DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Pat At Auburn Old Town

Q: Kias seem very popular around Auburn. Why did you buy yours?

A: To drive to work and home. I got it because somebody hit me. I was in an accident and I got hit from behind at 54 miles per hour. It totaled my old car. While going to work. I did a lot of research. It was between this and the Honda Civic. This one was priced closer to what I like.

Q: Ouch, that sounds like it must have been bad. What can you tell us about your commute? What is the worst part?

A: The traffic.

Q: What is the farthest place you've gone in your car?

A: Oh, wow. Work. That's the farthest I've gone with the car. It takes an hour and five minutes. I can take it on my next vacation, but with my hours at work, I doubt it.

Q: Do you have any rules for your passengers?

A: Keep your seat belts on and leave the radio alone.

Q: What do you listen to while driving? Do you sing along to the radio?

A: Talk radio and country music. Of course, gotta sing along. Charlie Daniels. Don't record it, or you'll break the recorder. Yeah, that's right.

Q: If this Kia had a human emotion, what would it be?

A: My little car, if I'm driving it, it would be happy. The wife...

Q: Stop right there. How long have you had this vehicle?

A: I think we bought it at the end of January or February of last year.

Q: How many miles do you think you have left in your car?

A: I don't know. This is the first time I've owned a Kia. It's the roll of the dice.

Q: Aren't they all? What do you think your next car will be?

A: You know, if I had to go buy another vehicle, I would probably buy an older car and rebuild that one to my specs. For driving to work, it would probably be one of the older Datsun and Toyotas like the Toyota B210 four-door. Just something I can rebuild from bottom up. No one would steal it. I know where one B210 is right now, but it's just sitting. Don't like the color, but I can change that.

Q: Do you have a dream car?

A:  I've got two. The '55 Bel Air and the '68 Camaro. You know what? Everybody likes the '57, but I just like the body style of the '55. Would I drive that to work? Nope. That would be my day off car. We can go cruise up to Reno, Virginia City. The same with the Camaro. Bodystyle and engine that I really liked about them. The Bel Aire would be a cobalt blue with mechanic stripes. And then the Camaro would be a base of flat black and the clear would have four drops of pearl white in it. If you looked at it, it would look purple with a metallic to it. You know what a race car looks like with purple? That's what it would look like.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about your Kia?

A:  I think Kia made the mistake of putting idiot lights on instead of manual gauges for the water temp, the oil pressure and the water pressure. It's a good car for what I'm using it for. Would I buy it again? Only time will tell. The fuel is not as good as the Chevy Cavalier I had. That Cavalier got 38 miles per gallon. This gets 35 when I'm driving it.

Q: Most of the time, we've talked about your daily commute from Colfax to Sacramento in your Kia. You seem satisfied with this car for the commute. What's it like on your commute home?

A: Once I get out of Sacramento, I can relax 90 percent of the time. Right after Greenback Lane, I am halfway home. Everyone else is going to work.