Robert O'Brien

I sit here writing this blog in Dublin as an unexpected family situation summoned me home. As a result, Dorrit has had a quiet few weeks. Despite that, I had already made the decision to wrap up ‘The Adventures of Rob and Dorrit (The Toyota Echo)" a few months ago for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, I began blogging about owning a rather unassuming Toyota Echo in Vancouver as a personal challenge. I wanted to see if I could keep writing about the car for twelve months and I have achieved that goal. Generating content regularly is much harder than people assume and I wanted to know that I could do it. The second reason I have decided to retire this blog series is related to the content. I quickly realized that by focusing only on the car was slightly limiting and there are various other topics I would like to write about and explore. I have a few rough ideas that I plan to cement over the next few weeks. Finally, I want to reach a wider audience and I have been advised to look at Substack (https://substack.com/).

So this is not an ending, rather a new beginning. I will be creating an account and begin uploading as 2023 progresses and I have no doubt that Dorrit may well feature in my new content in some shape or form.

But to conclude this blog series, I would like to reflect on what I am taking away from the last year with Dorrit.

Having lived in Vancouver for over a decade, I survived quiet well without a vehicle. Yes, I moan at the drop of a hat about the buses and Skytrains, but in all honesty, the services are very good. Given the cost of car ownership in metro Vancouver too, a car is not a necessity like it would be in say Dublin. However, I can reaffirm with 100% certainty that cars are my first love and the simple act of driving brings me a sense of both peace and excitement that nothing else does. It is a man-machine connection that is gradually being eroded as cars become mobile computer platforms. Dorrit, for example, needs time to warm up and I have learnt that the car makes a regular clicking sound when it is fully up to temperature. I think it is the fan micro switch, but I could be wrong. Being unfamiliar with older automatic gearboxes, I have also learnt that Dorrit is rather quick off the mark, far quicker than I would have imagined. At higher speeds though, the gearbox needs more coaxing to change down that goes against my habit of trying to be mechanically sympathetic with the car. Learning these quirks has been a joy over the last year and is what I love most about driving!

More importantly, I have enjoyed the sense of freedom that Dorrit has given me. The time saving alone has had a huge impact on my daily life. I used to be a bit of a car snob and I would judge a person’s wealth and status by looking at the car they drive. I myself would often dream of having an exotic motor like an BMW or Porsche to show the world and social media that I had finally ‘arrived’ but owning Dorrit has taught me that it really doesn’t matter what the car is as long as it goes. This is only reinforced by the unpainted hood/bonnet that reminds me of this lesson every time I clap eyes on the car.

The last take away for me is the biggest. Dorrit taught me to face my fears in big and small ways. If I was in Vancouver right now, I know I would be outside brushing the snow and ice off the car. I used to worry about what the neighbours would think of me doing this. It is a waste of time at this time of year as it will no doubt snow again. Yet, it gave me a lot of pleasure to do this and see the results of my effort by having Dorrit clean and ice-free (even if only for a few hours). Additionally, I had to overcome my fear of finding car parking in the city and adopting a generally more assertive driving style. Ultimately, my fondest memories over the last year were when I was driving the car when I didn’t have to. When I could have gotten a bus or train instead. This has been the biggest lesson as I had to choose to drive and remember why I love it so much. It made me feel like a man and gave me a huge sense of satisfaction because it is so important to me.

With all that being said, Dorrit is not going anywhere and although I will not be blogging about her regularly, a new year brings a whole new set of driving adventures that I am eager to embrace.

To wrap up, I would like to say huge thank you to everyone who has read these blogs over the last year and I wish you all a happy 2023.

This month I did something stupid that I have never done before. I locked myself out of Dorrit on my way into class on a cold and damp Thursday morning. I could make excuses, like I if the car had an alarm and central locking I would have needed the keys to lock it. But in reality, it was all my own fault. I drove out to Surrey as usual on Thursday morning which is a thirty-minute drive on the highway. I got to the school early so I parked up and took my keys out of the ignition and put them on the passenger seat and proceeded to look at my phone to pass the time. As the clock turned 9:45 am I got out of the car with my bag, phone and wallet and locked the driver’s side door using the door switch as I always do. Just as it clunked shut, my heart sank. I searched my pockets for my keys knowing I wouldn’t find them. I walked around the car, there they were sitting on the passenger seat where I had left them. My keys; the car’s key, a safe deposit box key and my house key.

