DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Julia At The Baltimore Co-Op

Q: You call your car East Coast Ho? Is that even defensible?

A: <laughs> The name's more interesting than the story. It used to be my parents' car. They called it Ms. Echo Green, but I thought that was too goody two shoes. I think the E.C. Ho is appropriate.

Q: So your parents gave the car to you?

A: It was a birthday present when I started college. They took some old saving bonds I had and said, "These are for payments." So I really got it for free. I got it with no car payments, which was nice. I decided I would try to keep it for ten years. It's still, you know, it looks a little worse for wear, but it's still going strong and it gets around 40 or 45 miles per gallon on the highway. It's incredible for gas mileage. It's terrible in the winter because it weighs like fifty pounds, but it's a great summer car.

Q: What's a memorable summer trip you've taken in it?

A: We took it to Vermont and on that trip it got 45 miles to the gallon with the air conditioner on. We get excited about the mileage. One year over Thanksgiving break we had eight people in my car. That was in college. We were excited about that too.

Q: Can you break down how the bodies were configured?

A: Four people in the back, two people on their laps and two people in the front!

Q: So the East Coast Ho was a party car?

A: That was when she was younger. Now she's going back to Ms. Echo. She needs something classier because she's getting old.

Q: If she were human, would she resent that?

A: I think she would resent the East Coast Ho, if she was a human.

Q: What's your favorite regular day trip?

A: I live in Wyman Park. I love driving down the Avenue. I work in Towson, but I love driving down 36th and down Falls Road underneath 83. That's right on Maryland by the Charles. I love people-watching there, but the Avenue is great because you never really know what you'll find.

Q: What do you think you'll be driving after the Ho?

A: I think I'm getting another hand-me-down from my parents, probably their Honda Fit. I think that gets better mileage too. But that's just realistically.

Q: If you could have any car in the world, sky's the limit, what would it be?

A: I do think that convertibles are neat. Not useful or convenient, but I do think they're neat. Maybe a convertible with great mileage. Never a truck. I hate trucks. That's another thing about the Echo. It's roomy inside, but so small. I can park it anywhere. I'd be afraid to get a bigger car because then my parking skills would prove not to be as good as I say they are.

Q: Lastly, what's with all the bumper stickers?

A: I have a Vermont one because I went to a summer camp there every year, so it became my adopted state. The reason some are on the glass is in case I didn't want them to be permanent. The one that says, "Got Vermont?" actually used to say "Got Vermont Cheese?" It was from a creamery. My dad cut it out a little, so it's a one of a kind. The "Elricho" my dad handmade as well. The "Fermez La Bush" is a pun on a French phrase that means "shut up," but it's Bush instead of bouch. My mom got those for everyone.