So after two weeks with my Saturn Ion…

Let’s see…. This is based on having driven for the past seven years with a 1991 Pontiac 6000.  The “6” was my first self-owned car, a car that I didn’t have to share with my wife.  It lasted until about two weeks ago, when it finally drank its last drops of gasoline and headed off to the great parking lot in the sky.

Currently I’m driving a 2005 Saturn Ion.  As one TU poster commented, I’m going from a car brand discontinued by General Motors, to another car brand discontinued by General Motors.  And although you never truly forget your first car, there are a couple of things this Saturn Ion does have that my Pontiac 6000 didn’t.  Just a couple.

These “couple of things” things include:

• A working air conditioning unit.
• Fully functioning weatherstripping on all doors (so a “car wash” isn’t outside AND inside).
• A factory radio that has a built-in CD player.
• Doors that don’t creak when you open them.
• Seven to eight more miles to the gallon.
• A windshield that doesn’t have dome-shaped gouges in it from worn-down windshield wipers.
• A headliner that doesn’t droop.
• A tightly-sealed trunk with plenty of room and no leaks.
• A locking and unlocking system that will function from the touch of a remote-control on my keychain.
• An odometer with a trip counter.
• Gauges that include RPM and battery voltage.
• Power windows that go up and down 100% of the time.
• An adjustable driver’s seat that isn’t permanently fused in a “semi-reclined” position.
• Driver’s side and passenger-side air bags.
• A solid radiator without holes or leaks.
• A quiet motor.
• A tight turning circle.
• Two – count ’em – two cupholders, including one big enough to hold a one-liter bottle of diet cola.
• A steering wheel with a nice comfortable grip.

Just a few things that the Ion has that the “6” didn’t have.  I think I can get used to those “few” things… 🙂