DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Jane At The Book Thing

Q: Hi Jane! Thank you for participating in Defend Your Ride Baltimore. What can you tell us about your Honda Element?

A: I love the Honda Element. I had one before, but it crashed. I drove that one across the country for a road trip and traveled 8,000 miles in six weeks. I was mostly in the Southwest, but the drive was cross country to the Grand Canyon and Utah. I love New Mexico and spent a lot of time there, went through Texas, saw some friends in Colorado. The Element was a fabulous car for that. Absolutely fabulous.

Q: Did you pack a lot of outdoor stuff?

A: I took out the seats and loaded in so many things. We've packed stuff twelve feet out beyond the door, hanging out in the open. We've loaded up the top. I just load it with everything. I've done some professional organizing and loaded it with everybody else's crap. I've done everything with my Element.

Q: Are you a good driver?

A: I've been extra good since that trip! In Arizona, I got a speeding ticket on Halloween.

Q: What's the most memorable trip with this second Element?

A: Probably these trips to the Book Thing. We come here a lot. I'm trying to thin my collection out and donate more than I take home.

Q: What exactly is The Book Thing?

A: The Book Thing is this great organization that takes book donations and then stores them for people to come and get as many as they want for free.

Q: Is there anything you don't like about your Element?

A: It has really bad tires. Those damn Goodyear tires. You know, good-for-a-year tires? At 17,000 miles, they're bad. Mine are shot right now, but I don't have money to replace them.

Q: You love your Element a lot. What would you do if it broke down?

A: My next car would have to be an Element, but they're not making them anymore! This is the last year.

Q: How did you take that news?

A: I was upset! I thought about approaching Honda with pictures of how I use my Element for an ad campaign. On that Arizona trip, we took over 10,000 pictures. We were doing crazy things like putting 20 foot ladders out the back and sitting on them to keep them from sliding. We were piling things 10 or 15 feet high. We have a bunch of crazy pictures.

Q: And they weren't interested?

A: I never did anything with them. I still have them all, but now they're not making the Element anymore. It's a great car because it's plastic in the bottom and the back, so you can wash it out and everything. I mean, I carry rocks and boulders in there. I'll move furniture from somebody's house. I really hope they make it again. They have to!