Rather than losing it and getting angry, all I could do was curse under my breath and let out a sigh. I walked around the car checking each door to see if I could magically open them. I even considered breaking a window to get in. The ironic thing is Dorrit is not that secure, even when fully locked. I have no doubt that even a moderately talented car thief could open the door in under thirty seconds. Lacking the necessary skill, all I could do was walk into the school and calmly explain the situation to my boss. I would have to journey back home after class to get the spare keys to open the car. There were only two problems. The journey back on transit would take 90 minutes each way and I couldn’t call home to see if my landlady was home as she is a very nice Chinese woman called ‘Betty’ who does not speak English. I greet her and we say ‘hi’ to each other. But that is the extent of our conversations. I deal with her son, who is a fluent English speaker and was out of town for a month.

I was less than focused teaching that morning as I knew they next few hours would be messy. The thought of being on a train for hours was less than appealing. To my surprise, my boss offered me his keys and said I could take his car and drive back home. His car is a F25 BMW X3. Under normal circumstances, I would have jumped at the chance to get my arse into a BMW, but I was unsure. Having very little time to consider my options, I took his key and thanked him uttering a prayer to myself as I approached the vehicle.

I had never driven an X3 before and it was certainly bigger than Dorrit, with a much higher seating position. Thankfully, the controls and dash layout was familiar to me as this car was a F- generation product very similar to my parent’s cars. I had spent a lot of time in my father’s F13 6-series over the summer and it operated in a very similar manner, right down to the electronic handbrake button. As I pressed the ignition button, the car sprung to life, with the familiar beeping and bonging as I put the weirdly shaped automatic gear selector into reverse and released the electronic brake. The size was immediately obvious. Whereas Dad's car was low and long, this X3 was much higher. It did have the parking sensors and rear reversing camera, which was a massive help. I have often scoffed at these aids saying that if you can’t reverse your own car, you have no business driving it. I was quickly reconsidering that opinion. After slowly getting out of the car park and onto the road one thing that I immediately loved was the larger wing mirrors that offered an excellent field of vision. Cruising onto the highway, the appeal of the higher driving position also became apparent. I could see more on the road and felt very safe in this unfamiliar vehicle. In typical BMW fashion, the car felt rock solid on the road with slower steering feedback and an unstressed 2.8 litre turbo engine. At the 100km speed limit, I was barely scratching its performance limits. I was totally loving this experience. A childish part of me felt like I was in a 'man’s' car and it reminded me of how I felt as a child in my father’s various E30 3-series cars. I also appreciated the X-Drive 4-wheel drive system this X3 had. As a BMW purist, I have never been a massive advocate of this layout as it goes against BMWs traditional rear-wheel drive layout. However, living in Canada, with annual rain and snow storms, I now see the appeal. I was enjoying myself, feeling more assured and aggressive on the road. Arriving at my house, I parked the car and crossed my fingers that ‘Betty’ was home.

Modern technology came to my aid for the second time that morning in the form of Google translate. I type out “I’m locked out. Can you let me into my suite please?” in Chinese. I rang the doorbell and waited with baited breath. Silence. I didn’t panic. I went and sat in the X3 to wait for her to arrive home. I said another prayer asking that it be soon. It gave me time to look around the car’s interior now that it was safe to do so. People have criticized BMW for having very similar interiors in all their cars, regardless of price and size and this interior was very much 3-series based. It was a higher spec compared to Mum’s F30 320d, but had an almost identical layout. I understand the complaint and would probably share the sentiment had I spend my own money. The other side of that coin is that if you have driven any modern BMW, you will feel at home in all their cars and they have larger, more expensive cars further up the range to keep you coming back.

I was so busy looking around, considering how I would spec such a car that I nearly didn’t notice ‘Betty’ walking up the street. I jumped out of the BMW and she looked surprised to see me. This was a big step up from Dorrit. I hoped she didn’t assume I was doing very well for myself and suddenly raise my rent! I showed her my phone with the translated text and thankfully she understood my predicament. She let me in the main entrance and opened the laundry room door for me to get into my suite. I had a spare house and car key hidden away and quickly collected both and put them in my pocket. Feeling a mix of stress and relief, I decided to boil my kettle and make a cup of tea before hitting the road again. I texted my boss to let him know all was well and that I would be back in Surrey soon. The drive back was uneventful, but parking was a bit of a challenge and it took me a few attempts to get the X3 parked tightly into its allotted space. Dorrit was there waiting. I used the spare car key to open the car and grabbed my keys. I gave my boss back his key and offered him cash for gas, which he refused. Getting back into Dorrit felt instantly familiar and the smaller size made it easier to maneuver around. Honestly, I was just happy to be able to drive the car home and been able to deal with the problem calmly and quickly.

