I love driving. Cars, not so much. Except my own.

Over two decades ago I got new job, a nice one, the dream job.
Along with it, came the need for a car. I would need a car to perform my job. I had never thought about owning a car, never been a car fan, knew (and know) next to nothing about cars, but my editor at the time had a car I liked, so why not get one just like it ? Money wasn’t really an issue then, so I quickly became the happy owner of a brand new Land Rover. The year was 1998.

I drove that car up and down the country, and in the city, down country roads, backroads, dirt roads and all other kind of roads, and places where roads were nowhere to be seen.

I took the car to it’s natural habitat, Morocco, a few times, where it eventually broke down and was fixed by a mechanic that was also the muezzin, in a little town that barely made it to the map.

We’ve grown accustomed to each other, and I didn’t get angry when some lights on the dashboard stopped working, and the car didn’t say a word when i left it for a few months and came back much later, to a dead battery. This would become our thing.

I left the car in a garage for four years, when I became an editor myself, and walked to and from the office from home. When the time came to get it out of the lockup, I just got a new battery and it started right away, happy to see me. I was also glad to drive it again.

Parking at our place is hell on a good day, so the aging car was parked near my parents place for a while, enough to be towed into the impound, as if it was abandoned. It was thrilled when I showed up and told the cops they were crazy. Again it just started on the first try, and we got the hell out of there.

I got a motorcycle. Then another one. Then another one. The car said nothing.

I drove it to my in-laws, where it is now, living on the countryside and doing the occasional trip.

My wife loves the car. We took it on a couple of road trips already. You can tell the car is as happy as we are on those. Even though it’s a bit more expensive to take him then other cars, we just do it. For us, but also to keep him going, happy.

He always goes to the same mechanic, who praises the clock-like engine, and says he will never die.

Today I had an appointment at the dentist and my brother-in-law’s car was not available. So I drove my own.

The air-con needs fixing, there’s no CarPlay, the radio is as low-fi as they come, cruising speed much lower than usual, but I was as happy as a kid. Every time I drive that car, it feels like I’m going on an adventure. An adventure where you’re sitting on a very comfortable sofa. Even if it’s just across the river.

I love driving, but I really love driving this one. Slow and heavy. Higher than other cars by a bit, enough to see down the road even when traffic is hectic.

tinyMovieStar will have a blast, as much as we do. I hope he never dies.

This is day 016 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. You can find out all about this project at 100daystooffload.com.