The Door is Ajar

13 days and counting now, I've been driving a different vehicle than my wonderful silver Toyota. Parked in my assigned spot is a vehicle that I have come to despise. The eyesore is a PT Cruiser. I keep thinking the vehicle is a cross between a station wagon (loser car of the 70s & 80s) and a minivan (the replacement of the station wagon). I hope not to offend anyone who has purchased this type of vehicle, but jeez. It's awful.

When the station wagon met the minivan, they decided to sire a child that has no horsepower whatsoever. It is your basic model vehicle, no frills. The dash does give the temperature and direction. Besides the clock, which looks like it would be in place only on a yacht, the direction indicator is the only cool part of the vehicle.

There is a towel bar above the glove box. A towel bar! What is that for? I suppose it is a variation of the hand grips above the doors, but can't help but wonder if it was placed in the car to service those who just feel the need to dry out their clothes after a day at the beach. Or for those who live in their cars and may try to put a shower in the backseat that is 20 feet (exaggeration) long and has absolutely no leg room (not an exaggeration).

Enough about the Perfectly Terrible Cruiser* and just about time. I spoke to the body shop today and it seems my Toyota will return to me tomorrow afternoon. I miss it.

You be asking, "But why is the Toyota in the shop?" or "What is the reason for the rental?" Two weeks ago, while on lunch break at work, there was this ice patch that my Toyota found as I rounded a curve. The resulting accident was definitely recorded as my fault and I don't deny that. I was not driving excessively though. I was going 15-20 miles in a 30 zone and trying to be cautious of the weather conditions. The back tire just found that patch of packed snow and black ice and the back end fish tailed. There was another car coming from the opposite direction and my back end found that vehicle's door.

That's why we have insurance.

My car had about $3,000 worth of damage. And was still operable. I don't understand how they determine the price of damage. It does stun me how the pieces of the car can equal more than the value of the vehicle, but that's the way it is. From the pictures, you'll see the bumper cover is cracked - no damage to the actual insulator though. There are dents in the panel (the expensive panel - the one that goes from the hood to the trunk), and the glass around the tail light shattered. The light still worked fine.

No one was hurt. Steve and I just ended up returning to work later than we had planned.

*The PT in the PT Cruiser has sparked some jokes between DM and I. I have bonded with the car, agreeing with it that it is a terrible excuse for motorized transportation. I speak to it and tell it often how awful it is. DM finds this funny.