After countless miles of walking and hitching rides from friends over the past two years, I’m lucky to have my own car! My dad and I have been researching the best car to purchase/lease for the remainder of my college years (and thereafter) and settled on a handful of Subarus. Throughout the car buying process I learned two things: 1. the make and model of a car does matter and 2. the car industry is still a misogynistic marketplace. We visited Subaru first and were greeted by the kindest, most knowledgable salesmen who didn’t pressure us to buy a specific type or even a car in general. I instantly fell in love with the Forester and although dad wanted to weigh our options by visiting Toyota, I still kept the car in the back of my mind. The Toyota dealership we went to turned me off as soon as the salesman greeted my dad and shook his hand while simultaneously ignoring me. None of the cars I test drove- Camry, Prius, and Rav4, felt comfortable and had the looks I was aiming for, but the service (or lack of) was the worst part of the process. Needless to say I wasn’t impressed with any part of Toyota and was happy to return to my Subaru. The 2018 Forester has a huge sunroof, a reverse camera, a giant trunk, a touch screen monitor, and loads of safety features. I love how high it is off the ground without being too big for me to drive. I’m ecstatic to not walk 40 minutes to work anymore and to drive anywhere I want without borrowing a car! Mahalo nui mom and dad and aloha ʻoe to my beloved red car at home!
