This is not a good week for cars

Less than a week after receiving a speeding ticket, yesterday my brand new V6, 195 hp, leather interior, premium stereo, aluminum wheels...you get the point....was smashed into by a big mean truck. And then smashed into a little mean Jetta, which in turn smashed into a somewhat unfriendly truck.

What really gets me is how in the world this guy could have gained enough speed to hit me as fast as he did. We were in stop and go traffic, maybe averaging around 20 mph. Traveling on a 4 lane (2 in each direction) bridge with no shoulders. Total gridlock. As traffic slows again in front of me I look back and there is an F-150 barreling down on me, really fast. Probably 60 mph when I'm going 20. My first thought was, wow he's really going fast. My second thought was, oh crap he's not going to be able to....BLAMMMMM!

I always wondered what it would feel like inside of a pinball machine.

In case you were wondering, I'm ok. My car actually takes a beating pretty well. Drove it back to a repair shop even. I was amazed there wasn't more damage. The body shop guy said that if I had been hit 6 inches lower, it might have totaled the car. As it was it was only cosmetic damage. Weird that getting hit by a big truck actually helped me.

I was nervous about getting this Galant because even though it did well in crash tests, the injury claim rate in it is high. But it did very well. There's a big dent in the back and a medium dent in the front, but between the wheels, it looks brand new. No panels pushed together, no wrinkles in the metal. Still drives like a dream even.

I've really been enjoying driving such a nice new car. Just feeling good about your car is a special feeling. It's just so nice having everything work as it's supposed to and no squeaks or noises. Hopefully I'll get it back that way.