#773 Watching your odometer click over a major milestone

No Photoshop was used in the making of this photoWhen your bucket of bolts clicks over a major milestone you can’t help but smile and feel proud.

“We made it, rusty lady,” you say out loud, slapping the dash and honking the horn as you sit jammed in the KFC drive-thru. “Happy birthday, you ol’ highway roller. Never thought we’d get this far.”

And ain’t it true: when your car clicks over a big, fat number it sure is a special day. After all, assuming you cruise an average of 15,000 clicks a year, you only score this major move once every five or six calendar turns.

That’s reason enough to celebrate.

Plus, I’m guessing you probably saw it coming for a while, too. Sure, maybe you were grabbing groceries or dropping the kids off at day care last month when a 99,398 caught your eye or a 198,881 made you do a double-take. And maybe you made a mental note to get ready. Maybe you wondered where you’d be when the big day came.

Maybe you bought a dress.

If so, I certainly don’t blame you because when your rustbucket’s clicker-counter snaps into new territory, it’s like she’s suddenly all growed up. You smile slowly and breathe in chicken and diesel fumes as your mind rushes back to great times you’ve shared over the years: when you first met, playing pranks at the gas station, and mindlessly chilling on lazy summer afternoons.

Yes, watching your odometer click over a major milestone is a great feeling. Congratulations on being there for the big day.

AWESOME!

(Wow, we just won a Webby Award! Thank you so much, everybody.)

And tastes like victoryPhotos from: here and here

59 thoughts to “#773 Watching your odometer click over a major milestone”

  1. Sadly I missed that moment in my jeep. I was in a snow storm and it seemed ill advised to try to take a picture while driving.

  2. I share this excitement every week! I drive a little over 500 miles each week (i hate that) and I say sweet words each time she makes it another 500 miles without stranding me…The odometer also stops every hundred miles or so, so i have to bang the dash to get it clicking again… but she is still clicking away.!! :)

    http://www.marriageconfessions.com

  3. Two days before I gave up my ’95 Camry it clicked over to 292292 AND the trip odometer was at 255.2 a palindromic masterpiece :)

    I gave the car to my sister, so she’ll get the thrill of watching it hit 300000.

    Awesome!

    PS – Congrats on the Webby!

  4. My girlfriend recently bought a new car. I sat in the passenger seat and gleefully counted down to kilometer #1000, after which she’d never be in the three-digit zone again, and when the magic number rolled up, I sang “Happy Birthday”. It really just kind of bummed her out to watch her brand new car rapidly aging.

  5. Congrats on the Webby!! That’s another pretty awesome milestone for you :)

  6. Watching your blog hit the 3 million milestone would likely give you the same (if not more) satisfaction! Congratulations on the Webby, I voted and am so glad that you won!

  7. Obviously, big congrats on the Webby. Couldn’t have gone to a more awesome blog.

    As for big milestones, I’m even happy to celebrate the small ones. My (relatively) new car just clicked over 10,000 miles, and I got a little swell of pride as she passed the mark. Here’s to many more good years together.

  8. Congrats on the webby!

    just one quick obsevation on the odometer pic . . . no gas arrow :(

  9. congratulations on the webby! I’m new to the site but I can certainly see why you’ve won.

  10. We’ve had 1 car with over 500,000 kms and 2 cars with over 400,000 kms on them (from new) and a few more with over 300,000 kms. It IS a thrill to see – every time. We’ve taken a few pictures.
    The biggest disappointment though was on our 2005 Matrix.. when it hit 299,999 a couple years ago the odometer stopped dead. They’re made that way. You have to replace them.

  11. So true… it’s like a slow motion slot machine, and no… I don’t have a gambling problem. I’ll bet you $5 I don’t!

    Congrats on the award!!

  12. I actually sing …..
    “Happy Birth MILE to you!”….
    When my car goes over a mile stone…

    I know

  13. When we bought our new car recently we were told not to drive over 100 km/hr and to alternate our speed every 5 minutes until we reached 1,000 km. Do you realise how mind-numbing it is to change your speed every 5 minutes when you’re on the highway?! We took a long road trip just so we could be done with the 1,000 km and there was definitely a celebration in the car when we hit that milestone! :)

    Congratulations again and may the awesomeness continue.

  14. well, not so bad your webby,even considering that i am writting to you from EL SALVADOR, CENTRAL AMERICA.

    this mean that even pleople who speak spanish,watch your blog.

    congrats on the webby.

    truly yours

    vandelium

    ps as you know, in el salvador, you still can be
    murdered if you make some coments about
    the goberment, so this explain that this is not my real name.

  15. I’ve already said this in an email. But it could stand be be mentioned again. Neil is an awesome person. This site could very well be called 1000 Awesome Things about Neil. He claims that he got his inspiration from my old website. While I find it hard to believe that this is even remotely true, it’s still flattering, and gave me the boost I needed to not give up.

    As I’ve said my entire life, it’s easy as hell to be mean and snarky. Like me. But Neil, amazingly, has never said an unkind word on here about anybody. Almost makes you forget that this is the internet. Where everybody that disagrees with you is a douchebag, and we all hide behind a veil of false anonymity because we’re 6’5 and 300 pounds at our keyboards.

  16. With the webby in the pocket you automatically receive like a gazillion new readers from all over the world. Me myself i come from Holland and just found out about 1000awesomethings, and i must say, you (guys) are fantastic and incredibly skilled in observing and above all, writing.
    I am truly amazed at how well and entertaining you explain the little kicks in life, which make living life alot more fun! Well done and congrats on a well deserved Webby :)

  17. I recently pressed the button to close one my rear windows whilst driving. My 10 yr old son’s finger was in it though and got cut. He was ok, but I felt really bad about it. I stopped the car, looked down at my speedo and saw that the miles were on 54321.

    That cheered me up no end (I even took a photo of it) and the trapped finger incident was swiftly forgotten.
    Yay for mileage milestones!

  18. i kid you not – my blazer was in the process of going from 99,999.9 to 100,000.0 and it got stuck in the middle.

    my blazer is forever stuck between mile 99,999 and 100,000. that was not awesome.

  19. Congrats on the Webby. And my car is to young, but I’m waiting for the moment a milestone hits I’m ready too.

  20. Has anyone ever seen the episode of How I Met Your Mother that’s all about Marshall’s old car and its milestones? One of the best…

  21. one time i was in the car and it said
    “111111”
    the guy driving was like make a wish!
    if that wish didn’t come true then i don’t know what would.

  22. I have loved several cars; even wrote a poem to one, which I left on the back seat with a rose, weeping as she was taken to the dogfood factory.

  23. This fall, the clutch needed to be changed in my stick shift and I swapped my car for Dad’s truck while he fixed it. Before I left, Dad kept hinting that the truck would turn over 100,000 miles and he wouldn’t be there to see it. As the special mark drew closer, I brought my camera with me. As soon as it turned, I pulled over to take a picture and went home to make Dad an animated PowerPoint and “Happy 100,000 Miles”-decorated brownies.

  24. My good ol’ buddy carried me past 225,000. When she rolled 200,00, I pulled over and took some photos, at 199,999 and 200,000. AWESOME!

  25. my husband drives for a living.
    not quite 4 years ago he bought a car with 58,ooo kms on it.
    It now has 389,000 and change on it.
    We once sold a car we had had for 6 years with 530,000 kms on it. Bought it for 900, sold it for 500.

    Awesome

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