Newspaper Article

What Am I? A Beetle, a Mustang or a Hummer?

Susan Cheever. Susan Cheever's address is susan [e-mail]

2003

Overview

My first was a used red VW Beetle convertible that I paid for with a savings bond earmarked for tuition. Then there was a new green VW convertible my father bought for me one high-spirited day when the red one wouldn't start. There was the black Ford Mustang of my early married years; we didn't have a sofa or a place to live, but we had the Mustang and later an ancient red Porsche that we spent weekends waxing even though you could see the road right through the rusted-out chassis on the passenger side. There was a red Mustang and then a yellow one, and then the beige VW Rabbit of my suburban mid-30s. Sometimes I got confused. Was it Warren I fell in love with, or his gigantic Impala convertible with the front seat as wide as a bed? Was it Dewey I cared about or the old Pontiac Firebird with an engine that sounded like the Lion King? Was it Michael or the sexy, rounded shape of his blue Peugeot? Over in the Mustang section, it's clear that the Mustang has become more macho than the ones I drove. There is no family Mustang on display, only a Mach 1 and a souped-up GT Premium Coupe, and the onlookers are not thinking about their families as they stroke the shaker hood and lower themselves into the low-slung driver's seat.

• Publisher: Newsday LLC