What's WTFMPL's Deal? AKA An automobile background.

"WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon." (wtfmpl)
12/01/2015 at 18:21 • Filed to: Saabaru, Saab 9-2x, Introduce Yourself, Subaru, WRX

I’m like “ !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ”

I’m going to take a break from studying for finals for a brief introduction, because I haven’t yet and it isn’t studying. I’d tell you about myself, but this is a car site, so I’ll talk about cars instead. Nonetheless by way of actual background, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Cheers.

First off, yes, my mother does drive a brown wagon. In fact it’s her second brown wagon. No, its not diesel or manual or rwd, but it is a brown wagon.

As for me, I keep the swedish theme going (though we’re actually part Norwegian) with a recently-acquired Saab 9-2x Aero. Here it is pretending to be the Subaru that it actually is under the body panels:

It’s going to get a write-up of its own in due time, but suffice to say the last three months have been fun. It doesn’t look like any other OPPOs have one, which is cool. I’ve been waiting for years for a car of my own that I properly care for and enjoy, so I’m thrilled that I can finally be part of the “enthusiast” club. That being said, here’s a bit of my auto background, in chronological order. Certainly not every car I’ve ever driven, but the one’s I’ve spent serious time with:

1994 Volvo 940 Turbo Sedan - Totaled it at 17 and walked away unscathed, because Volvo and teenagers. Only RWD on the list.

2000 Subaru Forester S (Manual)- Parents bought it new. I took it to college, and then out west and back a few times after. My one regret is not taking enough care of it to hit 200k, but it took a beating straight through 199,824 miles.

200(2?) Chevy Cavalier Z24 - College Roommate’s car. It thought it was fast. It was not actually fast. We drove it cross country and back.

1999 Volvo V70 XC - This thing was constantly broken. We donated it to NPR. Not even kidding.

2006 Volvo XC70 - The above brown Volvo wagon was replaced by a brown Volvo wagon. It’s a good car for a mom. It’s damn comfy.

2010 Subaru Forester (Manual)- Dad’s car. It’s ok. Much more of a generic cross over than the quirky little Gen 1 Forester.

1999 Ford Taurus - Borrowed from my grandparents for 5-6 months after Forester #1 died last year. Those were dark times.

2010 Dodge Ram BigHorn Edition - I was a park ranger for a bit. This got taken to pretty remote spots where visitor cars were not allowed.

2005 Saab 9-2x Aero - 5MT. Stock-ish and rust free-ish.

It’s a short list, but it’s a list. I’m an expert on none of them, but it’s the internet so I’ll shout uninformed opinions in ALLCAPS to make you think I am.

Looking forward to contributing more when I can. Good on you, OPPO.

DISCUSSION (7)

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon.
12/01/2015 at 18:24

*clicks on post and has a feeling of where that link goes*

*isn’t surprised*

You and me are gonna be good friends. Welcome. Nice list, nicer Saab

WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon. > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
12/01/2015 at 18:55

I regret nothing.

Patrick Nichols > WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon.
12/01/2015 at 20:05

Welcome to oppo! Stay out of the basement!

Cool Saab, I had a 93 and a Volvo S80 so I've got them Swedish feels. If you like the off-roading bit of being a park ranger you might want to check out overland and expedition. I know a bunch of opponauts contribute there as well. What part of the country do you live in/go to college in?

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon.
12/01/2015 at 20:22

Welcome Oppo! I’m looking into law as a career path and going into a Poli Sci major for college....what advice do you have?

WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon. > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
12/01/2015 at 21:18

I too was a poli sci major, you pretty much have to go back to school at some point. Oddly enough I’ve also done my time in the bike shop trenches for quite a while.

As far as advice for future law students goes, there could be (and probably are) many, many books on that. Also you probably shouldn’t trust my life advice until I’m actually employed as a lawyer. Even then that’s questionable. I am a stranger on the internet, after all.

That being said, consider taking few years after undergrad to make sure you know what you want to do. You also get to presumably enjoy life while you’re young, and build a resume that will stand out a bit if and when you do go back to school.

WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon. > Patrick Nichols
12/01/2015 at 21:21

Awesome. Will check them out. I’m a Philly guy these days, so there’s not much adventuring to be had apart from the Pine Barrens and Pennsyltucky (though they’re both pretty wild). I lived in Arizona and Utah for a while though, so I was pretty spoiled.

Patrick Nichols > WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon.
12/02/2015 at 00:11

Cool I was actually just in philly for the marathon my girlfriend thought it would be a good idea to run. I've always wanted to do some not so legal adventuring into Centralia in an off road rig or enduro bike