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| Hey dude London, ON June 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
Years ago, I drove a car much like this one, a black Chevrolet HHR that we affectionately named Henrietta*.
By the time we said goodbye, she sounded like an artillery brigade and she leaked enough fuel onto our driveway to alarm the neighbors. It was clearly her time to go, but over the years I spent driving her on some insane mega-commutes with the sunroof open and the typically excellent GM head unit cranking out some bizarro driving playlists, she never once let me down, and always brought me safely home.
The car's personality was such that whenever we saw another HHR on the road, we'd quietly mutter "Hey dude" under our breath as we passed by. I'm pretty sure no one else cared, but it was like our modern, violence-free version of the Volkswagen Beetle punch buggy game, and it reminded us that cars can be more than mere transportation appliances - but only if we allow them to be.
These nostalgic machines are becoming increasingly rare finds, so I cracked a smile when I saw this beautifully preserved example during a recent morning walk with the dog. It's the SS model, and its turbocharged 2.0 litre engine is rightly seen as a bright spot during an otherwise dreary era for GM. The blue is rather fetching, too, so I had little choice but to take a photo.
I didn't get to hear it when its owner returned and fired her up, but I'm reasonably sure this one didn't spill anything in the gutter before it went on its way.
* Henrietta may sound familiar, because in a fit of barely-adequate imagination, I named the car that replaced her - a red Honda Civic - Henrietta, as well. To differentiate the two, the Civic is Henrietta 2.0. I think I may need a new hobby, because naming cars clearly isn't my strong suit.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #chevrolet #chevy #HHR #american #car #carporn #automotive #oldparkedcar #opc #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything
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Thematic Photographic 422 - Lights On, August 2018
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Henrietta at rest, February 2010
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