The devil made me quiver (and think about living carfree)

Posted on 09. Jun, 2009 by Tony Arranaga in Featured

I realized this week how we are truly addicted to cars.

Early Monday morning, I took my car into the dealership to get serviced.  The trip to Chandler (about 30 minutes southeast of midtown Phoenix) is something I’ve been putting off for several months since the new Phoenix light rail has enabled me to go carfree here in Arizona.  I use my car maybe once a month, and until today, none of those trips involved taking my car to be serviced.

I pulled up to the dealership and left the keys with the attendant.  Another service guy took me over to my loaner car which I’ll refer to as “the devil”, or any variation of that word, from here on out.  There was some serious flirting going on between me and this devil.

You see, the devil had some sort of hypnotic abilities.  This loaner drew me closer with it’s curves of steel, a sleek design, and sex appeal for miles.  I felt my jaw dropped, I was in love, the car had a spell on me.  Was this Herbie the Love Bugs evil twin??

Then it suddenly dawned on me.  They got me.

You see, normally when I bring my car in for service, I get the loaner I like to refer to as “the worst of the best” – some four door champagne colored car, with a flat screen for the kids, basically something I would never own.

This time was different.  The dealership loaned me a newer model of my car.  The I-gotta-have-this-sexy-car reaction is probably what the dealer wants.  Why? Because the lease on my car is up next month.  I owe nothing at the end of the lease, or I could owe more if I sign a new one.  Hmmm…

Satan could see the wheels turning in my head, and he/she/it lured me in once again.  I was useless trying to help the service guy look for scratches, dings, or dents before hitting the road.  All I could do was stare at the car, which was beautiful inside and out.

I opened the door to get behind the wheel, and I’m not certain, but I think I quivered as I slipped into the leather seats.

I so want this newer model.

I know it’s strange (and totally self indulgent) to blog about falling in love with a car on a site that’s main focus talks about the light rail and how our new mass transit system helped me go carfree.  However the experience today made me shake my head and realize how truly addicted we are to our cars.  Whether your car is for status or convenience,  or a combination of both, we love have them at our disposal and being able to go where we want when we want.  Meanwhilel, we use alot of foreign oil and create way too much pollution.

Somewhere my brother is throwing himself on the ground, pounding his fists, and crying out when did we loose him to the liberals??

This has nothing to do with political views and everything to do with creating a better community for us to live.

Coincidentally, I found out there’s a group sponsoring a “carfree challenge” during the month of June.  People in cities around the country are taking in a pledge to drive less this month.

READ ABOUT PEOPLE IN SACRAMENTO MAKING A PLEDGE TO DRIVE LESS

While I’m still not sure what to do about my lease, I do know that using the light rail over the last several months has had such a positive impact on my life.  I’m recommiting to living carfree one more month and signing the online pledge.

I will admit, sometimes I take my carfree status to an extreme.  Like the other night when I ventured out to Scottsdale in a taxi when I could’ve hopped in my car.  I try to be respectful to my readers and use my site to empower you with information so you can make your own choice about living carfree.  Hopefuly I’ve inspired you to take one less car off the road and use the light rail, take a bus, or even ride your bike.

Having said that, I think it would be really cool if you could join me in my pledge.  Do you think you could promise to give up using your car one day this month?  Instead, go for a walk to get some coffee, take your honey for a bike ride and hit one of the many hot spots in Phoenix for a bite to eat, or just get out and enjoy the city.  I challenge you to try something new!  Think you can?

Talk to your husband, wife, partner, kids and post a comment below telling me you’ll take at least one day off this month from driving.  I’ll check back with y’all later and we can talk about how we did, and how it felt to set yourself free.

Tags: EXTREME HEAT AND YOUR CARFREE COMMUTE, TransForm