As I wrote yesterday, last night I had to go to a wake, unfortunately. Luckily, Zipcar still has that promotion wherein you can use a car from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. on a weekday/night for only $39 and change. So, I reserved a Nissan Altima hybrid at the Zipcar depot on Richardson Street in Williamsburg/Greenpoint.
It’s actually a really good-looking car, and it made me feel very civilized to be driving it. In addition to having a very adult-ish color, a deep burgundy, the auto is super silent and drives very smoothly.
Also, driving up the nearly-deserted Palisades Parkway at 7:45 p.m. on a Monday on my way to the Ossining area definitely made me feel grown up. If I had a wife and kids in the suburbs, I might’ve stopped off to pick up some Rogaine on the way home. Or some Boston Market for dinner. Or wondered if my teenaged daughter was secretly smoking pot.
Well, you get the idea.
Anyway, the problem with driving this Nissan Altima hybrid was actually pretty hilarious in hindsight, though frustrating at the time. The car wouldn’t start. It drove me crazy. I did it right. You press down on the brake while pushing in the start button. It’s not rocket science.
But after trying and failing for twenty minutes, I called Zipcar and spoke to a very helpful customer service rep.
Ah yes, she said as she looked at some computer or something. Maybe she was thinking about the Boston Market she would eat after her shift was over. Or the pot she would smoke. Or the Rogaine her husband would apply.
I don’t quite understand exactly what she did, but using her computer terminal she reset the car entirely. Something was wrong, and she had fixed it remotely. I did the whole press the brake/push in the start button one more time, and away I went.
