The Saturn

The Saturn is our car.

It is old and has had a long good life.

It's not the type of car you can name, it's name is simply The Saturn. Always has been and always will be.

It is a 1996. I remember when that sounded like a new car, but being 2010 now means it is old.

It has served us well.

My family bought it from another family in our ward when they moved and it was still fairly new. It was THE car then, but over time as we upgraded and bought new vehicles it got demoted to The Kid Car. It was actually the perfect Kid Car. Matthew and I had so much fun using that car, with our friends and with each other. Parts of my relationship with Matt developed through The Saturn. When Mom would send us to the grocery store to get milk or ice cream, Matt and I would go together and listen to our favorite music. We had lots of fun with The Saturn. Matt enjoyed showing his friends that he could kick it as hard as he wanted and it wouldn't dent because it's plastic. We also drove off the road once in The Saturn into a huge ditch (scared me to death...luckily Matt remains somewhat calm in situations like this) and had to have a tow truck come and get it out...and it survived just fine. I also learned to drive stick shift on it and have been so grateful to know how.

In 2001, we had a major tropical storm hit Houston. My dad was out of town on a buisness trip and had parked The Saturn at the airport. When his plane arrived, he carpooled with a co-worker who had a truck because the roads were completely flooded. The parking garage at the airport had flooded and when the storm was over we went to see the damage done to our poor Saturn. The car had been parked on a slight hill and wasn't as damaged as cars around it. But the entire back seat and car had been filled with water up to the dash board. If it had been any higher, the car would have been totaled. But being the wonderfully sturdy and reliable car it is, it was repaired and completely fine...minus the lingering mildewy smell that was pretty bad for a long time.

When Matt and I came up to BYU, my parents had no need for it anymore so we towed it up with us to college behind the van (it probably would not have made the trip had we driven it). Matt mostly used it the first year since I lived on campus, but when he got engaged and Casey had a better car (no offense to The Saturn), it became mine.

Matt and I happened to be together in Julie's neighborhood when it clicked over to 200,000 miles in March, 2008. It was an exciting event and we filmed it. :)

It struggled for a while and we thought maybe it would die. It liked to purr (like almost die) anytime we were stopped and the "service engine soon" light was on often. But luckily since Matt is a mighty BYU mechanic, he has been able to nurse it back to life.

Tommy also learned to drive a stick on The Saturn. I don't think the The Saturn, in it's old age, enjoyed the jerking and stalling that were involved in that activity, but Tommy learned quickly and drives it better than me now.

Tommy and I drove away on our wedding day in The Saturn. Thanks to my wonderful siblings, I'm not quite sure The Saturn has ever or ever will really recover from that decorating adventure.

Lately it has been running great (*knock on wood*). We have been so grateful to have a car that has been reliable, despite it's old age. It has made two successful trips to AZ and one to Boise since we've been married. Our hope and prayer is that it will last us another good 2 years. It is definitely not a luxurious car - it has a funny smell, stinky exhaust, the material on the ceiling is shredded and falling apart, our only option for music is the radio, there are stains on the seats, no power windows or locks - but you know what?
We love The Saturn. :)