An International Car Lot

I am convinced that everyone drives Subarus here. It's funny that everywhere I visit, there is a specific vehicle more prolific than all others. Here in Boulder, it's the Subaru. In Germany, it was the BMW sedan, and if not the sedan, than the Z3 or Z4 sports coupe, but bearing the blue and white circular hood ornament nonetheless. Of course, according to my host father, BMWs in Germany were the everyman's car. The affluent drove Porsches. He would know. He owned a Carrera.

In the DC hood, it was the Escalade (plenty of backseat for a variety of drugs), and downtown it was the Lexus (ample trunk space for all the taxpayers' dollars). In South Carolina, it was a Toyota or Ford (sold with gun rack), and in Mexico it was the Volkswagen bug. Apparently in the US, the old version of the VW Bug was recalled due to some safety concerns. Mexico must not have Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as the 80s version bug was parked on practically every corner and shabby driveway. They even occasionally hacksawed the roof off in do-it-yourself convertible style. Based on how many people took one look at my torn up leg after my accident and seemed to know exactly what happened, the lack of safety regulations doesn't surprise me.

So in fitting with custom, I, too, am driving a Subaru. There is no bike rack on top, there is a baby seat in the back and a Jesus fish on the bumper, but other than that, I fit right in. My defensive driving skills may be a little bit more aggressive due to years of city driving (freakin' A, would you just GO already?), but I may just mellow out with the rest of the Coloradans if I'm not careful. Then again, a little more mellow may not be a bad thing.