Driving Judy's Car

                                                        Driving Judy’s Car

                                                           by Warren Bull

We are a one-car family now.  We will be for some time into the future.  Judy bought her Prius in 2003. I bought my Prius in 2012.  We have Judy’s here in Kansas City, where we live.  Mine is waiting for us in Portland where we are going to live.  Being a small hybrid, Judy’s car is named Pikachu after the Pokemon cartoon character that is an electric mouse.  

While Judy’s vehicle is a classic first generation Prius, mine has some features not available when Judy’s came out.  I don’t have a conventional key.  I have an electrical doodad that my car senses when I come close.  (I usually claim it smells me.) It unlocks the door and allows the car to start.  When approaching Judy’s car, it is wise to get the key out of my pocket before I sit down in the car because it is hard to get at while sitting down. 

Using a key to unlock the door it is helpful to remember, especially in the dark, that  the key goes into a horizontal slot.  It unlocks with a counter clockwise wrist turn toward the trunk.  It locks with a twist toward the hood.  The key goes into the ignition only at one particular angle.  I often fail to remember which orientation is required for a specific step.

If I leave my keys in my car, it pitches a fit, beeping until I come back to get them.  Pikachu does not.  My car also sounds off if I leave it running, which is really quite easy to do with a hybrid.  Again, Pikachu does not.  They both have a light on the dashboard that indicates when they are running.  On battery, neither makes much noise.  After driving for a while the car’s computer switches the gas engine off.   Therefore, my years of paying attention to the sound of the engine are of limited value.

I will admit that parking is easier with Judy’s little model. On the other hand, my sense of how much space is needed is based on my larger vehicle. I park too far from the curb.

Pikachu is not the car to pick in a drag race.  Her pick up and go is laid back and slow.  I should know.

We have not decided what to do with Pikachu when we move to Portland.  We have only one reserved parking place at the new home we will live in.  There is already a long list of people already in the building who want to buy another parking space. We could get a parking pass to park Pikachu on the street but we’d still need to keep moving the vehicle every couple of hours.  That would be a hassle.  Maybe we’ll find a good home for her here, like we did for the seventeen-year-old Accord I owned before 2012.  If we do we’ll be sure to leave her in good hands.

We are a one-car family now.  We will be for some time into the future.  Judy bought her Prius in 2003. I bought my Prius in 2012.  We have Judy’s here in Kansas City, where we live.  Mine is waiting for us in Portland where we are going to live.  Being a small hybrid, Judy’s car is named Pikachu after the Pokemon cartoon character that is an electric mouse. 

 

While Judy’s vehicle is a classic first generation Prius, mine has some features not available when Judy’s came out.  I don’t have a conventional key.  I have an electrical doodad that my car senses when I come close.  (I usually claim it smells me.) It unlocks the door and allows the car to start.  When approaching Judy’s car, it is wise to get the key out of my pocket before I sit down in the car because it is hard to get at while sitting down. 

Using a key to unlock the door it is helpful to remember, especially in the dark, that  the key goes into a horizontal slot.  It unlocks with a counter clockwise wrist turn toward the trunk.  It locks with a twist toward the hood.  The key goes into the ignition only at one particular angle.  I often fail to remember which orientation is required for a specific step.

If I leave my keys in my car, it pitches a fit, beeping until I come back to get them.  Pikachu does not.  My car also sounds off if I leave it running, which is really quite easy to do with a hybrid.  Again, Pikachu does not.  They both have a light on the dashboard that indicates when they are running.  On battery, neither makes much noise.  After driving for a while the car’s computer switches the gas engine off.   Therefore, my years of paying attention to the sound of the engine are of limited value.

I will admit that parking is easier with Judy’s little model. On the other hand, my sense of how much space is needed is based on my larger vehicle. I park too far from the curb.

Pikachu is not the car to pick in a drag race.  Her pick up and go is laid back and slow.  I should know.  We have not decided what to do with Pikachu when we move to Portland.  We have only one reserved parking place at the new home we will live in.  There is already a long list of people already in the building who want to buy another parking space. We could get a parking pass to park Pikachu on the street but we’d still need to keep moving the vehicle every couple of hours.  That would be a hassle.  Maybe we’ll find a good home for her here, like we did for the seventeen-year-old Accord I owned before 2012.  If we do we’ll be sure to leave her in good hands.