It served nobly, though it was not a Plymouth Valiant. It took me to new places, though it was not a Ford Explorer. I parked it under a tree, though it was not a Toyota Sequoia. (The tree was a maple.) It was the last car I had bought, a 1992 Honda Civic. It even had an air bag--for the driver. But the years had passed it by: my passengers wanted air bags, too, and I conceded that it was time for a new car.

Also, the air conditioner has been busted for something like eight years. I frequently considered rectifying the situation, but it seemed like a poor investment to throw $1,000 into a car with a book value of, well, nothing. The economics of such a repair said that I wouldn’t be making an air-conditioned car, I’d be making a portable air conditioner.