Stan

My first car! So many memories. It was a maroon 1988 Nissan Stanza. It was the first car my mom ever bought entirely on her own after she and my dad got divorced. She was so proud, and it was a pretty nice car. It had tinted windows and a sunroof and power locks and windows - that was high living to us at the time! I always thought the coolest thing was that the back seat folded down for access into the trunk. By the time I turned 16, my mom had remarried. She and my stepdad bought a minivan and the Stanza was "mine"! Like Beth's Gray Ghost, Stan had a manual transmission. It took a little getting used to, but in the end I thought that was pretty fun (so fun, in fact, that my current car is manual!). For some reason, boys were often impressed to learn that I could drive a stick shift, and I was all about impressing boys! :) (Beth - did you find this to be true?). I drove that car until I graduated from college - I got in one fender-bender, got 3 tickets, ran out of gas once, and had at least 3 flat tires. I remember my stepdad, Greg, put me through a little test before he let me drive the car by myself for the first time - I had to check the oil, change a tire, and know how to jump-start a dead battery. I didn't realize at the time how handy that knowledge would be! Thanks, Greg! I cried in that car after breakups, sang at the top of my lungs, took lots of road trips, and packed it from top to bottom moving back and forth from school.

After college graduation, it was determined that I should get something a little newer and more reliable since I would be footing the bill on repairs and maintenance from then on. We sold Stan to a girl who really needed it, which I was happy about, and I ended up getting a Dodge Intrepid...I won't even start on that car. Many times I lamented selling Stan when I started having major major problems with that dumb Dodge.

You don't see Stanzas on the road much anymore, but when I do, I always smile. Love ya, Stan!

Erica