the self-indulgence, but today’s pics are all about my car–well, the car that used to be mine. Today, I traded off my old Asuna Sunrunner convertible for a shiny ‘08 Mazda3 Sport. Although it’s definitely a step up in every regard, letting go of an “old friend” is still tough.
Ok, so it’s a just car, but anyone who’s gone through a lot with their ride knows what I’m talking about. It was originally bought it in 1998 after a deer decided to pick a fight with my VW Fox (unfortunately for the deer, I was going 110 km/h at the time). And although I really wanted something small and sporty, I was working in the farm supply business and thought owning a 4×4 would help boost my career. That’s when I found this:
The Asuna brand was only sold through Pontiac dealers for one year, and had three models: the Asuna Sunfire (a re-badged Isuzu Impulse with a bored-out 1.8 litre engine), the Asuna SE and GT (an Opel hatchback imported from Europe) and this rebadged Chevy Tracker. Somehow I lucked out and got one of the few fully-loaded models with a removeable hardtop as well as 4 wheel drive.
Although I’ve driven it from Montreal to Tofino (BC) and back, the best times I had with it was in Banff, Alberta. It seemed like the little thing was built just for the winding roads and congested streets associated with mountain towns.
As much fun as she could be, practicality won out. I’m getting married in four months to a beautiful woman who’s just learning to drive a regular car, let alone handle a rear-wheel-drive standard-transmission Jeep YJ wannabe. Besides, who knows how long the clutch or the transmission had left on it, not to mention that some of the expensive parts were starting to act up.
Even though the Mazda3 is faster, more comfortable, and the CD player doesn’t involve a Sony discman stuck to the dashboard with Velcro, I’m going to miss the old girl. I just hope her next owner has as much fun as I did.
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