Bettie

  • May 22nd, 2008

My friend Heika came up with the name “Bettie” for my new car. It totally struck a chord, so I’m keeping it. Bettie it is!  It suits her.  Plus, I like a lot of Betties. Betty White… Bettie Page… Betty Crocker…

Betty Boop is out, though. To hell with Betty Boop and her creepy meatloaf head!  I’ve never cared for her. oh oh I never knew I felt so vehemently about it, though.  Live and learn. Blogging is catharsis, people.

Anyway, Bettie is getting her drivers-side window replaced today and the aforementioned “F-Touch” done to it. It’s that Teflon whatever they do to the interior and the paint.  They’ve given me a Yaris as a loaner and you know?  It’s not a bad little car!

Don’t get me wrong, I love Bettie.  I’ve been making a point to drive her a little every day. We’re bonding.  But this Yaris is a zippy little thing! And it had a lot more in it than I expected.  The stereo was fantastic (I want to say better than mine, but I think it’s just because I haven’t figured mine out yet.  smirk ) and it had power windows and everything.  I love the Matrix, but the Yaris was far more car than I was expecting.

There are some oddities… like the odometer and speedometer being in the middle.  It’s disconcerting. I keep trying to glance down at the gauge, but instead have to dart my eyes to the right a bit.  Not having the gauges in front of me makes me feel a bit like I’m in a go-cart, but otherwise, not bad.  It’s got more pick-up than I thought, too.  I guess I assumed the Yaris would be like a Geo Metro, which I’ve proudly (sort of) owned and drove under the back of a Chevy van.  But this is far more substantial of a car for the wee car-let that it is.

I get Bettie back tomorrow. I’m impressed they decided to replace my window. I honestly didn’t care that much about the scratch, I just wanted it noted so I wasn’t charged for it when I turned in the lease, but Mossy Toyota went above and beyond. They’re replacing it with a factory window (which they had to order because they obviously didn’t have 2009’s in stock yet) and also adjusting my alignment at no charge because I noticed it seemed to be pulling to the left a bit on my ride home from the dealer.

And miracle of miracles, they called yesterday to confirm my appointment and when I arrived at 8:45 on the dot, there were tons of people milling around. I figured that I would have to wait at least a few minutes, but no!  Someone took my information, started the process of getting me into my loaner and I was out the door by 9:01.  Seriously.  Every person I’ve been in contact with has been pleasant, courteous and really helpful.

I know… from a car dealer. Who knew?  And I’m totally not even getting paid to say any of that. But I DO need to remember to bring in my survey when I pick up Bettie tomorrow.  There’s a drawing for a free iPhone!  Mmm… overpriced, ultra-cool, relatively unnecessary geekery… *drool*

11 insightful thoughts

Deltus said on 05/22/08 @ 12:24pm

Car sales are really down right now, so dealers are bending over backwards to treat you right and make you a sweet deal.  You bought a car at the perfect time.  Didn’t know that about the Yaris, though.  I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, or a first for that matter.

Maevyn said on 05/23/08 @ 5:56am

Commenting on the car thing escapes me, as I’m completely interested in the fact that you have a friend named Heika! Our next door neighbor had the same name; she and her boyfriend moved to Florida a few years ago though….LOL

Joelle said on 05/23/08 @ 6:06am

@Maevyn: I do. smile She’s not from Florida, though. hehe.  We met via AOL through a mutual acquaintance about 10 years ago, but eventually became neighbors, too. I loves her.

Tanya said on 05/23/08 @ 6:14am

Betty Rubble?

Joelle said on 05/23/08 @ 8:05am

@Tanya: I dig Betty Rubble!  I have a Betty Rubble laugh that pops out once in a while. I never know when it’s going to happen, so when it does, it makes me laugh even more. cheese

Deltus said on 05/23/08 @ 11:03am

You have a *stealth* Betty Rubble laugh?  Oh man, you gotta record that and post it.

gfi said on 05/23/08 @ 12:28pm

*meatloaf head*

OMG.AHAHHAHAHHA.

:: jozjozjoz :: said on 05/26/08 @ 3:46pm

I just want to say that your new car totally suits you and I think Bettie is an awesome name for it!

Joelle said on 05/26/08 @ 4:57pm

@joz: thanks! cheese

geeky said on 05/27/08 @ 7:54am

Man, I wish our car dealerships were even half that competent around here! I think the name Bettie really fits, though smile

Raven said on 05/30/08 @ 5:59pm

Very glad it isn’t a Ford car.

You would be driving a Bettie Ford. 

No wait, come to think of it, that would be fabulous.  LOL!!!!  Cheers!

Congrats again on the hot red car!!

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