Back when I was in high school, I bought my first car. It wasn’t flashy or really anything special on the outside. In fact, I bought it used from my grandma, earning it the nickname of “The Grannymobile” in my family. On the outside, it was an unremarkable silver-grey sedan, and inside, the entertainment center didn’t even have a CD player. Instead, I had to hit up discount and vintage stores and buy cassette tapes, and I ended up with a very strange music collection including Prince’s “Love Machine” and Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame.” While it wasn’t exactly a teenager’s dream car, the Grannymobile was reliable, and I grew to love all of its quirks. I finally had to retire the Grannymobile after a rough road trip to Florida (and a rainstorm/mini-hurricane) left the bottom rusting through. It was a bittersweet goodbye. After all, this car had seen me through my high school and college years. It wasn’t just a way to get around. The Grannymobile was like an old friend who had seen me through good times and bad, and many of my best memories of those years wouldn’t have been the same without it.
This week, I was reminded of the Grannymobile when I read the story of New Yorker Harry Ettling and his old reliable car Bluey. Bluey, a 1982 Honda Civic, had lasted three decades and 170,000 miles with Ettling. Throughout Bluey’s life, the car survived getting totaled, having all four tires stolen, and then later getting flipped during the Washington Heights riots in 1992. Somehow, Bluey kept on running all these years until Ettling noticed the car floor was rusting out and knew it wasn’t safe for the road anymore.
After 30 years of service, Ettling didn’t want to just send Bluey off to be sold for parts. Instead, he hosted a full-fledged “funeral” for Bluey. He hired a Dixieland band to play in Bluey’s honor, and he dressed up in a black suit jacket and top hat. A floral wreath was even placed on the hood of the car, and when Bluey was eventually taken away to the junkyard, Ettling headed off to a local bar to continue the festivities.
What I really loved about this story was not only the impact of Bluey on Ettling’s life but also on Ettling’s neighborhood. Bluey certainly didn’t look like much, but this car became an icon with neighbors regularly stopping to get a picture with it. On the day of Bluey’s funeral, a New York neighborhood came together as a community to celebrate one of their own, even if it traveled on four wheels, and that kind of unity is wonderful to see in the headlines these days.
Ettling has said he’s not ready to get a new car because he needs “time to heal,” but we hope that when he is ready, he will consider going through Approved Loan Store. We want to get you the best terms on a new or used vehicle. Fill out our secure online auto loan application here, and keep up with the latest auto news by liking Approved Loan Store on Facebook, following Approved Loan Store on Twitter, and subscribe to Approved Loan Store on YouTube.