Compare and Contrast essay

7 October 2013

THIS PAPER SUCKED FOR ME. It had to be three pages of comparing two things. I decided to compare my car with another one I was considering.

Most peoples' first cars are usually only good enough to get from point A to B. Mine was a 1994 Ford Taurus.  My friends made fun of it and called it “the Boat”. It had character. The inside was purple; the outside was silver with rust above the tire wells. There were huge cracks in the windshield, the doors couldn't lock, and the back windows couldn't roll down otherwise they would never roll back up again. The back suspension was giving out, so it sagged in the back, hence the nickname. The engine sounded like it had one million crickets in it when I started it.  But man, did I love that car. Even though I couldn't take it more than 30 miles from town, because of the possibility it wouldn't start again, it was still reliable 50% of the time. I had that car from the time I got my license, at age fifteen, to last October. Before me, my mom had it.

The time came, a little less than a year ago, for me to pick out a new car. I was started a new chapter in my life: College. My Taurus would never get me from home to Bemidji. My mom was a big help in my car hunt. We went to the local car dealership and told the salesman what I wanted. I needed something that was reliable, under my budget, and had more headspace because I'm a very torso tall person. Jeremy, our salesman, let us look around the lot. Before the car hunt, my heart was set on a Chevy Cobalt. My mind changed when I saw the two perfect cars: a Nissan Altima and a Chrysler 300. Both cars are extremely good looking, but what’s the difference between the two? In this essay, I’ll compare both of them.

Comparing the two is an important step toward finding the right vehicle for anyone in general. First, let’s look at the Chrysler 300. The one I looked at was a 2005, white, a little over 100,000 miles, and within my price point. I’m not much on engine details, but it had a 3.6 L. Speed and power all in one. Gas mileage was a little iffy, getting 19 in the city and 31 on the highway. You have to sacrifice class for fuel efficiency, I guess. Even at the lowest price point, base 300s come equipped with leather seating for easy cleaning and an auxiliary port to plug an iPod or cell phone into for music. The outside is what really gets me; it’s like a low class Rolls-Royce. Getting into the car was nice too because I didn’t have to rub my head against the doorway, which I usually have to do for most cars.

The other car was a 2009, charcoal grey Nissan altima. It had the same amount of miles as the 300. Engine size was a little smaller coming in as 2.5 L. It doesn’t have as much power as the 300, but it will go faster. A good thing for speed demons like me. Because my house is 171 miles away from Bemidji, I needed something that was very fuel efficient. This is where the Altima shined. In the city, this car got 23 miles per gallon, and on the highway - 32. The interior was all black cloth. I like that more than leather because in the winter, leather is too cold and in the summer, it’s too cold. It had a nice sound system when I plugged my music into it. My old Taurus only had a tape player, so anything beyond that was pretty cool.

Even though the 300 was more aesthetically pleasing on the outside, I had to go with my gut. I got the Nissan Altima. Throughout the summer, I worked hard practically every day to make sure I could pay the payments every month. I’ve made a ton of memories just cruising around town in this car. Filling it up at the gas station isn’t too bad either. The gas tank holds about twenty gallons. Since I get thirty miles per gallon, that means my friends and I can drive to Grand Forks, ND, which is 60 miles away from my town without feeling guilty. If I could make any changes to the car, I would put in a heated steering wheel. That would be really nice during the winter. Instead of the car only being two wheel drive, it would help if it were four wheel drive. Last winter, while driving around town, I needed to do a three point turn. I didn’t get too far when I accidentally backed into a little buildup of snow. After trying to get unstuck, I had to call my friend who owns a huge pickup. Fortunately, we didn’t have to hook up chains and drag it out. It just took some pushing.

Overall, I’m very happy with my car. It runs great; I haven’t had any mechanical issues so far. It rides smoothly and is very comfortable to ride in. It’s a big improvement from the Boat. All the windows work, I can lock my doors, and the engine does sound sick. Hopefully, I can do what my mom did and pass it down onto my children. But until then, it’ll be my baby.

Side note: When I was test driving with my mom in the back and Jeremy in the front, I approached an intersection that I THOUGHT was a four way stop… it ended up being a 2 way stop and I almost killed everyone in the car.