“If you are given the gift of growing older, accept it with grace because not everybody gets it.” ~ Sheryl Lee Ralph
I met friends for lunch at Smithtown today, and when I walked out, I saw this delightful little van. I’d never seen one before, so naturally, I had to look it up. It’s a Subaru Sambar. Introduced in 1961, this model appears to be a sixth generation manufactured between 1999 and 2012. “Since its introduction, the Sambar has used a rear engine, rear wheel drive layout with body-on-frame rather than unibody construction.” The best I can tell, this little “cabover truck” has never been sold in America, and that makes it all the more interesting that here in Lexington, Kentucky, one appeared. Weirder still, last week, I sat at a red light behind a Jeep with Hawaii plates, but the dealership badge was Louisville. That dealer badge had to be on the Jeep before it was shipped to Hawaii, then shipped back to Kentucky with Hawaii plates… unless they put their dealer badge on a used car. Either way, why would you spend money to ship a Jeep halfway around the world? Anyway, it’s feeling very international around town lately. Maybe because the students have moved in this week. Maybe because shipping cars across the oceans has become affordable. Maybe because Lexington is a melting pot of many people – and their cars – from many cultures living peacefully together. Whatever the reason may be, I like it.
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