Note: this interview was translated from Chinese to English by your's truly.
"My first car was a MG Midget I had bought when I first came to Florida from China in the 80's. I was poor, so I needed to something that worked and was cheap. The MG was a faded yellow, and had splotches of rust on it. Turns out the MG needed constant attention. I got rid of it as soon as possible, which was after about three years when my wife came.
"I got a 70's era Honda Civic sedan afterwards. It was a blue-gray color on both the outside and the inside. The Civic was miles better than the MG. It was smooth and quiet, even after the abuse it had taken. The car was fairly reliable, too, until it blew a head gasket. I actually rebuilt the engine by myself, but I didn't do such a good job. Every twenty minutes or so, my wife and I had to stop to fill up the radiator with water. A tragic accident at an intersection ended this sweet car's life.
"Later, I got a Mustang from the 60's. I don't know the exact year, but it was a classic. Unfortunately, it was also in bad condition. My wife and I drove all the way from Miami to our new home in the Dallas suburb of Richardson in 1992, with the windows rolled up and no air conditioning. It was a nightmare.
"We shortly joined a local business on Harry Hines, a trade street. We needed something that would be able to haul stuff. By then, we had some money so I got a 1989 Ford Taurus station wagon with about fifty grand on it from an elderly lady. It was the first car I have ever owned that had air conditioning. However, the air conditioning soon stopped working with a plume of smoke, and we were again left in the heat.
"Years later, my wife and I both got into the telecommunications wave that hit Dallas. We were making over 200 grand each a year by that time, and we decided to splurge on a good car. In 1997, we drove a brand new Volvo 850 with leather and everything off the dealer lot. The car was green with a beige interior. It was the most expensive car we have ever owned. Anyways, the car did experience one collision (a hit with a really big pothole) that was minor, but it did cause the engine to start spitting out smoke. The engine was replaced under warranty.
"When I had my first and only child [me!], my wife invited her sister to come to America and take care of him. We have by now bought a nice house and lived a pretty happy life. Then, we decided one car was a little inconvenient, so I then bought a cherry Mercury Villager the year the second generation came out. It had no rear air conditioning, but it proved a fine vehicle overall.
"In 2003, we sold both cars because both my wife and I got laid off and outsourced to Beijing, where cars aren't necessary because of Beijing's sophisticated public transportation system.
"Eventually, we did come back to America in 2005. That year, we chose to buy a silver Nissan Sentra Special Edition, which my wife still drives. It handles nimbly, but has an incredibly loud and cramped cabin. I can't believe we actually took a 3000 mile roundtrip roadtrip to Los Angeles so many years ago in that car.
"However, that didn't remain our sole vehicle for long. Just a month later, I got a good deal on a silver (again) '05 Mazda MPV, which I drive now. It is the perfect size, not too big or small. My one complaint is the weakling engine, which lacks torque to move the car authoritatively from a red light. Otherwise, it has been a nice ride, even if a little cheap."
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