DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Matthew At Fort Point

Q: Hi Matthew. When did you get this car?

A: July 2001. My grandfather helped me with the down payment. He was dying and he said, I'll help you with the down payments to get you started. Then I paid it off completely in two years.

Q: Why'd you decide to get a Volkswagen Golf?

A: My older sister suggested it. She said it was a good starter car. It's not too luxurious, but it's not like a Ford Fiesta. It's fast. It has four doors. It's really fun to drive. It appealed to what she was calling my peer demographic, if you will.

Q: Gotcha. So did you buy this car brand new?

A: No. One of my fellow dot-commers brought this brand new, had leather seats put in, top of the line stereo, super charged engine. He even had pinstripes put on the side. Then he drove it for 11,000 miles and couldn't make the payments, so he had to turn it back into the dealer.

Q: So you original bought this as a starter car. That was over a decade ago. Why has it become more than a starter car?

A: Because I love my car! It's a small car that you can park anywhere in San Francisco. It's gotten to the point where if it gets dinged up a little, it doesn't upset me.

Q: How many more miles do you think it has in it?

A: I hope to get at least 70,000 more. That would be good.

Q: So you're hoping to have this car, in theory, for another seven years?

A: Yeah, that would be awesome. The thing is, you drive around S.F. and, as a corporate sales guy, single, white guy, heterosexual, there seems to be an expectation that I should be driving an Audi or a Beemer or a Mercedes or maybe even a Lexus. But the fact of the matter is, it has a lot of nostalgia.