Happy Birthday to Goudaner

March 15 is the day I brought my car Goudaner home one year ago. The blog entry of that day reminded me that I put 40.2L of gas (not oil, as pointed by readers) into my car. How excited I was! didn’t get used to the feeling that my own car is downstairs waiting for me that night. It was a strange feeling.

In the past 365 days, Goudaner changed my life a lot. This sweet partner also experienced a lot. It was scratched by drunk driver. Fortunately, it is the most serious accident we had. The car price dropped by 5000 RMB the second day I bought, and continued to drop to around 80K RMB after that – a 20% decrease. Meanwhile the gas price went up. The model FIAT Siena 1.5 HL is a nice one, and I enjoy the mannual shift very well, but Wendy obviously don’t like to too much. She changed her display name to “I Hate Nanpu Bridge” recently, because during rush hours, she was packed on the 3 kms of continous upslope. That is not easy for new drivers.

We have named the day Goudaner coming to our home as its birthday. Nina suggested me to give a name to the new car:

I don’t know whether there is enough of a car-owning culture yet in China to have developed the custom of pet names for cars. I think I’ve read that about 25% of Americans have named their cars and supposedly, cars that have names last longer and are more reliable, although presumably this is because the sort of people who name their cars usually take good care of them, rather than by magic.

It is a very nice advice. A name for the car gives me the feeling that it has life and feelings. It may feel the pain if we switch the shift unproperly or someone hurt it. It is no longer steel and rubber for me. It is just like a pet and part of my life :-)

Goudaner, one year ago. src

Happy birthday, Goudaner. You are one year old now and you brings a lot to Wendy and me.

6 thoughts on “Happy Birthday to Goudaner

  1. *laugh* Hmmm. I’ve had a number of cars over the years and never named one of them. I’ve always taken care of them and they’ve always lasted a very long time. Only one of my friends has ever named one of his vehicles and that was done in jest by us friends. He has a green Suburban with three rolls of comfortable leather seats. We call it “tank” or “the tank”. ;-)

    By the way, are stretched limousines a common sight in Shanghai?

  2. Happy birthday, Goudaner! Even after one year, you still look like a smiling and well-cared-for car. How lucky that you came to belong to someone like Jian Shuo who will enjoy taking you on so many interesting adventures around town :-)

  3. JS, don’t get obsess with your present Goudaner, in the years to come, I am sure you’ll possess more toys other than the above if you devote yourself to your work.

    Stephen

  4. That’s a nice picture. How much did your parking spot cost? Has the price also gone up in the last year? You can take that off the price drop for the car and you will feel better.

    I drove stick shift for many years and can do it unconsciously, but I do agree that driving an automatic in China is better. It give me all my hands and feel to avoid walkers and cyclists and all the rest of the unruly masses. (:>)

  5. Stephen: (This is a request)

    Please do not give people advice or suggestions unless they have asked. Very often, I find your choices of words are offensive. Mr. JS Wang was not OBSESSED with anything. He lives a very balanced life. Anyone who read his blog can tell you that. You may be older, but not necessarily wiser.

  6. ILH,

    I think you are right, my previous comment was a bit intrusive and I apologize should someone find it offensive.

    Stephen

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