In order to get ourselves around the islands for the next few months Evan and I decided to purchase a car. Given that buying cars is one of our LEAST favorite activities in the states, we knew that buying a car here would also prove to be a challenge. We spent a couple of Saturday’s visiting the local car markets where cars are sold off by backpackers and locals trying to make a quick buck or get rid of their wheels before hitting the road back to their homelands.
One Sunday Evan and I ventured out to the largest car market in Auckland with hopes that we would have to look no further. We spent much of the morning wandering around looking at cars and test driving several. We were unable to find anything that suited our needs at the price we could afford. As we made our last round to see if we had missed any bargains we came across a nice looking Subaru. Evan struck up a conversation with the couple who owned the car. As we got further into the conversation with them we discovered they were from the States, Minnesota of all places. (In my opinion some of the best people I know come from Minnesota, there must be something in the water there.) As I talked further with Amy I discovered she and Adam were from northern Minnesota, (hmmmmmm my dear friend Molly is from northern Minnesota). I inquired further about where and Amy said, “Well have you heard of Grand Rapids?” Well of course, I had heard of GR. My friend Molly grew up there, and Evan and I have spent a memorable weekend there for M+A’s wedding a few summers ago. Now, by this time I am beginning to think that the whole experience of meeting Amy and Adam was beginning to feel a bit serendipitous and it proved to be even more so. Amy of course knew of Molly’s family and it turns out use to cut their hair when they were younger. So, in turn we have some new wheels to get us around the islands, met some new friends who we shared a beer and a meal with and understand even more so how incredibly small the world can be.
Our “new to us” wheels are in fact quite unique given the way in which we serendipitously acquired them, but also some of the features of the new ride are quite unique as well (more on that to come below). This set of circumstances has led us to decide that we can not go on driving our new ride without a proper car name. So, we are hopping that you might be able to help us come up with a name, and because I am married to a man who always loves a little friendly competition we have decided to make a contest out of it. Why not right? So here’s the deal, the individual who comes up with the best name will be rewarded with something “kiwi-esque” sent from the islands direct to you, should YOU come up with the winning name. You can leave your entry in the comments section below. All entries must be submitted by March 1st. (We can’t keep driving without and un-named car!!!)
A couple of things you should know about our new ride. It’s a 1993 Subaru Legacy Turbo GT. Yes, we have TURBO. In fact, upon driving into our quiet little bach neighborhood after a hike up north one day, our neighbor commented on our new wheels and said “Wow, I thought you guys might be “Boy Racers” . In addition, it has a funny little light beam antena on the front left bumper that goes up and down with the click of a button. Beyond that, the steering wheel is something straight out of a race car. The factory stick-shift has been replaced with a red hot handle that rattles when we approach anything over 50km/h. There is a faint stench of mildew (probably given all the traveling fools who have owned the car before us.) It has 4, yes FOUR bumper-stickers all reading “Treble Cone”, slightly overkill don’t you think? (we have found out it’s a ski resort on the south island, apparently one of the owners of this car was in love with this place either that or was in marketing.) It’s dark grey in color with dark grey interior. We have included a few photos to give you a better idea, should these descriptions not be sufficient enough.
We hope these details will inspire to you to come up with something brilliant, and if you do, as they say down here….”GOOD ON YA!”