5 Years Ago...

I mean, a lot of things happened 5 years ago. The start of my career, the first big move from home, but the one that brings back memories to this exact day was the arrival of the Genesis Coupe.

When the Gencoupe was first released to the Canadian market, I had my eyes set on it. I knew that was going to be my first car. The rear end was the first thing that caught my attention. Price range was good for a first car, great standard features (the most basic I wanted was bluetooth, and folding mirrors). I had gone with a friend to test drive it in 2009 and I remember it was a Lime Rock Green 3.8GT in manual. Of course at that time I didn't know how to drive standard so he drove it. He reported that it was not as responsive as he thought it would be. He was disappointed in it. And for a while I sort of tried to dismiss it and maybe look for another car.

I looked around and decided, maybe the Altima sedan? Except I didn't want the 2.5L version. If I had to get the Altima, I wanted the 3.5L SR (used to be SE). Dealerships around town only had the 2.5L version available for test drives. I test drove it multiple times to see how it handled, and how the ride was. It was way too soft for my liking. The steering felt really loose. And I had to imagine each time that I test drove a 2.5L that the 3.5L would be a bit faster. So just imagine...just try...! And I couldn't. When I asked to test drive a 3.5L, they said it's very limited, because most customers request the 2.5. The 3.5 was not in high demand. If I wanted the SR, I would have to order one in and wait months for it. I didn't have months to wait, I only had a couple weeks before I moved to another city to work. So I couldn't wait for the SR, nor did I want to be stuck with a 2.5. Not only that, but the standard options were very limited. If I wanted bluetooth and folding mirrors, I had to buy packages. And when I calculated it, it was close to 40k for a 2.5L sedan. No thanks.

I tried the Sonata and same thing. The steering felt more loose than the Altima. Probably due to the assisted electric steering. It was a nice car, don't get me wrong. But something about it just didn't feel right. I knew in my heart that time that it was the Gencoupe I was set on. Love at first sight!

So off I went to test drive one in the base. It was already enough for me. I didn't want a sunroof, so the base was the only one that didn't offer a sunroof. I didn't like the stop/start button either; I'm more of a fan of the old traditional turn key ignition. I liked the steering a lot. It was stiff and I felt I was more in control of my driving. AND IT HAD BLUETOOTH AND FOLDING EXTERIOR MIRRORS!!! I was sold on this. But now the next step was to find a dealership that would offer me a great deal. I went to about 6 different dealerships before settling on the best deal.

Before making the final decision, my parents would try to persuade me from getting a coupe. The doors would fall off. It's too heavy. What happens if I got into a car accident with friends in the back? Firefighters would have to cut the roof to get them out. What happens when you have kids in the future? Space is limited. It's too low. What about winter? Etc. Anything in the books to get me to change my mind. But I didn't.

One that really surprised them was when we called up the insurance company to get quotes. If I had wanted an Altima 2.5 sedan, the monthly rate would be a lot higher than the coupe. At that time, very little information was known about the coupe. They had it divided into two categories. If it was a base model, or a non 3.8L, it was considered a small car. If it was a 3.8 or a 3.8GT, it was considered a sports car. The monthly difference was at least $100 difference. Plus the Altima has been out longer than mankind, so there would be a lot more data available. So that's when I shoved it in their faces and said HA! Hyundai is cheaper! NA-Na-Na-Na-Na!!!

So now that a final decision has been made on which car, the next step was colour. The coupes that were shown to me were red and grey. Maybe one had blue but not in the trim that I wanted. I asked for blue. They said they didn't have any but would have to allocate one at a dealership and ship it here, or if there was none, then I'd have to get it ordered and wait a few months. But I didn't have months. So thankfully the dealership that offered me the better deal had a blue sitting untouched in base. I swear, it was meant to be. Most cars had come in different trims other than base. It was difficult to find a blue in base. I looked at it, and said I'll take it. It took a few days to have it prepped for me, but finally when the day came, it was heavennnnnnnn!

The first thing it went through after pick up was rust proofing and detailing. So I had to spend another day without it. Finally when it arrived home, I wanted to just drive it. But my dad, being the awesome dad he is, had said to not drive it. It was so shiny, he didn't want to see dirt on it. So I drove it sparingly that week until the day I had to move. And that's when my adventures began.

So, that was 5 years ago. It's crazy how time flies. There's definitely been ups and downs in terms of modding this car. From cracked parts, to mediocre tuning, to stolen parts, to not giving back my parts. Oh wait, that's still considered stolen. But at least the car still runs.

In terms of stories, there have been compliments here and there. Especially in the beginning when people didn't know what car it was, or who made it. But even to this day, I still get those comments as well. I left the Hyundai emblem on, but removed the Genesis Coupe emblem so it would be easier to clean the car. The most recent story was yesterday. I saw a girl and her boyfriend (I assume) head to their car, but she was telling him something. And walked to my car. At one point I thought she wanted to take a pic with the car. I wasn't too sure. But I was already heading to my car to run errands. That's when the guy asked "Hey! We are just wondering what car this is?"And I told them. The guy said that she wants this car and that it looks really nice. I told her, don't give up on your dreams! Do it, you'll like the car a lot.

I think the weirdest ones occurred in the first year of ownership while I was still out of town. I had come out of work and noticed a slice of bread on my car, that had a few bites. It was left on my windshield. Maybe the person was in a rush to go home and didn't want their wife or husband to find out they had a slice of bread at the hospital, so they decided to discard it on my windshield. I'm not sure. This was way before it was modded so it was still stock. The next story was, I came out of my apartment one day and noticed some weird stain mark on my trunk by the Gencoupe emblem. It looked like somebody had thrown coffee all over the back. I guess somebody don't like Gencoupes! or Hyundai. Either way, not cool to vandalize other people's cars.

Any big plans for the coupe in the near future? Not sure yet. Sometimes ideas just hit my head and then I make a fast decision. Sometimes it takes months or years to make a decision. In the meantime, it's just pure maintenance. But one thing for sure, I ain't selling it.

So happy 5 year anniversary to my blue little monster!