Me too. My beat up '99 Camry was built back when Toyota still knew how to build gas pedals and brakes.
Eric
I ran black cars for a long time for one simple reason: they were the easiest colour to spot - just like a
real photograph - and it also seemed that black paint was tougher than other colours. I base that observation on the fact that when I would attack a new, differently coloured dent, the donated colour would generally come off and leave the original black unbroken, if remodelled.
Then, I bought the current one, a blue one, and on the second or third day of living in the car park (it, not I) somebody decided to remove the Ford oval. I know, how desperate is that for a collector of trophies? They tried the one on the boot/trunk and failed, leaving marks, and so they went for the one on the bonnet/hood and got it off. From that early baptism of hatred I lost interest in cleaning, washing, polishing or any of the suburban sophistries of ownership. It's all bullshit and self-deception. But fun until the penny drops. I know this having dropped many pennies until the moment of truth hit me. But you know what? - you lose something along with that realization.
Rob C