My Amazing 2000 Saturn

I dedicate this first blog entry to my 2000 Saturn. I recently surpassed the 200,000 mile barrier with her. I find it hard to believe that I have traveled the equivalent of 8 times around the planet, with this GM Motors product.


Throughout those 200,000 miles I suffered only one car accident. I did over 9 years driving most of the 200,000 on the 5 & 405 and all of the other crazy Southern California freeways. But, I don’t think about that accident. I think about all the “almost” accidents. I think about all the times that I could have ended up on a hospital bed because other drivers feel they need to arrive at their destination 30 seconds faster. Basically, I owe my life to the person who invented brakes. Thank you, Louis Renault!

Anyone who doesn’t believe that human beings can cooperate with each other, doesn’t understand how amazing our road traffic system is. Whenever you drive, you put an amazing amount of trust in other drivers. You trust that other drivers will stop at red lights, that they’ll stay in their lanes, that their cars are sufficiently maintained and safe to drive, that they’re mentally fit and sober to drive, etc. We trust complete strangers, people who we’ll probably never, ever meet or even like, we trust them to make good and safe driving decisions. If we met some of these people, we probably wouldn’t trust them to give us the correct change back, yet we basically trust them with our lives.

At this time, I would like to apologize to my Saturn for not treating her the way she’s deserves. I apologize for not putting the best motor oil in her and waiting until the last minute to gas her up. I apologize for allowing people to smoke inside her, along with all the cigarette burns. I apologize for all of the fast food trash and Gatorade bottles that I left in the back seat for several days at a time. I apologize for using her instead of a motel room whenever I met a lovely lady. Of course, being Joe Braza, this opportunity came up ---> Never.

So right about now, I want you all to know that my 2000 Saturn is the most wonderful car in the world. She may not be a Ferrari or even a Mercedes, but she gets the job done. She has served me very well and she still runs strong. I think it’s time for a car wash.