The little car that could

I always describe my husband as a “car guy.” When I first met Tim, I noticed rather quickly he liked anything with a motor. He had five running vehicles, three project trucks, an ATV and a dirt bike — not to mention his lawn tractor and boat motors.

In comparison, I had my 2014 Ford Fusion. That’s it. I required one vehicle to get me from point A to point B, and if it had a decent radio and hands-free phone options those were a bonus.

My husband had a specific purpose for these items, and his only real pleasure vehicle was his Mustang convertible. In 2017, Tim began exploring the idea of trading in his GMC Envoy for a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle. He still had his truck when he needed four-wheel drive, so trading off the Envoy was a good option. Additionally, the SUV had started to have a few minor issues Tim suspected could lead to potential high-dollar fixes down the road. One of the more puzzling concerns was the Envoy would randomly switch to four-wheel low, sometimes when the car was moving.

Tim made use of a Friday off one April day of that year to window shop for a new-to-him car around Newton. I was working, but as my lunch break drew near, I got a text from Tim asking when I would be on break because he had something to show me. I knew what that meant. Tim had found his car.

Sure enough, when I got off work he showed off his shiny new used car, a 2007 Chevy Aveo. It was not what I was expecting. When Tim had talked about cars in which he was interested, this was never on the list. I was picturing more of a sedan similar to my car, not a subcompact car. The Aveo looked like a big, blue jelly bean. Tim was really happy with it, so that’s what mattered.

I was still a little surprised he bought the car that day. He told me the Envoy pretty much decided it for him. Apparently, while driving around to the different used car dealers in town, the Envoy switched to four-wheel low in the middle of a turn onto a busy part of East First Avenue. Luckily, Tim was able to crawl forward and get the SUV back into two-wheel drive without an accident. Tim was so mad he was ready to take it to the junkyard if he couldn’t find a car he liked. That’s when he landed at Dave’s Auto World and found his new toy.

My only real complaint with the car was its manual transmission. I vowed I would attempt to learn to drive a stick shift since he now had two. It’s been almost two years, and I’ve had only one lesson. I know the basic mechanics of it. My parents had a manual Ford Escort when I was a kid, so I watched them drive it. When it came time to learn to drive, I had no interest at all in learning. Why would I ever need to drive a manual? I regret that decision now.

Recently, Tim has been suggesting different ways to get me to learn, and I didn’t say no. Unforeseen circumstances have gotten in the way. For instance, the best time for me to learn would be when we are at his parent’s house. They live on seven miles of gravel road, and it would be easier to learn without trying to drive in traffic.

This past weekend on our visit, Tim planned for me to try it out Saturday. However, the roads were still way too muddy for me to be comfortable in a regular car let alone trying something new. It’s not the car’s fault. The little car has no trouble handling those rough roads, as long as Tim was behind the wheel of course.

The Aveo had been a good little car for Tim these last couple years. He vows to get the car up to 300,000 miles before he gives up on it. Hopefully some of those miles will be with me behind the wheel. Wish me luck!

Contact Pam Pratt at
pampratt@newtondailynews.com