The African Queen

I recently broke down and purchased a new car. I know, big deal, so what? Well. the reason I'm blogging about it is not to brag. When I bought the new car, I opted to donate my old car to charity. And when they came to pick it up, I realized that that was the last time I would see, the "African Queen", as my wife coined it's name. No, I didn't get blubbery or cry, but I reflected on how it had been a part of my life for almost ten years.

She's a 1994 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe. I bought her about a month after my wife and I got married. I had been driving a BMW convertible and traded it because we needed a bigger car for her 3 kids. It was my decision to buy the Queen not hers. She was something else. A big difference from my little 5 speed. I had a 4.6 liter NorthStar v8 and 4000 pound, maroon, tank. I say tank, because even with a perfect driving record, the liability insurance was over $250 per six months.

We went through a lot together, ice storms, oppressive heat and humidity. The last three years she had no A/C, so you can imagine driving home at 5:00 pm in Dallas, in August with a 50 mile trek, one way. She was there when I bought my first home.

She'd gotten the name African Queen, from my wife. One night, we were watching the film classic, and Humphrey Bogart was kicking the boiler valve on the boat. Katherine Hepburn asked him why. He replied that a guy had dropped a screwdriver down into the main valve and it made it stick from time to time. If he didn't kick the valve it would blow up. She then asked why he didn't just disassemble the valve and remove the screwdriver. He answered that he could, but that "he kind of liked kicking the ol' gal." My wife looked at me and said, "That's you and that car." So the name stuck, I liked calling her that, except that a lot of people wondered of the name for other racial reasons. No, it's about the movie. Nothing else.

In the end, she'd given me over 300,000 miles of service and I was a little sad to see her go. With her shot suspension, NorthStar signature oil leak and lack of A/C, she was very reliable. Always started and never lost her edge in rendering needed horses.

Goodbye, ol' Gal, you will be missed.




FYI, my new car, another Bimmer.