SIX YEARS WITH VANNY

The Ruggs were one of the first families in all of Las Vegas to get an AMC Pacer. It broke down as my sister drove it off the lot. That should have told us something. Regardless, we loved that car. We loved that car because it was weird and different. We were weird and different.

Since that time I had always searched for a car that was weird and different. I spent many years with normal cars. Six years ago my search for weird and different ended and at last I found contentment.

For many years I had flirted with the idea of a VW Eurovan with a pop-top roof that became a bed. But why did I need one? I didn't. I didn't camp. I wasn't a hiker. I had a home with a bed. I also didn't need the little table and tiny refrigerator that came with the Eurovan. We had a large table in the house. We also had a refrigerator. For years I fought my desire to own a Eurovan Weekender.

But six years ago I heard devastating news. Volkswagen was discontinuing the Eurovan. The last model year would be 2003. After that...the Eurovan would be no more. Well...that's all I needed to hear. I would get a Eurovan. I told my wife that it would be a good idea because we could sleep in it if there was ever a devastating earthquake. She didn't buy it. But she was also tired of having me talk about Eurovans. I wore her down.

And so, six years ago...I drove my brand new Eurovan off the lot. I waited for it to break down. That would be fitting. It didn't. It never has. And...I love that car.

I love that my daughter likes to do her homework in it. I love that when her friends come over she asks me to pop the roof. I love that Germans are so smart. I love that it's so impractical. I love that people sitting in the back have to face each other. I love that Germans are so smart. I love that, in those rare moments when we spot another Eurovan on the highway, we wave at each other. We wave because we know we are both weird and different.

I don't love that my Eurovan only like 91 octane gas. I don't love that it is less than fuel efficient. But...we make up for it with our other boring car. Boy is it boring!

So, Vanny...thanks for six years of fun. Thanks for being German. Thanks for having no more than three buttons. Thanks for having a pop-top bed. Thanks for having a little table. Thanks for being weird and different.