Goodbye to an old friend
There’s an empty space in our driveway where a car used to be.
That car was my father’s Toyota Corolla. He used to let me park my Sunny Extra in the main space, which was straight in from the road. The Corolla had the space next to Sunny, which was a little difficult to drive into, as it meant driving it between the gate and the pillar.
Where we live in Bandar Utama, the houses have short driveways that would not accommodate two cars lengthwise. And while the houses are wider than the usual, standard-size houses, the gates are not. So, before we moved in, my father had the gate widened so that a second car could be driven in and parked next to the main space.
Shortly after father passed away, my sister asked me to take over the 5-year-old Corolla and sell the 13-year-old Sunny. I started driving the Corolla about three weeks ago, after I got my nephew to swap the two cars so that the Corolla now occupies the Sunny’s space and vice versa.
Well, no more.
I’ve sold the Sunny and its new owner came and fetched it earlier this evening.
How do I feel?
Sad.
It was the first car I owned. My brother helped with the downpayment, after which I made the monthly repayments out of my own salary.
Why the Nissan Sunny Extra?
I used to work for the Malaysian distributor of Nissan cars. So I knew all about the Sunny Extra’s legendary bumpers.
I got retrenched from the company in the mid 80s. But instead of simply settling for another job, I went overseas to fulfil a lifelong dream of studying both in England and the States. I was able to do that, thanks to my sister. But that’s another story, and yes, I am digressing.
When I came back after dropping out of grad school in the States, I got my driving licence and set about getting a car. The Sunny Extra came to mind, I called up the sales department, told them I used to work for the company, so could I have an extra discount “for old times’ sake”? And what do you know? I got that extra discount. Every little bit helped.
When I got the Sunny Extra, I told my father to let me drive the Langley. I was still a fairly new driver at the time, and did not want to dent or scratch a new car (but felt no qualms about doing likewise on the older Langley). I drove the Langley for about a year, before one fine day when my father literally ordered me to drive the Sunny from that day onwards as neighbours were wondering why he was driving my new car, etc. That was my father for you.
I’ve driven the Sunny for about a dozen years now. I’ve had my share of “accidents” with it. Not major ones involving another vehicle, but usually “solo” mishaps involving me, myself, I. The funniest one was the morning I turned a corner too close to the curb and hit it. I remember seeing a wheel cover fly across the front of the car and wondering which car it belonged to. It was only after I arrived at work and parked that I noticed a missing wheel cover and realised the earlier flying cover was mine. After work that evening, I went back to the same spot and found the cover lying on the side of the road. A little scratched, but I retrieved it, just in case it could be used again.
Yes, for old times’ sake, I did take some pictures of the Sunny in its “new” , and as it turned out temporary, space in the driveway. Here are two, showing the front and the “backside” :
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I think the two pictures give a fairly good idea what a tight space it was, too.
Bye, dear old Sunny.