I have vowed to be more careful about where I put my keys from now on.

Vancouver weather is similar to Ireland’s in that it is usually wet as the city is located in a natural rainforest. Locals jokingly call it ‘Raincover’, but I wasn’t laughing last week when Dorrit and I got to spend three and a half hours in crawling traffic as a sudden storm battered the city with high winds and torrential rain.

9:30 am - I teach a morning class out in Surrey once a week and it is a brief thirty-minute drive on the Trans-Canadian Highway (Highway 1). Last week, I headed off as usual and the weather appeared dry and pleasant enough. Sure, there was a nip in the air and it has been getting darker progressively sooner, as we are now well into fall. I got to the school and all was still dry and calm.

12:05pm - After I was finished I jumped into Dorrit and began to head home taking my usual route. To be fair, Google Maps did highlight a delay along the Port Mann bridge of twenty minutes. I could have found a longer route home, but I impatiently started driving away figuring twenty minutes wasn’t that long. I regretted that decision as soon as I came onto the highway. There was a massive tailback and I had no choice but to merge with it as I couldn’t turn around.

1:05pm - The twenty minutes quickly turned into sixty minutes. Thankfully, I had used the toilet before setting off but I was frustrated, hungry and hot after sitting in crawling traffic for so long. I could hear Dorrit’s fan come on at regular intervals to cool the idling engine. Had she not been a Toyota, I would have been worried about overheating and being left stranded on the side of the road. Dorrit doesn’t have any sort of ‘Stop/Start’ technology. I had half a tank of gas and hadn’t been too concerned about it until I found myself sitting in this traffic. I tried turning off the engine and started it again when the traffic began to move and this proved to be even more frustrating. The traffic was crawling slowly, but it was moving and stopping and starting the car constantly could do more harm than good in terms of fuel economy and mechanical wear. All I could do was sit and stew. I remembered that famous scene in ‘King Lear’ where the elderly king ranges at the storm and how it was an exercise in futility.

2:40pm - After two and a half hours I finally reached the epicenter of the tailback. The highway was closed at the junction at Brunette Avenue. TOTALLY CLOSED. Not a single lane was open and this extreme tailback suddenly made sense. The cause turned out to be fallen electricity lines on the road. A storm had been raging in Vancouver all morning apparently. It had drizzled over the last two hours on the highway, but I could see dark storm clouds on the horizon in Vancouver. Traffic was directed off the road and Google tried to put me onto the Lougheed Highway, which by now was also highlighted in red. I didn’t have the time, patience or fuel to sit in more traffic. I had to get the car home and take the train downtown for my evening class which was due to start at 4:30pm. I decided to be brave and hit the suburbs of Burnaby, the city in between Surrey and Vancouver.

3:00pm - I was making good time through Burnaby and following Google Maps for dear life as I had no idea where I was going. I knew the direction I should be heading but the rain was now pouring down. I had the fan on full and the wipers on their top speed. The female navigation voice coming from my phone was drowned out by the rain drenching Dorrit. I was so focused on just getting home that I didn’t really have time to be too worried about the various pedestrians running around, both on the sidewalks and across the busy roads to escape the heavy rain. Rain terrifies me for that very reason. People do stupid things and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop suddenly on these wet roads as Dorrit doesn’t have ABS. Drivers in Vancouver also never seem to slow down. It’s crazy. In Ireland, I was taught to reduce speed when it rains, but here people drive at the same speed as when the roads are dry. To not actually cause an accident, I forced myself to keep pace with everyone else.

3:15pm – I was finally on Kingsway, which is a familiar road. I turn off onto Victoria Drive and I know home is a mere five minutes away. I was starving and now needed a toilet. I got to my front door as the rain began to ease. It has just gone 3:20 pm and I have a few minutes to eat and pee before I had to brave the weather again and catch a train downtown. Dorrit had about a quarter tank of gas left and I was grateful to the car for getting me home safe and sound. The storm raged on for the rest of the day and I was walking home in the rain at around 7:30 pm that night.

I have never been in such a bad traffic jam in my life. The M50 tailbacks back home had nothing on the delay I endured. The funny thing is if I had gotten a bus and train home from Surrey I would have missed out on the whole adventure and it also showed me that I have finally begun to settle into driving in Canada. Sitting in Dorrit for that length of time got me accustomed to the sounds and feel of the car in the wet too and that is valuable education as we head into winter.

I just hope the snow holds off for the next few months.