Sh*tbox Hell: The First Car Experience and How My 01 Tacoma Got Me Back Into Cars

There’s two types of people in this world: The rich kids whose parents bought them a brand-new (or close to that) car as their first vehicle because of “safety” or whatever. And then there’s the rest of us, who got some pile of garbage that may or may not suddenly explode in the near future. For me, that pile of garbage is a 2001 Tacoma DLX which I got absolutely for free as a hand-me-down from my grandparents. At first glance, it looks like a total meth-mobile. The clear coat is reminiscent of a decomposing corpse, the rims are discolored, certain electrical components are shifty at best, it rattles extremely loud once you hit 65, and all the rear bulbs are cemented in with dirt. But all things considered, not only could it be worse, I don’t think it could be any better.

Maybe it’s just the redneck in me speaking but I think everyone needs to daily a crap car at least once in their life. Not only does it build character, but when you do get a nicer car, you’ll appreciate it even more. Quite frankly I feel bad for those rich kids who started out with a nice car. What’re they gonna do if someday shit hits the fan and they have to buy a shitbox? That’s one hell of a culture shock that I’m glad I’ll probably never have to experience because I started out at the bottom. Well not quite the bottom, I have an A/C. Sort of.

Here’s a funny fact: My last post on this website was from over a year ago when I added the Taco to my garage. It’s almost like I graduated on that day, from a lowly carless car person to an actual car owner. Me becoming a licensed driver and me immediately leaving CT were actually unrelated, my activity here had been dwindling for months. This was mainly because my interest in cars had kinda stalled out, I stopped calling myself an enthusiast because I just didn’t feel like a part of the community anymore. Then I started driving and all that changed.

Having the freedom to drive yourself places really hits different compared to talking about cars on the internet. You can talk about mechanical bullshit or debate about which overrated sports car is better all you want, but at the end of the day, it’s the driving itself that really matters. And let’s be honest, flooring it down an empty highway at night and praying there’s no hidden cops down the road is way more exciting than yelling about why SUVs are the worst thing to Grace planet Earth. Having a sh!tty pickup truck that doesn’t really care what I do to it made me proud to call myself a car enthusiast again.

To wrap up, I think we as a community have largely forgotten what cars are. They are our freedom to move, and freedom to self-express. It doesn’t matter what you drive, if it runs, it’s your ticket to the world. Never forget that you have free will and, with a decent set of wheels, you can do damn near anything you want. That’s what cars have always been about.

That’s all for this late-night ramble. It’s been Olds, peace out.

Also, join the eBin Discord server, you f*cks: https://discord.gg/bGxdAMY