Ah, my apologies - I didn’t catch it and it’s likely an artist error, it’s a hardtop in the books.
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Mollie and Harry Go Shopping
I have an apprentice. She's young, and dresses like a goth girl just because her mother hates it. Where I'm all muscle and no subtlety, Mollie is the exact opposite. It's even possible for her to use computers for a little while without breaking them.
That’s how we ended up with her being the one showing me these cars.
“Look, Harry,” Mollie said. “We’re gonna go look at all of them, so even if you really like one when you see it, keep an open mind for the next ones.”
“Unless you find the Blue Beetle’s long-lost twin, I’m not chomping at the bit for any of them, kid.” She sighed and rolled her eyes, the little Toyota her parents had bought for her squealing its old tires a little as we rounded the corner a little too fast, towards the first car.
“It’s a '72 IP Lily 1400, but just call it a Lily or we’ll get laughed away. Look, it’s pretty cheap to own, does pretty good on gas, and it’s pretty reliable.”
As we pulled up to the silver and green car, I noticed it had something that just rang true for me. It was old, but it was well-kept. We talked and took it for a test drive- compared to the old Beetle, it certainly had some pep, and from the looks of things there wasn’t really anything to go wrong as far as electronics go. It was a little unremarkable as far as value goes; the guy had a good example, free of rust, and those were pretty damned rare.
So we stopped by the next one. As we pulled up, I actually recognized it right away. Ebenezer had owned one of these for a while- and while the owner was right, neither me nor Mollie knew what the hell it was or how to pronounce it, I remembered what it had been like when Ebenezer had owned it.
The Keosaqua Metronome.
“Sorry, kid,” I said. “As pretty as the car is, it’s just not reliable.”
“But Harry! It’s the fastest car in your budget, and just look at it!”
“Nothing is slower than a broken car,” I pointed out. “Plus there’s a little more high tech stuff in here than I think I want.”
“Fine,” Mollie huffed, and drove us on to the next. What about the Swanson 217 BC? It’s almost as old as you, a '56."
I could tell I’d upset her by skipping the Metronome. “Hey, that is sort of my speed. Look at it.”
It was like the Beetle’s meaner, tougher older brother. It was a little faster, and when we got to driving it was a lot more agile. The extra space was nice to boot.
“…and it’s really cheap to own. I just wish I knew what this purple stuff was,” the owner was saying.
Me and Mollie exchanged a look. I took down the guy’s number.
“Good find, kid.”
The next morning, I was staring at… something. “An AMCW Scout? Mollie, this is a van.”
“I know, but it’s really fast.”
“It’s an eleven thousand dollar van.”
“I know! But look, they’re really reliable!”
“Yeah. Because it’s a van. Maybe if it… oh, I don’t know, fit in my parking space, cornered well…”
“You’re just being mean, Harry. It’s a good car, even if you don’t like it.”
But she snorted and we drove on to the next vehicle. We passed by the house of a Pegasus Torpedo owner, but it turned out the car had already been sold. (OOC: Just saw your ad, but never received a .car file.)
The Cambridge Mite, from '65, was a classic. It was not comfortable, but it was pretty fast, pretty reliable, and pretty well priced.
“I mean, it’s pretty good,” I commented. “I can’t find anything wrong with it… at all, really.” Hell, it even handled well, second only to the 217 BC.
“I like the color,” Mollie agreed.
At last we came to the little Seongu Kando. It was only a little more expensive than the 217 BC, but was a lot faster in a straight line, and didn’t corner that much worse. Plus, it did way better on gas. Like, way better. The owner let us go for a twenty-minute drive, and the fuel gauge didn’t even move.
“This thing is pretty impressive,” I said. “What’s the catch?”
“I think this is the only one I’ve ever seen without rust,” Mollie admitted. “They’re apparently known for having it. But it’s really reliable anyways.”
“Alright, kid. Thanks. Guess it’s time to make a decision.”
And the Wizard Drives A...
To be honest, it wasn’t much of a decision. When I saw that the damn thing had been running around with some novice practitioner’s idea of a prank for God knows how long, I realized this car was completely bombproof. Everything, from the suspension, to the engine, to the interior was completely old-school. It had really not been an adventurous car when it came out, and that was more than fifty years ago. It had above-average reliability, and was also the cheapest car on offer. It cornered better than everything else, and while it was not the fastest thing to sixty… it still was better than the Bug. Third best gas mileage too.
And then… honestly, it just looked right. It reminded me of the Beetle, carried itself the same way, but it suited… well, me, a little better. It was a little too bold, a little too aggressive, for what it was. It looked like it would take on anyone who dared it. And I really liked that.
So, yeah, I settled on a 217 BC. Sue me.
10 Likes
Thanks! Neat challenge.
The purple haze “prank” as you call it, well it only happens on Stone Street NY as far as I know, it freaked me out but maybe there’s something “exciting” going on there for a wizard.
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From the front, it actually looks quite menacing. The rear light clusters, however, are a bit too modern for its era. Apart from that, I can see why it won - it ticked all the boxes and didn’t have too many weaknesses.
Finally a Swanson made it
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Excellent! The Swanson is a great looking car. Good work, all! I kind of liked every entry.
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just a tip, I found it really hard to read through this because of the pack of pictures. I had to keep looking up at the cars to find out what I was looking at which was really tedious