The smaller the car, the bigger the coffin

Did I ever tell you how it took me about 10 years to finally transfer out of Santa Monica College? 

It's a 2 year community college. 

I was lost. Had no clue what to do with my life.  So I took lots of random classes.  Hoping I would find my calling along the way.  Some semesters were disastrous, and there were many withdrawls & incompletes as I realized I hated the class after it was too late to drop it without a mark on my progress report.

Just in the "A"s alone, I took Astronomy, Accounting, Anthropology, Art History (which eventually became my major), and Automotive.

Automotive?

Yes, Automotive.  I figured if I lived in Los Angeles, I needed a car.  So I might as well learn a little something about this piece of machinery that was such a big part of my everyday existence.  I was trying to be practical.  I was one of 2 girls in the class of 25... and I had to work much harder just so that I wouldn't get laughed out of class by the "boy's club". 

Our teacher was definitely into old fashioned big American cars.  And while he respected the quality & the get-in-and-go of the Japanese imports, he always cautioned us "the smaller the car, the bigger the coffin".  He considered small cars to be deathtraps. 

But I still adore the cuteness factor.  Give me a totally impractical but stylish little MG or Alfa Romeo spider - swoon!  Here's my newest discovery:

What did my little eye spy?

The Chatenet Speedino - from France

Made in France, and popular in Italy - convertible, and totally up my alley... the Chatenet Speedino...a total deathtrap... and not too big for a coffin either...

I see lots of small cars here in Barcelona... and remarkably enough, I haven't seen an accident... yet all cars seem to be scraped up and dented - just surface issues from rounding tight corners and the like.