A Man & His Car: The Up & Down Journey Of My JEEP Liberty

I got my license a lot later than I wanted to in life. I finally got my drivers license in January of 2022, and I have only ever owned 1 car. My car is a 2009 JEEP Liberty, and it has been passed down from my dad to me. Its lifespan has had a very up-and-down journey, and during my time in the third semester of Radio and Television, that journey has gotten pretty rough. To end my time at NAIT, I wanted to write about the thing that has been in my corner the entire time I’ve been at NAIT, and the journey it has gone through, since my dad bought it in 2010, to now, in the very warm winter of 2023.

In the summer of 2010, my dad bought our JEEP brand new from the Southtown Dodge Chrystler Dealership. My sister lovingly named her Jenny JEEP. For most of my life, my family only had 1 or 2 cars, so our Jenny was used for just about everything. Camping trips, road trips for hockey, helping family members move, the Jenny was used for all of it. My father is also a mechanic, so he took good care of Jenny, and we where very lucky she never received any damage for many years. The only instance of Jenny getting damaged was during one of our camping trips, in the summer of 2016. We where going down a very bumpy dirt road, and our trailer popped off the hitch, and slammed into the back of Jenny, leaving a nasty dent next to our license plate.

Shortly after I got my license, I started driving Jenny full-time. Taking her to work, and things were going well, until March 18, 2022.

The first car crash I was ever in was also the first crash Jenny was ever in as well. I was heading to work, and a car stopped at a stop sign pulled out too early. With no stop sign I had the right of way, and was not expecting to stop. We collided, and luckily the JEEP was mostly in tact, having mostly sustained some damage to the fender. I put my duct tape skills to work, and drove until my dad found some replacement parts at an auto-wreckers.

Jenny JEEP kept trucking, but age was catching up to her. She had over 350 thousand kilometres, and mechanical failures started to show up. The first was a battery failure. The connections had gotten corroded, so we had to replace them, but then the battery itself died. The car had been having issues starting from time to time, but then one night when me and my girlfriend went out for a late night snack, the battery finally died, and we where stuck in a 711 parking lot until we where able to get some help with a battery boost.

The start of third semester at NAIT has been the roughest journey for Jenny so far. On September 8^th, after a long day at school, I was rushing home to grab my uniform for work. During the busy rush hour traffic, me and my sister where cut off and almost hit by a woman who had turned into the wrong lane. Ironically, after turning, and trying to change lanes, the same woman stopped suddenly, and I was unable to stop in time, and rear ended her. Once again the JEEP was barely damaged, but this time it was my fault.

To this day, I think that woman was one of the worst drivers I’ve ever seen. But the worst crash is sadly yet to come.

This year has been a very warm, and very dry winter. Well into December now, and we have still barely seen any snow. But, on the morning of October 23, 2023, there was snow on the ground. This morning, my sister was driving. Throughout the year, she was learning to drive, and having also not tried for her license until later in life, she also attended NAIT. On most of our morning commutes, she would drive. We where on our way to NAIT, and where heading down the Yellowhead. The drive was going smooth, but we hit a slippery spot, and my sister lost control of the car. We tried to break, but we couldn’t stop, and we slid into a guard barrier. This was by far the worst accident the JEEP had been in, and the front of the car was looking very, very banged up.

I grabbed what I could off the side of the road. Used my trusty duct tape to tape the important bits down. Took the wheel from my shaken-up sister, and cautiously drove the rest of the way to school.

Once again my dad worked his magic. Using duct tape and metal wire, he stitched the front of Jenny back together. And, just recently my dad found more replacement parts.

Throughout this year, I have unfortunately beat the hell out of Jenny, sometimes unintentionally or on accident, but I am also a busy guy so I put up a lot of kilometers everyday. But throughout all of the accidents, stupid mistakes, and cross-town drives Jenny has been there for me every step of the way. With almost 385 thousand kilometers driven in her, I know Jenny wont be around for forever. But I’ve had so many important memories and milestones with her. She got me to work, helped me get to NAIT for my entire time in RATV. She has been a big part of my life, from helping me get to hockey practice when I was a kid, to now having late night drives with my girlfriend. This car has been caused me a lot of stress, but its also been unbelievably reliable, and when Jenny finally goes, I am gonna miss her dearly.

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