Ode to the Camry (again)

I've mentioned on this blog several times my deep love for my 1989 Toyota Camry. We are good friends, and she has served me well through several trying times (for one, the Great Swim of '05). Well, the Camry is heading out to Camry Heaven this week - the clutch went out and the frame is about to rust into oblivion, and it's just not worth it anymore. So this blog post serves as a Memorial to my Beloved Camry (thanks Mom and K for letting me down easy with the news).

Top ten reasons I love my '89 Toyota Camry:

1. Everyone or their brother or their mom has an '89 Toyota Camry, and is loyally in love with them, so I can be part of this sort of Camry-loving cult family
2. It was the no.2 stolen car in 2004 (following the 1995 Honda Civic), so even the car thieves love it
3. The parts of a mint-condition 1989 Toyota Camry are worth nearly $14,000 (which explains why the car thieves love it)
4. MY '89 Toyota Camry had a trick clutch so not even the most cunning car thieves (or the most well-intentioned mechanics) could get her started - just me, and my Studly Hubby, and my Studly Brother who has been baby-sitting for the past year, and my step-dad who has always been good at things like that
5. Even though this Camry had been to the Brink and back with 200,000 miles she could still start in the middle of a -20F Minnesota winter - now that's service!
6. With her Studly Studded Snow Tires she could plow through even the worst-weather conditions - I swore she was even better than a 4 wheel-drive SUV!
7. Whomever she was toting around she treated with dignity - my Studly Brother, my Studly Hubby, and... well, nobody else because nobody else could start her
8. She deflected all sorts of disaster - an attempted trunk break-in, a heavy-duty flood-dunking, the crack addicts on our block, and the Great Road Salt of the midwest
9. She took excellent care of me during my formative years (high school through grad school - 12 years!)
10. We've had her since she was a BABY! And she was ONE GREAT CAR...!

To quote a previous post, here is why an old car is so priceless:
I can bop up onto a curb, run into a street sign, drive into a ditch, get keyed on the street, get my trunk busted into, leave it unlocked at night (which may prevent getting the trunk busted into again), and run into it with a shopping cart... all with the worry-free attitude of an old car owner. Plus I pay less in car insurance because if I wreck it I sure won't fix it.

Is that unbeatable or what?

We sure love you, Ms. Camry! You have been a great shining red light in our life.