Continuing this week’s theme… I usually don’t read Car and Driver magazine—my dad’s the one who subscribes—but I was tickled to see “Why You Should be Driving a Station Wagon” on the cover. They pit a 2017 Mercedes-AMG GLE43 and a 2017 Mercedes Benz E400 Wagon head to head. Naturally, the station wagon wins. 🙂

The feature reminded me of my first car, a silver Camry station wagon. I moved out of the dorms my sophomore year and inherited the wagon from my parents. At first I was disappointed. All the other kids had SUVs, pickups, or sporty little cars. I wanted a sporty little car, too.

But I soon realized my station wagon was the bomb.

It was the perfect car for a pledge captain, sorority president, and all-around girl-on-the-go. I could fill it with friends and all the stuff we needed for whatever we were doing. Grocery shopping was a snap. And it was indispensable for moving.

My Camry station wagon handled better than most of friends’ little sports cars, too, and satisfied my inner speed demon. Oregon rain, ice, and snow were no problem. (Pro tip: when a constant sheet of rain is flowing down your windshield, you can see better if you turn your wipers off.) It racked up the miles on multiple trips up and down the West Coast, and it’s still going strong as my brother’s car.

Now that’s a great vehicle.