Random? test drive

Namaste Readers,

Good deeds being returned, or good karma? Call it what you will.  It's comforting that there's justice still left in this mad world.  Both insurance company found the other party responsible for the accident thus I was fully reimbursed for the $500 deductible.  The past week had been full of insights from the automobile industry: accident report, insurance claim, estimate, collision care, and ( the most thrilling part ) car rentals.

After I dropped off my car at the auto shop, I was picked up by Enterprise Car Rentals.  It was raining, and I only had two cars to choose from ( making the day gloomier ): a golden 2011 Toyota Camry or a maroon 2011 Nissan Altima.  I wanted the smallest out of the two and the least gaudy, so Enterprise recommended the Nissan Altima.

The Nissan Altima was keyless ( but a sensor was still needed ).  I just had to push the button and it turned on, like a toy.  Driving it was another story, not too impressive.  The engine was too noisy making a whirring noise, and I felt like I was in a tank.  The Nissan Altima didn't gain momentum as fast as my car, and whenever I released my foot off the pedal, it didn't roll but instead retracted.  The back and forth trip from my house to my work used up 1 bar of gas ( $10 ).  Overall, it was too huge and costly.

I returned the Nissan Altima the next day, and with luck, Enterprise reserved a 2011 Mini Cooper for me ( without extra cost to cancel the inconvenience experienced ).  Like the Nissan Altima, I had to push a button to turn on the engine, but I still had to place the Star-Trek-ship-shaped key/sensor in a keyhole.  The Mini Cooper's engine wasn't noisy, and it picked up speed quicker than the Nissan Altima. 

I liked the rainbow lights inside ( like a mood ring ), and the sun roof.  The Mini Cooper was like a giant giga pet ( but drivable ); it beeped when it was low in fuel.  $10 worth of gas lasted for 1.5 days.  Overall, the Mini Cooper was fun to drive ( like bumper-cars fun ), and it made me forget ( for a while ) why I was driving a rental car in the first place.

In spite of their technology and other fancy accoutrements, I'm surprised that both cars' headlights didn't turn on automatically, and both doors didn't lock automatically.  It was more fun to test drive the Mini Cooper than the Nissan Altima, BUT I'm glad that my 2009 Toyota Corolla is back!