Saturday, July 3, 2010

Unstoppable force meets immovable object

or, what happens when a Toyota Prius collides with a Cadillac escalade.

Don't try this at home.


















This happened on Father's day.

Back in our child free days geekydaddy and I had memberships at various wineries and spent many a weekend tasting wine and soaking up the Napa sun. A hangover from those days was a wine club which was steadily accumulating merchandise. Some of the wines were almost over aged at this point, it had been so long since our last trip, so Geekydaddy decided to take a Father's day trip. A day off. He drove up to Sonoma to pick up the wine.

Waiting for him at home, I got that phone call, the one you dread when your spouse is late. The thought that lurks at the back of your mind almost every evening. I picked up the phone and heard "Honey, I wrecked the car".

 Everyone involved was fine, so really, it wasn't such a big deal, but still, not the most pleasant end to the weekend. The car looks dreadful, and indeed is a write off, but the airbag didn't even go off at the time of impact. Geekydaddy was amazed, after he wrenched the door open, to see the damage. It felt like just a little bump, he said.

I'm sad though. I was fond of the car. It was only two years old. We won't replace it with another Prius, much as we loved the car. The insurance money won't quite cover a used Prius of the same age, they are hard to come by, so we'll get a cheap used regular sedan. I'll miss being part of the self satisfied 'look at me I'm saving the planet' 'Prius club' though, and I'll miss the 45mpg. I'll miss the no claims bonus our previously excellent driving records afforded us too.

Still, at least I can smirk in a self satisfied manner when I recall one of Geekydaddy's wedding vows; "I'll love you however many dents you put in the car". I think I have quite a few dings in hand now.