In the middle of August 2017, I had to trade in my 2000 Grand Prix GT, which I was affectionately referring to as "Penny Possum", because of a number of mechanical issues that would have costed more to fix than the car was worth. Rusted brake lines, leaking brake valves, a coolant line about to blow out... not to mention all the various oil leaks.
----- It was definitely a challenge to lovingly recreate this car and get all the details right. The broken air dam thing in front, the section of the front bumper by the fog lamp that was cracked and would pull away at times and always took pieces of the car wash home with us, the cracked windshield I stared at for nearly 2 years... however, Penny's fat ass is covering the dented-in driver-side fender, the one that I assume wasn't replaced when the car was rebuilt (yes, it was a "rebuilt salvage" and based on all the issues I'm guessing she took a pretty solid hit to the front passenger side, but for 300 bucks when I was desperate I won't complain too much). I also failed to show how, after two years of vacuuming and cleaning, I would still find cigarette butts from the previous owners.
Not sure what happened to her after the trade-in, I know she had some newer parts on her that I put on over the years, hopefully she was parted out and not just smashed into a cube at the junkyard.
The car was a shitbox, but she was MY shitbox. I miss this car, even if the new Mazda got 10mpg more, had no visible rust, no big dents, working windshield washer fluid, no discernible oil leaks, no big crack on the windshield...
I tend to not draw real cars very often, and usually stick to more generic, cartoon designs. Drawing real cars is a pain in the ass, getting all those curves and details right. I never did draw Aiko the Mazda, but in 2022 after I had to trade Aiko in due to some ongoing transmission and electrical issues, I did draw Sylvia the Hyundai with Sylvia Sterling as the mascot.
Oh yeah, robot possum posing on the hood and quote from Mad Max: Fury Road too.
