Old School

These days Land Rovers are a dime a dozen...but not like this.

I drive past this car several days a week; its owner lives somewhere on Capitol Hill, which I drive through every day. The car is in various locations - wherever the owner could find parking - but wherever I see it, I always get the "Born Free" song in my head. I saw that movie long before Land Rover started selling consumer vehicles, so to me this bush-ready vehicle is the quintessential Land Rover. In fact, when they started selling regular SUVs under the Land Rover/Range Rover name, I was disappointed - I thought they were supposed to be something special, something for visiting lions in the wild, not for going to the grocery store.

When you look at this car, you can see it's been through quite a lot. I have no idea how old it is - I'm betting it's from the '80s - but it clearly has seen a number of things in its day. I like to pretend there used to be a lion sitting on top of this car, just like Elsa in Born Free.

Of course, this one probably ends up shuttling kids to soccer practice too, but I can pretend.