University of Dayton Student "Auto" Biography -- Andrew Shoemaker and his 2005 Honda Civic

AutoBiography

                

My first car and my car still is a red 2005 Honda Civic. I definitely have first love syndrome with this car. I have had this car since I was a junior in high school which now is six years. It has been an integral part of almost everything that I have done in that time. From crazy road trips to driving to work, that car has taken me pretty much every place that I have gone. Just recently I was in my first accident. I was turning left at a busy intersection and three of the four lanes of traffic were stopped as I was crossing the 4^th BAM suddenly I was facing a different direction. I had no idea what had happened. Slowly it dawned on me what had happened. I am happy to report that my little Civic lived to drive another day. Overall from the experience I was not as shaken up as I thought I would be[A1] . I was cited as being in the wrong but after much after thought I don’t personally think I made a mistake while driving.  So I was at peace with my actions I am just much more carful at intersection now.

Driving is something that I really enjoy. I find the whole experience to be very relaxing. I almost always insist on driving when going on a road trip just because I enjoy it so much.  This has not always been the case when I was first learning how to drive as I was petrified of driving. I could barely keep myself from shaking when I first took the wheel. This might also have something to do with their being 4 inches of snow in the parking lot and the car being possible the worst car you can put in the snow but none the less it was a very unnerving situation for me. Since that time though I have learned to love driving and learned a love of speed. I feel that I am a better-than-average driver, but I heard a statistic that something like 70% of drivers think that they are above average so I guess many people feel the same way. The reason I feel this way though is because unlike most other drivers I learned to drive in the snow. Almost all of my practice driving was done while there was snow on the ground in this way I really learned how to control the car even if the car was out of control. On a side note I also learned to drive in the snow with a Honda Civic with balding tires making it the worst car in the snow that I have ever driven.  I have always wanted to go to a track day but I don’t have a car that would be very good on a track day. So until the time I get a car I can take out on a track I will have to get my speed fix from roller coasters and go-karts. 

Something new that I have learned coming to Germany is that I really like European cars. Back in the states some of my favorite cars are wagons and hatch backs and they are few and far between. Here in Leipzig it seems like every car is a little hatchback which is precisely the kind of car I would like to drive. The only “cool” hatchback that there is in the United States is the VW golf. I do really like this car but I mourn the fact that there are so few options when it comes to hatch backs. I thought that hatchbacks were slowly dying out but low and behold here in Europe almost all cars are hatchbacks.