Since graduating from college, I have had
four cars overall. Not a bad number to have in 6 years! My
first new car out
of college was the 2002
"Desert Silver" Acura RSX. The interior trim is Titanium.
After shopping around for a sporting, luxury coupe, I
feel in love with the RSX. The RSX had everything I was looking
for in my first car. It had power everything, leather, alloy
wheels, automatic climate control, cruise control, 6 speaker CD stereo,
& moonroof. I had a few optional extras added including a 6
CD changer in the trunk along with the cargo net. The RSX
features an i-vtec
engine that cranks out 160 horsepower through the 4 cylinders without
the need for a turbo charger. This car is my baby. I have
it detailed regularly, and even to this day, it looks and smells like
it is a brand new car.
One of the perks of being a pharmaceutical
representative is a
company car. In February of 2005, Schering-Plough presented me
with a 2005 black Ford Taurus SE. Schering bought us a brand new
car every 65,000 miles, which for me is about every year and
half. The Ford Taurus was nothing
like my Acura, but it was a decent everyday
car. It had power everything, power seat, CD audio, cruise
control, traction control, and a
V6 engine.
I ordered another company car in 2006, and it
is a
nice upgrade from my Taurus. The company got us a 2007 Ford
Fusion SEL that
comes standard with automatic climate control, 6 disc CD changer in
dash with MP3 compatibility, auto dimming rear view mirror with
compass, power everything, leather wrapped steering wheel with
audio/climate/speed controls, 17 inch alloy wheels, fog lights, analog
clock (like on the Infiniti models), side and side curtain
airbags, and heated power mirrors. The car also includes the
following options - ABS, daytime running lights, and power
moonroof. My new company car was delivered to me in October of
2006. My last company car at Schering-Plough/Merck was a fully
loaded 2008 Ford Fusion SEL with leather, Sync, and moonroof.
When I joined Inventiv Health in 2010 as a
representative on the Boehringer-Ingelheim contract, I was given a SUV
since I had a "snow territory" since I covered the Lake Tahoe
Area. Inventiv Health bought me a 2010 Chevrolet
Equinox AWD LS SUV. It was my
first SUV, and it was great for driving up in the Sierra Nevada
mountains during the winter.
In 2012, I joined Boehringer-Ingelheim
Pharmaceuticals directly and got my first foreign company car, the
2012 Subaru Legacy AWD PZEV Premium Sedan. I decided to go with
the Subaru Legacy again in 2014 when I was able to order a new car
again. This one had the cold weather package which had heated
seats too. In 2016, I was able to order another company car, and
I choose the newly redesigned Subaru Legacy. This time, the
company paid for the Eye Sight Package which included adaptive cruise
control! It is the most amazing auto invention since the
wheel! LOL. The car practically drives itself especially in
combination with the lane assist. The car automatically moves me
back in my lane, but with the adaptive cruise control, the car can slow
down and speed up as needed depending on the traffic in front of
me. The new Legacy was also upgraded with nice features like dual
zone climate control as well as tri stage heated seats.
I know I
am spoiled....free car with all the bells and whistles. Not to
mention, my company pays for the maintenace, insurance, and even gas
for it. I can drive it as much as I want for personal use
too. The company even pays for the gas for personal use
too. Moreover, we get a toll transponder too so the company picks
up the tolls for our company car.
My current company car is a 2020 GMC Terrain SLE
AWD that was almost fully upgraded. This amazing SUV comes pretty
well equipped, but my company paid for most of the option packages that
gave me a programmable power liftgate, heated seats, dual zone climate
control, remote start, adaptive cruise control, and a 8 inch HD display
screen with navigation. The remote start on this car is activated
either via the keyfob or the MyGMC app. The MyGMC app lets me
start my car from anywhere over the internet, and it even works with
Amazon Alexa. So, what that means is that I can ask "Alexa" to
open my garage door (through a seperate smart home device I have) and
start my Terrain so it is ready to go when I am out the door! It
is like I am Batman and can zoom out of the "Bat Cave" at a moment's
notice to save the day. LOL.
In 2020, Joy and I got another fun weekend car
too. We got a Volvo S60 R Design. This 2020 model is
normally $51,000, but I was able to take advantage of my company's A
Plan Elite pricing with Volvo since we have fleet contracts with them
to get a nice deal on this amazing car! The R Design is the
racing or sports model for Volvo's midsized luxury sedan. The S60
has lots of cool features including the panoramic moonroof, four zone
automatic climate control, and semi-autonomous driving system called
the Pilot Assist. I love this car a lot, and it looks
stunning! This R Design had a $1,600 sports styling kit too on it
as well as the special 19 inch R Design wheels!
